djay
02-02-2006, 06:17 AM
I won this nice looking soprano. Note by note, the sound is very nice
(ignoring absolute pitch). It is also very solidly made and everything
seems to be working right, but the intonation is awful -- very uneven
intervals and averaging over the ups and downs from note to note, flat with
every mouthpiece I've tried.
I'm now wondering which if any of these possibilities might be correct:
1) The horn is unusable and looks nice because no one could ever make it play right, so it sat in its case. Pierret is a reputable maker, so this seems unlikely.
2) The horn needs a vintage mouthpiece and won't play correctly with modern mouthpieces. On average, the horn is flat with most mouthpieces, and one can't push the mouthpieces onto the cork far enough to get decent pitch on average (aside from the problem of the intervals). This does suggest that a short-shank mouthpiece with a big chamber might help.
3) There is some simple problem that any experienced person would recognize, but I don't. (I mean aside from buying a horn on impulse, without playing it)
4) Several of the above!
Any ideas about what to do with this thing would be appreciated!
Thanks!
(ignoring absolute pitch). It is also very solidly made and everything
seems to be working right, but the intonation is awful -- very uneven
intervals and averaging over the ups and downs from note to note, flat with
every mouthpiece I've tried.
I'm now wondering which if any of these possibilities might be correct:
1) The horn is unusable and looks nice because no one could ever make it play right, so it sat in its case. Pierret is a reputable maker, so this seems unlikely.
2) The horn needs a vintage mouthpiece and won't play correctly with modern mouthpieces. On average, the horn is flat with most mouthpieces, and one can't push the mouthpieces onto the cork far enough to get decent pitch on average (aside from the problem of the intervals). This does suggest that a short-shank mouthpiece with a big chamber might help.
3) There is some simple problem that any experienced person would recognize, but I don't. (I mean aside from buying a horn on impulse, without playing it)
4) Several of the above!
Any ideas about what to do with this thing would be appreciated!
Thanks!