Horns now in:
Fisher compensating horns - lock-down projects - £2,250.00
Hawkes Piston horn, with F and Eb crooks from 1920-1925 - £600.00
Labbaye/ Raoux (Halari?) piston horn with F crook - £400.00
Meister Hans Hoyer 'M' compensating double horn - pre 1989, with single seam "hand-hammered" bell. £1,250.00 - Price Drop.
Fisher FD3 full double - F/ Bb full double with piston change valve - £4,550
see below for details
I also have a selection of mouthpieces for sale as follows (prices on application):
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One piece mouthpieces:
Vincent Bach 3 Paxman 3B -Silver plate - Older style Paxman 3B - Silver plate - New style, in box Alex 8FM - Silver - in box |
PHC Components:
PHC 23A cup - Nickel 2 x Paxman 3C cups - Nickel Paxman 4 rim - silver plated Paxman 2X rim - black plastic Paxman 3X rim - black plastic Paxman 3 rim - Nickel Paxman 5 rim - white plastic |
Horns:
Fisher compensating horns - lock-down projects - £2,250.00
Lock-down is a distant memory (thankfully), and these two horns are a reminder of it. They were both built during that time, round good 'used' Alexander 103 bells. One is in yellow brass and the other in gold brass, with a gold brass 'first branch'. They both prove Richard Merewether's contention that a compensating horn with good valves will play as well as a full double - the valves are new, and they play well. All the notes are there, including the fundamental of the long F horn. They are light, and much less tiring over a long playing session than a full double. The gold brass horn has mechanical linkages, as well as a JoyKey alonside a conventional water key. The yellow brass one has string linkages with ball joints on the change valve.
Lock-down is a distant memory (thankfully), and these two horns are a reminder of it. They were both built during that time, round good 'used' Alexander 103 bells. One is in yellow brass and the other in gold brass, with a gold brass 'first branch'. They both prove Richard Merewether's contention that a compensating horn with good valves will play as well as a full double - the valves are new, and they play well. All the notes are there, including the fundamental of the long F horn. They are light, and much less tiring over a long playing session than a full double. The gold brass horn has mechanical linkages, as well as a JoyKey alonside a conventional water key. The yellow brass one has string linkages with ball joints on the change valve.
Hawkes Piston horn with F and Eb crooks, from 1925-30 - £600.00
The final period of Hawkes and Son's production generated instruments of high quality, with reliable playing characteristics. This is one such, and comes with the 'standard equipment' of the day, being one F and one Eb crook. These may not be by Hawkes, but the tenons match the receiver on the corpus, and they work well. The valves are in decent condition, and so is the corpus.
The final period of Hawkes and Son's production generated instruments of high quality, with reliable playing characteristics. This is one such, and comes with the 'standard equipment' of the day, being one F and one Eb crook. These may not be by Hawkes, but the tenons match the receiver on the corpus, and they work well. The valves are in decent condition, and so is the corpus.
Labbaye/ Raoux (Halari?) piston horn with F Crook - £400.00
By the end of the nineteenth century there was perhaps an over supply of hand horns and a scarcity of good piston horns. Over the last year three horns have come up that have the same valve section, possibly by Halari, married to a bell by Raoux. The one for sale here is from the later period of Raoux's production, when the company had been acquired by Labbaye, and the bell is marked as such. It has the distinctive Raoux profile, and plays with its characteristic timbre. The valve section is less easy to identify, other than to be pretty sure it is not by Raoux since it doesn't follow that maker's pattern. There is an illustration on plate VII of Morley Pegge's 'The French Horn', which shows a horn that Pegge identifies as by Halari, and the valve section looks similar. These valves are not in their first youth, obviously, but the horn is playable. If a buyer were interested, a separate valve section, as shown, can be included in the price. To get the horn into playing condition, a number of patches have been applied to the Raoux bell.
By the end of the nineteenth century there was perhaps an over supply of hand horns and a scarcity of good piston horns. Over the last year three horns have come up that have the same valve section, possibly by Halari, married to a bell by Raoux. The one for sale here is from the later period of Raoux's production, when the company had been acquired by Labbaye, and the bell is marked as such. It has the distinctive Raoux profile, and plays with its characteristic timbre. The valve section is less easy to identify, other than to be pretty sure it is not by Raoux since it doesn't follow that maker's pattern. There is an illustration on plate VII of Morley Pegge's 'The French Horn', which shows a horn that Pegge identifies as by Halari, and the valve section looks similar. These valves are not in their first youth, obviously, but the horn is playable. If a buyer were interested, a separate valve section, as shown, can be included in the price. To get the horn into playing condition, a number of patches have been applied to the Raoux bell.
Price Drop: Meister Hans Hoyer 'M' compensating double - little used £1,250.00
This is an excellent example of a high quality compensating horn, at a keen price. It has seen only moderate use, and has no signs of having been damaged and repaired, with excellent valve compression. It was built with a single seamed bell, which is quite light, and gives the horn a nice immediate response. These days, this way of constructing a bell has become known (erroneously) as 'hand hammered' and buyers pay a premium for it. All these factors together make a horn that plays evenly through the registers. The good valve compression means that the F side is not compromised by the compensating design - all the notes are there down to the fundamental harmonic. In the high register, the Bb side supports excellent clear notes above top G. Overall, this will be a good choice for someone looking for a lighter double that plays really well. It comes with a duck's foot fitted, and in the original case, which has a rather lovely blue velvet lining and is in good condition.
This is an excellent example of a high quality compensating horn, at a keen price. It has seen only moderate use, and has no signs of having been damaged and repaired, with excellent valve compression. It was built with a single seamed bell, which is quite light, and gives the horn a nice immediate response. These days, this way of constructing a bell has become known (erroneously) as 'hand hammered' and buyers pay a premium for it. All these factors together make a horn that plays evenly through the registers. The good valve compression means that the F side is not compromised by the compensating design - all the notes are there down to the fundamental harmonic. In the high register, the Bb side supports excellent clear notes above top G. Overall, this will be a good choice for someone looking for a lighter double that plays really well. It comes with a duck's foot fitted, and in the original case, which has a rather lovely blue velvet lining and is in good condition.
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Fisher FD3 full double - £4550.00
This design uses a piston valve as the switch between F and Bb. This idea originates with CFSchmidt in the early C20, and was copied by other makers including Conn, King and latterly Yamaha. Whereas Schmidt put the piston near the player's left hand, with resulting ergonomic challenges, in this design, the piston is in the centre of the corpus, controlled by a mechanism that gives a positive and short stroke to the action. The ports in the piston valve are uniformly cylindrical, and offer no obstruction to the airway. The horn is consequently free blowing and well balanced.
This design uses a piston valve as the switch between F and Bb. This idea originates with CFSchmidt in the early C20, and was copied by other makers including Conn, King and latterly Yamaha. Whereas Schmidt put the piston near the player's left hand, with resulting ergonomic challenges, in this design, the piston is in the centre of the corpus, controlled by a mechanism that gives a positive and short stroke to the action. The ports in the piston valve are uniformly cylindrical, and offer no obstruction to the airway. The horn is consequently free blowing and well balanced.
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Previous sales:
Paxman Model 40 Bb/f descant - £3,25010 - sold
Jiracek 510 natural horn with complete set of crooks - £2,500 - sold
F X Huller single F - £155.00 - sold
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Alexander 103 from 2010s, in excellent condition - £5,500 - sold
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Alexander 1103 - an example from the late 1970s - £3,775.00 - sold
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Alexander 90 with detachable bell and F extension - sold
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Gerhard Schneider model 'M' full double - sold
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Paxman 23T, detachable medium bell - £5,375 - sold
Josef Lidl F/Bb compensating double - £475.00 - sold
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Yamaha 667 F/Bb full double, good condition - £2,375 - sold
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Yamaha 567 F/Bb full double, nearly new - £2,175 - sold
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Meister Hans Hoyer compensating F/Bb double horn - £750 - sold
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Courtois copy natural horn, with crooks, couplers and sauterelle. £poa - sold
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Reynolds 'Pottag' Bb/F full double horn, fully restored - £2,250 - sold
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Fisher FD2 Full double - £3750 - sold
This horn dates from 2007. It has recently been out on trial with with a busy free-lancer in the north west of the UK, who had this to say about it:
"I'm enjoying your horn, is it sort of after an Alexander 200 style with your own twist on it? It certainly plays nicely. Great “true” f side. Very good Bb side that facilitates some things I would normally put on a descant. An example is the “For No One” Beatles/Alan Civil horn solo is impossible for me to play well on my Hoyer but quite slotted and easy on this horn comparatively. It sounds a little darker than my Holton 200 descant. The sound and feel of the horn remind me of playing the Paxman natural horns we had at college. I mean that in a positive way!"
The horn has a single seam bell, which some would designate 'hand hammered', and this gives it a very quick response. The bell also has a very pretty nickel silver garland. It has seen some use but is nonetheless in excellent playing condition.
"I'm enjoying your horn, is it sort of after an Alexander 200 style with your own twist on it? It certainly plays nicely. Great “true” f side. Very good Bb side that facilitates some things I would normally put on a descant. An example is the “For No One” Beatles/Alan Civil horn solo is impossible for me to play well on my Hoyer but quite slotted and easy on this horn comparatively. It sounds a little darker than my Holton 200 descant. The sound and feel of the horn remind me of playing the Paxman natural horns we had at college. I mean that in a positive way!"
The horn has a single seam bell, which some would designate 'hand hammered', and this gives it a very quick response. The bell also has a very pretty nickel silver garland. It has seen some use but is nonetheless in excellent playing condition.
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Yamaha 668N full double - as-new - £3750 - sold
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Josef Lidl compensating double - sold
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Reynolds FE01 ('Chambers' model) £1750 - sold
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Fisher FD3 full double - £4790 - sold
This piston change-valve full double horn is built round a Sandner #83 bell, with a matching lead pipe and first branch. The bell profile gives a warm sonority, a ready response and particularly easy hand stopping.
The thumb lever's double-pivot design gives it a light and positive feel, with a short 'throw' (you don't have to push it down far to change from F to Bb). The piston valve is reversible, so the horn can stand in F or Bb and it makes switching between the two horns very smooth as well as introducing no resistance to the instrument - it is like playing two single horns tied together. This is accentuated in this example because the F side tubing is a larger bore than the Bb, which means it blows very freely. The horn is nicely balanced to hold as the weight is concentrated in the centre.
With feedback from a number of top players over the last year built into this instrument, the design will continue to be refined to maximise the potential in this configuration.
The thumb lever's double-pivot design gives it a light and positive feel, with a short 'throw' (you don't have to push it down far to change from F to Bb). The piston valve is reversible, so the horn can stand in F or Bb and it makes switching between the two horns very smooth as well as introducing no resistance to the instrument - it is like playing two single horns tied together. This is accentuated in this example because the F side tubing is a larger bore than the Bb, which means it blows very freely. The horn is nicely balanced to hold as the weight is concentrated in the centre.
With feedback from a number of top players over the last year built into this instrument, the design will continue to be refined to maximise the potential in this configuration.
John Packer 621 full double - £675 - sold
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King/ Reynolds full double - Sold
Lidl full double - Sold
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Reynolds 'Contempora' full double - Sold
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