Seattle CL: 1913 Conn Eb Alto Horn

[royjohn]

I have a 1913 top action York Eb alto horn that is a joy to play. Easy slotting, great tone, wide range on these, easy high register. I would assume that the Conns are similar...good deal for someone interested in such...

[Donn]

Surprising the owner doesn't mention the alternate tuning slide. Maybe big enough to extend the pitch from F to Eb? But would either be A=440Hz?

[Tubajug]

I'm not familiar with these horns at all, is the open Eb the one in the third space of the bass clef? So they're slightly higher than a euphonium but not as high as a trumpet?

[royjohn]

High pitch is usually quoted as A=452, but it could be higher than that (A=459??). If the high pitch slide was at A=452, by my calculations you would need 2.04 inches of pull on the slide to get to A=440. This could be pretty do-able, which surprises me, as I've never heard or someone using a high pitch instrument to play in A=440. IDK, maybe my calculations are off. Anyone know much about this?

[Donn]

I'm not familiar with these horns at all, is the open Eb the one in the third space of the bass clef? So they're slightly higher than a euphonium but not as high as a trumpet?

Yes, it's half the length of an Eb tuba, where the euphonium is half the length of a BBb tuba. If you've been calling them "tenor horn", it's because you're in England or commonwealth. Elsewhere, tenor is the more slender variant of the Bb baritone. The alto isn't strictly constrained to specific proportions, either, but I dare say it's more standardized than the baritone, and the standard is in some people's opinion very much in line with the old saxhorn. So you could reasonably call it an alto saxhorn if you like.

Well, it's more standardized if you ignore the multitude of alto brasses in the category "marching french horn", "mellophone" etc. In F as often as Eb. They can appear in a couple forms, right handed french horn and trumpet shapes, and they're smaller bored and may take a smaller mouthpiece shank. "Peck horn" refers to the use of all of these instruments for a mid-range off beat rhythm.