saintsday
05-07-2006, 01:08 PM
A Couesnon Monopole alto, 123xx, showed up from ebay this week. I bought the horn in a sentimental mood as my first horn was a Couesnon tenor that my parents bought me used around 1960 with the help of some Cleveland Orchestra friends of friends. The horn arrived just as nice as the seller described it.
There must be some muscle memory thing going on because the horn just felt right as soon as I started playing it. With all the discussion about ergonomics it really does come down to what works for you.
When I checked the horn with my tuner I was delighted to find it has the best intonation of any horn I own, including several Bueschers and a couple Leblanc system horns. Pretty good company to keep. The different fingerings for Bb all sound exactly the same.
With an MC Gregory Hollywood, that has become my main alto piece, the Couesnon plays with a very nice full sound from top to bottom and above C3 is more comfortable for me than any other horn I own.
Now if I can just find a tenor in comparable condition...
There must be some muscle memory thing going on because the horn just felt right as soon as I started playing it. With all the discussion about ergonomics it really does come down to what works for you.
When I checked the horn with my tuner I was delighted to find it has the best intonation of any horn I own, including several Bueschers and a couple Leblanc system horns. Pretty good company to keep. The different fingerings for Bb all sound exactly the same.
With an MC Gregory Hollywood, that has become my main alto piece, the Couesnon plays with a very nice full sound from top to bottom and above C3 is more comfortable for me than any other horn I own.
Now if I can just find a tenor in comparable condition...