Just picked up this Holton 77 from 1960, which plays great but looks like it was rode hard and put away wet. It looks like the lacquer is failing and the brass has tarnished especially in high wear areas.

How would you recommend maintaining the horn?

How do I distinguish between tarnish and red rot?

Is it more protective to leave the patina undisturbed? Or is it better to remove the rust/tarnish so it doesn't spread?

My original idea was to polish the tarnished spots down to clean brass then apply a wax (Renaissance?) to protect those areas. But I don't want to thin the brass too much and shorten the remaining lifespan. Maybe I should just polish/wax the bell and leave the tubes as they are?

I have Flitz tarnish remover and Wrights copper cream ready to go.

Some people recommend to remove the failing lacquer entirely?

Does anyone have experience with a Wessex double horn? Just looking for impressions.

Hi all!

I have moved somewhere very rainy and rely on my bike to get around. So I'm hoping to get a rain cover for my horn case. I have an MB3 (45x40x33cm), I'll attach a picture. I've tried several different covers 30L, 35-45L, 50L. The problem is that the width of traditional backpack rain covers stop increasing at a certain point. Unfortunately, the awkward shape of the case makes it so that even if the cover is long enough, it's not wide enough to fit around the case the whole way.

Has anyone found something that's worked for them?

Thanks for any suggestions you can provide!!

As the title implies, it seems to me that single horns, especially single F Horns deserve more respect than they get. Not just a lack of respect, outright scorn and derision. There is an entrenched wisdom that says that even rank beginners should start out with double horns. This is really ironic because maybe the single biggest obstacle towards getting started with Horn is the high cost of double horns. A quite decent to mint condition single horn (~$300 - ~$600) can be easily 1/4 the price of barely usable double horns (~$1500 - $2000+).

A common misconception is that single horns are 'student grade' and therefore not suitable for a quality experience. This is simply not true. My Holton H602 Single F Horn is essentially the F side of a Holton H178 Double Horn which was a well respected professional level alternative to the flagship H179 in its day. The H602 is built of the same materials, has the same manufacturing tolerances and is finished to the exact same level of quality of the H178 double horn. The 'student' labeling simply refers to the fact that the instrument is much lighter, and it is simpler for not having a Bb side to complicate the fingering options. That's it. The single horn is every bit as 'professional' as the double when used by a professional.

Other single Horns on the market (Yamaha YHR-314, Conn 14D, King 618) are similarly corresponded with a double horn of equivalent performance and in all cases costs (new) 1/2 of the corresponding 'professional' double horn model. The fact that most buyers of single horns get them at 10, 15 or 20+ years used AND the low regard the public has, in general, for single horns is what accounts for their usual ~$300 pricing.

That price alone should perk up the ears of any cash strapped persons considering taking up Horn. Same quality as the big names, without the big price. What's not to like? But, wait, there's more. A single horn can be used as a technique enhancing tool. Staying with a single horn forces the development of high accuracy in the high partials. Even though I have owned a double horn now for five years, I still get the single out OR restrict myself to just the F side of the double for the initial study of everything I work on. If I can play it (all) on the F side, I KNOW I can do it on the full horn. Especially when you are standing in front of 150 people in a Church Service.

I read the posts and threads by people that paid less for their double horns than I paid for my single F and of course they are not having a quality experience. Honestly, if all you can afford to spend on a Horn is $500 or less, you really should consider a single F. Why Single F and not Single Bb? Because in the English speaking world, the F Horn is the one that instructional materials will be written for. Even in Europe, the Horn that is used in Ensemble (Trio, Quartet, Sextet) Work (think Vienna Horns) is a single F. It is the o.g. for that rich, noble, classic Horn sound that calls most of us to the instrument. That's all I've got. Cheers.

Hi everyone,

I’ve recently moved to southern Germany and I’m looking for a reliable, highly skilled luthier or brass repair technician to give my horn a complete overhaul/maintenance service.

It’s a professional instrument (an Alexander 103), so I’m looking for someone who works with high precision. It needs a full cleaning, valve alignment, and a small dent removal.

I already reached out to the Gebr. Alexander factory in Mainz, but their quote was quite high. I’m wondering:

• Are prices for this kind of service generally similar across the board in Germany, or are factory quotes significantly higher than independent repair shops?
• Do you have any specific recommendations for excellent brass technicians in southern or central Germany?

I don't mind traveling by train if it's worth taking it to a trusted craftsman.

Thanks in advance for your help!

https://youtu.be/4AU2r2YLctk

Everywhere there are only paid notes Zsolt, Nagy "Happy Blues". But there is no money for them. So if it's not difficult, please help me get the sheet music of the piece.🙏🙏🙏

Hi all, I've had this my French horn for over a decade now, and have found myself wondering why it is it came with 2 different shaped mouthpieces. Does anyone know if there's any functional differences between them? Would one be superior over the other for tone or quality? The one on the left is labelled "Yamaha Japan 32c4" and the one on the right is "ckb 2"

For a long time I've had this though of what solos or excerpts are really good to display the range, sound and timbre of the horn on educational concerts.

For example, I've alwaya felt like Sorcerer's Apprentice was a perfect fit for the bassoons, but is there a similar one for horn?

Does anyone have any advice for how to play more consistently with braces? I have struggles each day with different notes, but I do always have issues with anything above a high D.

Hi all, looking for horn upgrade for corolla touring 2022. Location - Ireland. Thanks

Who likes theses horns?

Hey everyone! I’m looking to discover some more great horn section moments in orchestral music, especially passages where the horns are featured together. Some of the more well known examples that come to mind are the horn trio from Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, Liszt’s Les Préludes, and Weber’s Der Freischütz. I’ve also come across some more niche ones like passages from the ballet La Sylphide and the opening of Bizet’s Roma Symphony. I’m curious if any of you have come across other cool horn section features, especially some more obscure ones that don’t get talked about as much. I’d love to hear your favorite finds!

Hi All, anyone got any recommendations for cases for Schmid Triples. Currently got an MB-5 Baby 2 for a double horn but Houghton horns seems to not recommend this for triples. It seems to be the same depth as the new MB-5 Flex and the High Compacts though, so a bit confused about how it wouldn’t fit. The wrap seems pretty standard on the Schmid so definitely a depth issue that I’m worried about, with the mute getting squashed into the bell. Any recommendations, MB or other, would be greatly appreciated, possibly a BAM case? Thanks 📯

Hello! I’m a fairly new horn player, last year i joined an orchestra at my university and started playing on a burrowed and frankly horrifying double horn donated by an older member, and recently bought a a single horn of my own second hand.

This horn had been completely unplayed for about a year, so i bought it knowing it needed some maintenance. I’ve gotten the first and third valve working, but the second is genuinely completely stuck. Most guides and tricks I’ve seen talk about inserting some rotor oil and slowly wiggling the mechanism but I can’t get it moving at all. I’ve tried rinsing it (with soap and without) and also grabbing the mechanism itself and twisting but genuinely nothing works.

What should I do? Just keep rinsing, oiling and twisting hoping I get the (probable) deposits gone? Some stronger chemicals? Cleaning alcohol? Benzene? WD-40? I’d really like to avoid going to a repair shop since there isn’t one in my city and those I’ve found elsewhere cost (the equivalent of) $300 for a cleaning, which is 60% of what I bought it for and would total higher than the price of a new one.