It’s such a nice, beefy sound yet doesn’t come across as heavy and lethargic. The upper register did lack brilliance but maybe that is just due to age. I’d love to hear this after a rebuild. One can dream.
I have heard very good things about the Reynolds horns. In general, anything with the Contempora branding on it is a lot of fun to play. One of my favorite baritone horns is a front-bell Contempora. Big, husky sound that still retains some “edge.”
I get frequent requests for this, so I doubt I can avoid making the video for much longer. I’d just be showing and telling, not playing, otherwise we’d be here all day.
Great video! I’m a horn player entering 9th grade and I am playing on a holton h179 as my practice horn. It’s cool knowing where the design came from for my horn. Thank you!
Thanks for watching, Cameron! The H179 is a great horn, in fact, probably the number-one bestseller out of all upper level horns. I reviewed it a while back. Unfortunately the particular one I reviewed was not the best one I’ve played, but even so, you really can’t go wrong with one.
What horn do you usually use? I’m curious because my high school gave me the H179 for home use and a Conn 10D for school use. I’ve noticed that there are a few differences between the two but the play pretty similarly. I’m also curious if you have an opinion on Geyer Vs. Kruspe horns.
@@Cameronleece I play a Conn 8D, a very standard Kruspe wrap. It’s basically my “one true love” out of the many F horns I’ve tried. Geyers are becoming much more common in America for section playing in wind ensembles and orchestras. They project well and tend to have a direct, ringing sound compared to the deeper and richer sound of most Kruspe wraps. When I play on Geyer wraps, I have a hard time finding the proper hand position because their bell throats are oftentimes smaller, I don’t like the sound from my perspective because of the smaller bell and they don’t respond as well to putting a mic next to the bell, and it feels as though I can’t play low notes as well as on my 8D. I haven’t gotten to play a 10D, so I don’t know how it stacks up to the Geyers I have played, but in general, I have a lot of my own reasons for being loyal to Kruspe wrap horns and more specifically my 8D. I definitely don’t prioritize the same things as a professional horn player, most of whom nowadays probably strongly prefer Geyers.
May I tell you that a horn built in 1969 is hardly a relic. The last of the Elkhardt 8Ds were built about that time. I was learning horn then and only retired a couple of years ago. That having been said, the Kruspe is indeed still in production although current ones have a different sound than the classics. I don't know what a 1969 one was like but with the recovery after WWII and the realities of the Cold War, I might have been a bit different than the real classics, the pre-war ones on which the 8D and other horns were modeled. I do think new ones were hard to come by in the 50s & 60s. I was in a lesson with my teacher once when a friend of his popped in carrying a 1903 model Horner model Kruspe. I listened to the two of them play it for several minutes and it was inspiring. BTW the one you have is the Horner model - named after Anton Horner who helped Kruspe design it. He was the long-time principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra and horn professor at the Curtis Institute who taught many of the mid-century legends of the horn. He was also in the Sousa band and had himself been a student of Gumpert. There was also a well-respected compensating double made by Kruspe. The two Kruspe models were among the very first double horns. I hope you find this interesting. I envy you getting to play that horn. The history of Kruspe - and Horner - is a fascinating one.
Thank you for the information and insight, Richard. Unfortunately, this one is a “relic” solely by virtue of the fact that it barely plays. The valve compression was all but shot and even my Abilene 8D that isn’t so airtight itself plays leaps and bounds better than this horn. It would really need a full valve rebuild were it to be anything besides a piece of history.
Thank you for your comment, Mike! I’m unsure how I feel about triple horns. Never played one-the closest thing was me spending two minutes playing a Bb/high F descant. Me personally, I’d want an F/Bb/Eb triple rather than F/Bb/high-F. More options for alternate fingerings. However, I feel like most triples don’t have the same depth of tone as a nice Kruspe-wrap double, and I don’t like that they generally stand in Bb as someone who plays a lot of F-side notes.
That’s a really interesting point, actually. I didn’t personally notice a difference pressure-wise, but I definitely see how it could be the case if I were to take this to a taxing rehearsal or gig!
It's too bad Kruspe does no longer exist. 1834-2011. Its legacy still lives on though, the brand has been acquired by Curia, a small manufacturer in bavaria.
Heads up y’all-this weekend we’ve got another video going live showcasing a rare old mouthpiece that the owner of this horn used, so stay tuned!
Real piece of art.
It’s such a nice, beefy sound yet doesn’t come across as heavy and lethargic. The upper register did lack brilliance but maybe that is just due to age. I’d love to hear this after a rebuild. One can dream.
The Reynolds Contempora is a literal clone of the original Kruspe.
I have heard very good things about the Reynolds horns. In general, anything with the Contempora branding on it is a lot of fun to play. One of my favorite baritone horns is a front-bell Contempora. Big, husky sound that still retains some “edge.”
Samuel, Will you do a video where you show snd play all your personally owned instruments?
I get frequent requests for this, so I doubt I can avoid making the video for much longer. I’d just be showing and telling, not playing, otherwise we’d be here all day.
Great video! I’m a horn player entering 9th grade and I am playing on a holton h179 as my practice horn. It’s cool knowing where the design came from for my horn. Thank you!
Thanks for watching, Cameron! The H179 is a great horn, in fact, probably the number-one bestseller out of all upper level horns. I reviewed it a while back. Unfortunately the particular one I reviewed was not the best one I’ve played, but even so, you really can’t go wrong with one.
What horn do you usually use? I’m curious because my high school gave me the H179 for home use and a Conn 10D for school use. I’ve noticed that there are a few differences between the two but the play pretty similarly. I’m also curious if you have an opinion on Geyer Vs. Kruspe horns.
@@Cameronleece I play a Conn 8D, a very standard Kruspe wrap. It’s basically my “one true love” out of the many F horns I’ve tried. Geyers are becoming much more common in America for section playing in wind ensembles and orchestras. They project well and tend to have a direct, ringing sound compared to the deeper and richer sound of most Kruspe wraps. When I play on Geyer wraps, I have a hard time finding the proper hand position because their bell throats are oftentimes smaller, I don’t like the sound from my perspective because of the smaller bell and they don’t respond as well to putting a mic next to the bell, and it feels as though I can’t play low notes as well as on my 8D. I haven’t gotten to play a 10D, so I don’t know how it stacks up to the Geyers I have played, but in general, I have a lot of my own reasons for being loyal to Kruspe wrap horns and more specifically my 8D. I definitely don’t prioritize the same things as a professional horn player, most of whom nowadays probably strongly prefer Geyers.
May I tell you that a horn built in 1969 is hardly a relic. The last of the Elkhardt 8Ds were built about that time. I was learning horn then and only retired a couple of years ago. That having been said, the Kruspe is indeed still in production although current ones have a different sound than the classics. I don't know what a 1969 one was like but with the recovery after WWII and the realities of the Cold War, I might have been a bit different than the real classics, the pre-war ones on which the 8D and other horns were modeled. I do think new ones were hard to come by in the 50s & 60s.
I was in a lesson with my teacher once when a friend of his popped in carrying a 1903 model Horner model Kruspe. I listened to the two of them play it for several minutes and it was inspiring. BTW the one you have is the Horner model - named after Anton Horner who helped Kruspe design it. He was the long-time principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra and horn professor at the Curtis Institute who taught many of the mid-century legends of the horn. He was also in the Sousa band and had himself been a student of Gumpert. There was also a well-respected compensating double made by Kruspe. The two Kruspe models were among the very first double horns.
I hope you find this interesting. I envy you getting to play that horn. The history of Kruspe - and Horner - is a fascinating one.
Thank you for the information and insight, Richard. Unfortunately, this one is a “relic” solely by virtue of the fact that it barely plays. The valve compression was all but shot and even my Abilene 8D that isn’t so airtight itself plays leaps and bounds better than this horn. It would really need a full valve rebuild were it to be anything besides a piece of history.
Very cool, and a piece of brass history, sounds great in the basement once you find that sweet spot, any thoughts on a triple?
Thank you for your comment, Mike! I’m unsure how I feel about triple horns. Never played one-the closest thing was me spending two minutes playing a Bb/high F descant. Me personally, I’d want an F/Bb/Eb triple rather than F/Bb/high-F. More options for alternate fingerings. However, I feel like most triples don’t have the same depth of tone as a nice Kruspe-wrap double, and I don’t like that they generally stand in Bb as someone who plays a lot of F-side notes.
Great video Samuel!👍👍
Thanks Peter!
You're so welcome!
I find the duck foot a cool feature, but I’d likely be tempted to add to much pressure to my face when trying to hit those high double Cs and Ds!
That’s a really interesting point, actually. I didn’t personally notice a difference pressure-wise, but I definitely see how it could be the case if I were to take this to a taxing rehearsal or gig!
Did you get to repair Vern s instrument?
It's too bad Kruspe does no longer exist. 1834-2011. Its legacy still lives on though, the brand has been acquired by Curia, a small manufacturer in bavaria.