Plenty of good horn players get good results playing Holtons. (Ditto not-so-good horn players.) So go with what works best for you & don't be overconcerned with the opinions of others. What works best for them may or may not work best for you.
When selecting a horn to buy, wouldn't it be interesting to do a testing process roughly equivalent to blind auditions? Instead of seeing or being told what kind of horn you're picking up & getting ready to blow, you're semi-blindfolded -- i.e., you can see the music in front of you but not the horn or anything else below the sight-line of the music stand. An assistant inserts the mouthpiece & hands the horn to you in playing position. You have no visual cues to suggest whether you're playing a top-line custom Yamaha or an el-cheapo Brand-X. You form your impressions solely on how the horn feels, how it sounds, & how it responds.
In short, do you suppose there is a placebo effect associated with the top-name horns, when you know that's what you're playing?
Now, if you can get just get your horn teacher to help you make your selection, you could be miles ahead in the whole process. Your horn teacher's opinion is the 1 that should influence you most.
-- Alan Cole, rank amateur
McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 06:55 AM 3/30/2004 -0800, you wrote:Good morning, all! I must admit, I've been reading this 'defects" thread with great interest. I'm coming back to horn playing in my thirties after ten years away, and I've been "horn shopping" for a little while, now. I visited the Brasswind and Woodwind store in Indiana this weekend, and played quite a few. I played a Hans Hoyer Heritage, a Yamaha 667, a Yamaha 668, a Conn 8D, a Holton 378, a Holton 180, and a Holton 178. After doing a lot of comparing and contrasting, I liked the Holton 178 best. It just seemed to have the best sound and tone of the ones that I played. I actually thought that I was going to like the large throat horns more than the medium throat, but it turned out to be the opposite. Admittedly, I'm probably not the best judge, since I've been away so long. But, after reading all of the concerns about mass-produced horns, I'm a little concerned about my choice. Should Holtons be avoided as an adult player? (I should add that I'm not looking for a professional-level career in horn, I'm probably going to be more of a hobbyist, or a community orchestra type player.) If I *shouldn't* buy a Holton, does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks!
Elizabeth
__________________________________
_______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
