What is a good professional french horn?

Answer 1

It does depend what you're looking for. Different orchestras play different horns, and different brands of horns feel different to each person. Lawson is precisely made, and are quite rigid in their intonation. Conn is a standard brand (the Conn 8D a standard size), but I think the older ones are better--anything after the mid-1990s, and the quality is quite suspect. Yamaha is a steady brand, it's not fantastic, and it's not awful--it's pretty decent. Schmidt and Alexander are German brands, and being German, are very precise and reliable (though the Lawson is quite consistent as well). Kruspe and Geyer horns are another professional brand. Conn is a big, American sound. The other horns are smaller "wraps" (have smaller bells, etc), so have smaller, brighter sounds. Where are you wanting to play? What level are you at? What feels good to you? All good questions to ask...

Answer 2

Alexander, Berg, Yamaha are the best brands, but that is just my opinion. They are on the more professional side and can cost a good amount. Conn would be a good beginner horn, but Holtons are a great choice for intermediate players and these are significantly lower priced.

Answer 3

Like any mouthpiece or reed size, it depends on what's most comfortable for you to play. If you need to hit high notes most of the time, go with a smaller mouthpiece. If you need to hit lower notes or if your horn is really sharp or to give yourself more room to work with, use a larger mouthpiece.

Personally, I use a Benge 11" mouthpiece on my single King French horn and it works wonderfully. Hope this helped!

Answer 4

Conn, Holton, and Yamaha are often considered the best manufactured brands. Most professionals have hand made horns, made by and individual.

Answer 5

Most of the top players use Karl Hill horns (CSO) or Paxman models, at least from what I've seen.

Answer 6

Conn 8D is a good professional French horn.

Answer 7

I asked my dad who's a band teacher, and he said a Holton.