It's been my impression that the more years you go back, the higher the
switch point was thought to be. I've wondered if, when the double horn first
came into use, if it wasn't thought of something like the descant horn is
today. Primarily a horn in F but with the Bb horn available for particularly
touchy notes. If you play on some of the early Kruspe and Alexander doubles,
you
find that the thumb lever is not really ergonomically designed for facile use
and a lot of people still find the Schmidt design a little difficult to
operate. Maybe it didn't have to be too easy? I'm not sure how early, but
Schmidts
(Kings too) came with an alternate piston that would make the horn stand in Bb
so it's clear that at least some people preferred playing primarily the Bb
side back in the day.
Of course with the descant horn, there are now quite a few players who
use the high F side primarily, even in the mid range, and use the Bb side only
for certain low notes. Times have changed by at least one octave!
- Steve Mumford
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