It's a cool design. The valve loops grow continuously. That's why they're
not tunable, there's no cylindrical section for a tuning slide. The bore at
each valve is bigger than the one before it. We often say the french horn is a
conical instrument, but it really isn't when made in the usual way. The
Couturier horn really is conical the whole way, even through the valve section,
except a short length in the main tuning slide.
Unfortunately, the one in the ad has had the leadpipe replaced with
something that doesn't fit. It's way too long, goes way too low, then bends
back on itself to finally join up with the tuning slide. That ain't right.
There's a sleeve and a patch, suggesting there might be parts of a couple of
leadpipes spliced together. That kind of thing was common back in the 30s and
40s. Parts were not easily available then as they are now, so they tended to
cobble up anything that looked remotely close. Air goes all the way through,
but it plays a half step flat? - perfect! The Couturier leadpipe has a much
slower taper than anything else since he had to make the taper last a lot
longer distance, so no modern or "normal" leadpipe works with it. The lacquer
is also not original since lacquer wasn't an option when this horn was new.
- Steve Mumford
Valerie wrote:
Take a look at this krazy horn. Anyone ever see anything like this
befo=
re? Anyone ever PLAY on one of these? Where to the valve slides end
up=
? Are the valves tunable? =
_______________________________________________
post: horn@music.memphis.edu
unsubscribe or set options at
http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
