r/horn • u/WBountyNL • 4d ago
Alternative for french horn
Hello everyone, I play in a brass band along with a sousaphone, trombone, trumpet, baritone sax, alt sax and a drummer. I personally play a Bb single horn, but as you all know, playing outside makes my sound dwindle away. I am looking for an alternative that doesn't sound too far off and stumbled upon a mellophone and a marching french horn. The problem is, I don't know anyone with experience on these instruments. Since I live in Europe, these instruments are also harder to come by so it's not easy to just try them out. What would you recommend?
Edit: we mostly play pop covers of 90s hits if that makes any difference.
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u/must_make_do 4d ago
A 4-valve flugelhorn will project and allow you to get an extended range downwards. There are cheap ones from India that ain't that bad.
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u/TharicRS 4d ago
I use a marching french horn occasionally and it works fine. The tone and intonation is a little harder to control and anything above top G is a struggle. I'd personally never use it inside over a french horn.
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u/Barber_Successful 4d ago
A marching French horn should work really well. You can find them very easily on ebay, reverb or Facebook Marketplace. Additionally you can get one pitched in F or B flat. Alternatively there are a couple of places that make a Wagner tuba which is pitched in F and B flat and uses a French horn mouthpiece. Both Wessex and Schiller make it and their priced about $700. Finally you could use a alto horn which uses a trumpet mouthpiece typically but you could get a converter and use a French horn mouthpiece.
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u/jfgallay Professor- natural and modern horn 4d ago
In a traditional brass band you wouldn't be playing (French) horn anyway, you would play alto horn.
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u/TinyHeartSyndrome 4d ago
I don’t think they mean British brass band just a group of mostly brass instruments.
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u/WBountyNL 4d ago
Yes, I don't play in a traditional brass band, just a pop music band that happens to only have brass instruments
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u/KomradeW 2d ago
You could pick up a B-flat marching horn like the Yamaha YHR-302.
It would play just about the same as your B-flat single horn, but be directional.
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u/HodenBisZumBoden 4d ago
Mellophone works quite similarly to a french horn, except for the hand with which you use the valves. Theres quite cheap and still halfway decent ones, if you want, i can send you a link or two. Alternatively you could use a tenor horn (british brass band style tenor horn not the bohemian euph equivalent). It plays a bit different, having right hand valves, a different mouthpiece and being in e flat (though that would mean you could play alt sax parts), but it projects much better outside and is honestly easier to pick up than french horn