In a message dated 9/28/2003 4:52:40 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> When you compare your custom horn to the student model, were the individual > > parts hand made or reworked from the assembly line? I'm pretty much > guessing > at how the horns are actually made, but hydroforming and furnace soldering > are > services I've used in the course of my work. It would really be interesting > > to spec out a French horn as a bunch of tubing parts to be made and furnace > soldered. If someone has put a French horn into AutoCAD, we might have all > the > files we need to bid it out. > Hm, I just don't know about this. I've seen factory hydroforming and furnace soldering applied to instruments. Conn/King/Benge uses these techniques in their Eastlake factory. They can make incredibly precise parts in Eastlake. Absolutely beautiful, precise parts. Are their instruments any good? Some. Sort of. I've seen hand made horns by real craftsmen: E. Schmids, Ricco Kuehns, Walter Lawsons, etc.. (no offense to other hand crafted horns or their makers, just don't feel like listing everyone). These horns are always superior to the factory made horns. It takes more than expertise in autocad to make a great horn. Hydroforming tends to stretch and stress the metal too much. Yamaha trumpets that use hydroformed tubes all seem to have problems, in my experience. Furnace solder on jigs produces beautiful solder joints, but often results in a horn that is over-stressed at the joints. Maybe one could engineer defects out of these automated processes and produce a horn that plays like a custom horn for the price of a factory line horn. I don't see it happening soon. And finally, the very last word: what counts to most top quality musicians I know is the sound. Doesn't matter how well made a horn is, if doesn't deliver the sound they are looking for then they won't want it. Look at all the great makers of horns - they are all trying to make a horn that has a certain sound quality. That's where they start. Dave Weiner Brass Arts Unlimited Baltimore, MD _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
