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I've certainly made plain my pro-serpent and pro- ophicleide stance on this forum. Now, I'll have another leg to stand on....

I've been making serpent mouthpieces for a year now, and I'm done "ruining wood" for the most part, but I have not had the benefit of knowing the instrument I was working with directly. Now, I've taken my first steps into that world.

Yesterday, I had my first opportunity to examine, measure and study some important Bass Horns (an upright, metal variant of the serpent, for those unfamiliar with it. Following this golden opportunity, I was given my first blow on a serpent, and I have acquired my own Harding Serpent. The picture below shows me with an historic English military style serpent... And here was my smorgasbord of Bass Horns. Too much fun for one day; now, time to learn to play this beast!

J.c.S.

J.c., what are those bells from?

Bob (and others),

Those are historic instruments made around 1820, imported (most likely) at around that time to the Moravian community in easter Pennsylvania. All three are unsigned, and - while not all complete - in very good shape! So those aren't reproductions of anything, nor would those mandrels have been usable for any other instrument; nothing like them made ever again.

In trying to make a replica of the matched pair, I'm going to have to create tooling to fabricate much of it.

J.c.S.

First look at my new Harding : )
Bwah hahahahahah!