I recently bought a very worn out pre-letter series Conn 8d on the cheap and invested in a valve job and a few minor adjustments. It is my first Conn. I now understand why they are so well-liked. It is light, responsive, and even up and down.
KevinF had mentioned 'thick dead bells' as part of his litany against low-end Atkinsons. I am beginning to believe that bell thickness is one of the most important contributors to the horn’s sound. There is a fixed amount of energy once the note is blown. (Law of conservation of energy) One might point to breath support and steady air stream as factors, which is fine to include if you wish. Point is that at a given moment there is just so much vibratory energy passing through the instrument. Once the buzz leaves the lips, it is entirely up to the horn and the right hand what kind of sound comes out.
A while back I asked for opinions about Z cups. (Thank-you to the two kind members who responded) Since I could not reason why the annealing process would make a difference, the best route was to rely on the word of others that the Z's simply are better, even if I don't know why. I went ahead and bought one, and I concur that they definitely speak easier at low volumes and that notes are more slotted.
Since there is a fixed amount of sound energy available in a note, how do we want to distribute that energy? I think the reason the Z cup does its thing is because less of the sound energy in the air column is wasted on the metal of the mouthpiece itself, therefore more travels down the horn to places better equipped to use the energy for making sound. Essentially, the mouthpiece is shaping the sound more by its dimensional configuration and less by how it vibrates on its own. I think this may be why the Z speaks so easily at low volumes...more of the pianissimo 'buzz' makes it to the bell rather than being wasted by vibrating the metal of the mouthpiece.
Once the sound makes it to the bell, I think we
do want to energize the metal of the bell so that it can add its finishing touches to the sound. It stands to reason that the thinner the bell, the easier it is to transfer the sound energy to the metal of the bell. Phil Myers commented about Schmid horns that they send the sound everywhere rather than just out the end of the bell. I think it is because of the thinner metal in the flares. Playing off the knee helps immensely with that phenomenon. Making that change (under the advice of an acquaintance) was the most dramatic and immediate improvement in my playing by far. (According to my wife, the biggest immediate improvement comes when I put the horn back in the case.
) I am amazed at how many Americans still deaden their sound placing the bell on the leg.
Is there any good new horn on the market between the $3400 Conn/Holton and the $7500 Paxman? That is a huge gap, perhaps a wide-open market opportunity for a quality Western horn smith? BTW, it was Mr. Atkinson who suggested to me that I say ‘horn smith’ instead of ‘horn maker.’