The Dürk D3 Baborák, is it just an Alexander copy?

Hey everyone! We just got a Dürk D3 Baborak horn in the shop, and we’re taking it to the International Horn Symposium in Fort Collins next week. I wanted to chat about it with you all. Spoiler alert: It’s amazing! But is it just a copy of the legendary Alexander 103? Join me, Dr. Derek J. Wright, for today’s livestream where we’ll dive into this horn.

[@Hornsemble]

I started using the standard D3 (spun bell, non-hand hammered) a couple of years ago having used an Alex 103 prior. In terms of sound, i felt the D3 is less ‘dense’ than the 103 and has a beautiful, uniform warm tone throughout the dynamic range. For the 103, I’d describe the sound as having a dense dark core (dark orange if i were to associate a color) but develops into a brilliant (bright yellow) sound at forte.
A general opinion from me and my friends who have compared the two horns felt the D3 would be exceptional in chamber settings, but would prefer the 103 in orchestra settings when they need the horn to cut through.
The D3 has excellent build quality and it’s great that the leadpipe, mouthpiece receiver and even thumb lever can be adjusted to tailor to each horn player’s playing style and grip. I also like that the D3 has a seamless bell branch (the 103 bell branch has a seam midway)
Looking forward to your video comparison between the 2 horns if you do get to film it.

[@juliusz1486]

Wow! You were a student of Kazimierz Machala? Great! Kaz gave great masterclasses for my horn class in Wroclaw, Poland last year. What a great musician he is!

[@yeetteey2393]

I plat sax and I still want one