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From the Mailbag: What Horns do Professionals Play?

A question that comes in often in various ways is something along the lines of “What horns do professionals play?” Bruce Hembd and I...

The Americanization of a Yamaha

When I sold my high-end custom horn I made a conscious decision. I wanted to have two different horns that suited the different gigs...

Geyer Horn, First Valve Slide, B-flat Horn

Different brands of different horns have their quirks. One quirk on some Geyer style horns is that they may have a squirrelly high B-flat....

A Garland on Your Bell: Not Just Bling

One option out there from a few horn makers is a garland, an extra band of metal added to the edge of the bell...

Trusted Brand Names of French Horns: Composite and Age Group Results

This is the first of several documents that will be posted. In this chapter, composite and age group results are reported. https://issuu.com/brucehembd/docs/brandnamesurvey11-21-2011-345 The next report will...

Ascending Third Valve Horns Past and Present

The Mellocast for this week is on a topic not often discussed, that of ascending third valve horns. In short, this is a French...

What is a Professional Quality Horn?

A conversation I end up having fairly often is on the topic of what makes a horn a professional quality horn. Many horns are...

Question from the Mailbag: What Level of Horn Should an Adult...

Ryan asks: I am in the market for a new horn and I've noticed intermediate horns seem to have the same specs, but are typically...

High Notes, or Why you might need a New Horn or...

Nothing can inspire you to practice more than a horn that clearly plays better than what you have been playing. In my case, I...

What horn models do they really play in London?

Many hornists recommend the London Horn Sound CD for their students, it is a classic and full of inspiration for younger hornists. I have...