[DaveS]

Hi All:

I've been searching the forums here about Antigua horns, and since they seem to be the price/performance leader for sub-$1,000 horns, I went ahead and got one from Kessler Music in LV.

Overall, I've been pretty impressed with the workmanship, though the register key on the curved neck isn't quite aligned on the tone hole. It seals up though, since the lower register speaks easily. The overall sound is centered and round, and I think it may be a keeper.

My issue is this: My setup is a Link ebonite 8* mouthpiece with VanDoren Java 2-1/2 reeds, and I find to get the horn in tune I have to get the mouthpiece all the way on the horn, which is made difficult by the somewhat thick corking on the necks. Also, the horn seems more sensitive than most I've played to temperature...once warmed up, the intonation comes up a bit.

I tried the stock mouthpiece that came with the horn, which was stuffy and gave a thin sound, but the intonation improved, which leads me to conclude that my mouthpiece may be causing me to play flat on soprano. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

Fellow Antigua owners, please chime in with your "out of box" experience with your sopranos.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[DaveS]

Thanks, all, for the info.

Per Dave's recommendation I sanded down the corks a bit, and my mouthpiece goes on easier now. I also put a new reed on there, and while I still need to get the mouthpiece pretty far onto the neck, the intonation has improved.

Cheers,

Dave