SubCategory Archive (tags): ‘Repairs and Modifications’

A Strap-on Fhrap (TM) for Your Horn

PUBLISHED: May 6, 2009, John Ericson

For some years I have used a version of a strap or flipper or duck’s foot on my horn. While the other straps I have used have had a button that soldered onto the horn to hold it in place, there is a version that just straps on the horn with Velcro. I finally purchased [...]

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Equipment

Sub-categories:
Beginners, Repairs and Modifications

Heavy Metal Devices

PUBLISHED: April 23, 2009, Bruce Hembd

Is heavier better, or is it a gimmick? Over the years I have experimented with a variety of equipment, including instruments, mouthpieces, leadpipes and bells. One facet in this experimentation has been with equipment and parts that are intentionally made “heavier” — either with extra metal, with alloys, or with manufacturing methods to make the [...]

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Sub-categories:
Repairs and Modifications

Get a Grip for Better Comfort

PUBLISHED: October 30, 2008, Bruce Hembd

UPDATE: 5/21/2010. Apologies for the missing images. They will get fixed soon. With the beginning and intermediate French horn students I teach, about 8 out of 10 of them have a very hard time just holding the instrument. For some, it is a real struggle. Well, let’s face it – the horn is awkward to [...]

Sub-categories:
Beginners, Hand position & holding, Repairs and Modifications

Cutting Slides

PUBLISHED: July 28, 2007, John Ericson

Sometimes you will need to cut or lengthen slides on brass instruments. I have seen this on a number of instruments over the years. Recently I purchased a classic Conn 16E Mellophonium for some jazz experiments. I went ahead and “did the deed” this morning, and cut three slides. This was exactly what the instrument needed; the [...]

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Conn, Repairs and Modifications, Verne Reynolds

A Tale of Two Middle Brass Mouthpieces

PUBLISHED: July 7, 2007, John Ericson

During my Doctoral studies at Indiana University I had two minor fields in my degree program, one being music history and the second being a special minor in brass instrument design and construction. One project for the special minor was making a natural horn from an old Couesnon mellophone bell with the help of Richard [...]

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Sub-categories:
Manufacturers, Philip Farkas, Repairs and Modifications, Schilke, Tenor horn

Is a Heavy Mouthpiece Better?

PUBLISHED: July 4, 2007, John Ericson

A blog reader, a high school student, wrote in after reading the recent mellophone mouthpiece series asking about heavy mouthpieces. Are they better? The question was in reference to the IYM heavy mouthpieces, available for a number of brass instruments including horn and mellophone. I have experimented with weight a good bit. First the obvious; [...]

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Sub-categories:
Laskey horn mouthpieces, Repairs and Modifications

The Black Art of Mouthpiece Making

PUBLISHED: April 23, 2007, John Ericson

I am now the proud owner of three Laskey 80G mouthpieces. I am very impressed with the quality control exhibited by Laskey in their production. Even with my dial calipers I can’t detect any significant variation between the three. Most of the time if you compare two or three mouthpieces by the same maker this [...]

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Sub-categories:
Laskey horn mouthpieces, Repairs and Modifications, Schilke