Medlin Horns

Back from the symposium after a great week of concerts and exhibiting!

First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by and played the new horn, and a special thanks to those who told a friend. I had lots of people tell me that someone had sent them over to try it out. The response was overwhelmingly positive!

So now what? HELP SPREAD THE WORD!! If you were impressed with the horn, share that with me and help me build some material for the website. Send glowing reports to jamedlin AT gmail.com and let me know what you thought!

I will post some pictures in a couple of days.

Back to work for me!!!

Found this article on cnn.com about a guy who makes custom clothes with essentially the same business model as most of the custom horn makers. His arguments for this approach over the large manufacturers is also basically the same.

Feel great and look your best with a slimming, fashionable Medlin horn!

I’ve recently added two new options to increase the customizability of my horns.

1) Adjustable tuning slides- When I build tuning slides, I can intentionally make them a little long. They look like they are pulled out about 3/4″ but there is no gap in the bottom of the slide (post coming on “horn bulge”), giving the maximum consistency of airflow throughout the bore. If you need to make the horn sharper, just cut 1/4″ off of the slide! With this extra step, you have absolute control over the pitch of the instrument without having to deal with large bore inconsistancies.

2) Unlimited brace styles- Since I handcraft every brace on the horn, from the tuning slide braces to the bell braces, I am able to offer braces in any style. I will be including a set of pics on the order form with the most common braces, but I am open to your own designs as well. You could have a horn with ultra- modern utilitarian bracing, or traditionally beautiful German bracing. The choice is yours!

Two more steps towards a truly custom horn!

Okay, I’ve been talking about this Bb ascending horn for a while and now I should probably prove that it does indeed exist. Here it is in its current condition,

This has had to be a side project because I am readying a new double horn to sell at the IHS workshop. It still needs its descending tuning slide and an F extension. As you can see, the sideways tuning slide allows for the full length mouthpipe and the descending tuning slide will go from the mouthpipe to the topmost outer slide. I hope to have it done in the next few weeks!

Easy answer, they are way cool and work extremely well!

I’ve heard ascending Bb horns called the “poor man’s descant” but the fact of the matter is, if you look at what each horn does well, single Bb horns with ascending valves are lighter than descants and can play things like Beethoven and Mozart with a lightness and depth of sound that just isn’t readily available on the high f side. Of course, you can’t beat a descant when it comes to Bach Cantatas!

Basically, an ascending valve is one that remains open during normal horn operation, adding its length of tubing to the overall length of the Bb horn. When the valve is turned, it shuts off air flow to that section of tubing, shortening the horn and effectively raising the pitch one whole step. Here is a diagram of the air flow in my 4 valve Bb that I made with some incredible Adobe skills…

Short list of benefits of a Bb ascending horn

• Easy high range. The addition of the ascending valve (taking the horn to C alto) allows you to play high Ab, A, Bb, and B on a shorter horn than is possible on a standard double. Using shorter horns gives a more stable and quicker responding note making it feel effortless.
• More in tune. From about A below middle C, no note is played farther away than one whole step from an open partial on the Bb horn. This means a more even sound and better tuning because you aren’t using many 12 or 23 fingerings.
• Full length leadpipe. With most descants, the high f side must have a very short leadpipe giving a sound that is more bugle than horn like. My single Bb horn gives all the lightness and ease of the descant but has the full 20 inch leadpipe. This ensures that the acoustics are sound and that not only does the high range feel good, it sounds good and is in tune.
• Much cheaper than a descant. Alex descant: $8800. Schmid descant: $9000 Lawson USED descant (from HP.net): $11000. Medlin single Bb with ascending 4th valve (interchangeable with low f and stopping valves of course): $5000. 

I had these at the Southeast Horn Workshop and will now offer them for sale on my website. These pipes simulate your leadpipe, minus the rest of the horn (just the pipe!) to give your chops the resistance that they need to form a correct embouchure.

As many teachers will tell you, free buzzing or buzzing on the mouthpiece alone does not give you the same embouchure as playing on the horn (one teacher I read said only about 60% the same). To get a similar experience to the horn, you need to add a bit of resistance which is why many teachers suggest a BERP. My just-a-pipe uses acoustic reflections to provide resistance instead of simple air resistance like the BERP’s use. Reflection is what occurs inside the  horn so my pipe gives you the correct amount of resistance, but also the same type!

Visit the Just-A-Pipe! page to order!

pictured left to right: Ion Balu, Catherine Roche-Wallace, Dave Weiner, Stuart deHaro, my lovely wife Jen, and me! (at Central BBQ)

Well, not many people attended and I caught a stomach bug from Ion Balu, but! I had the best ribs I’ve ever had at Central BBQ in Memphis. Holy cow… It was a great weekend though, Dan Phillips and his guys did a wonderful job hosting and I got to meet some new friends! Thanks for the pic Catherine!

I should get some uninterrupted time to work now, until IHS in Macomb, IL.

       Just recently it was my privilege to play Jacob’s new double horn. I have already enjoyed playing his natural horn and am excited about this horn!

       For years I have been looking for a horn that could come close to how the old Geyers felt. In addition to its gorgeous sound, two main features that stand out in Jacob’s horn are how the sound continues to ring through the slurs and how the sound blossoms beautifully from mf-f-ff. And, the high range just floats out effortlessly and in tune!

       As a professional, I have played a number of modern Geyer-type horns. Few if any can compete with the rewarding experience of playing Jacob’s new horn. Its quick response and clear note grooves allow me to go for so much more finesse and nuance.

       As a teacher, I am also excited that I can finally have a high-quality American handmade horn available to my more serious students to help them make the transition into a professional career. This horn’s sound and agility is what they need to win a national audition.

       This is a horn that I will play for the sheer joy of it. Keep up the great work Jacob!

Andrew McAfee

Principal Horn, North Carolina Symphony (1992-2007)
Horn Instructor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Music Director/Conductor, Triangle Youth Ballet
Carolina Wind Quintet

The Southeast Horn workshop was great! Thanks to everyone who played the horn and chatted with me. The response was overwhelmingly positive, the horn was very well received.

The Mid-South Horn Workshop in Memphis is next for me, I am going to update a few features on the prototype and present it again in two weeks. Also, I plan to sample Tennessee barbecue and have a nice vacation. Please email me if you consider yourself a snob when it comes to BBQ and suggest a place to eat! Hope to see you there!

I now have the first professional endorser of my horns! Andrew McAfee, the recently retired principal horn of the North Carolina Symphony has some wonderful things to say about the horn, which I’ll post later. If you are interested in hearing from him, email him! amcafeerr AT nc.rr.com

Good news first, I met Boba Fett yesterday

Bad news, the reason that I met Boba Fett was that I spent the day at the Mall of America in Minneapolis. I’ve been playing a last minute gig with the Lrya Baroque this week which means I won’t have enough time to finish the B flat for the SE Workshop next week.   Did I mention that the area is having the worst snow storm of the season?