Why I Chose a Conn 11DE
Thursday, October 20, 2022 by Billy Roberts | French horn
After spending most of my horn-playing years on a Conn 8D, taking a decade off to focus on voice, and spending a year and a half with a single B-flat horn, I have chosen a Conn 11DES as my main instrument. In this blog I will briefly discuss my consideration of other horns, what I have been looking for in a horn, and how my search brought me back to Conn. In a previous blog, I mentioned that I sold my Conn 8D in the spring of 2010 because I felt like I would never succeed with voice if the horn was still lying around the house. It would be too tempting for me to get consumed with it again.
When I first got back into horn playing after eleven years off, I practiced on a Yamaha 322II single B-flat horn, which served me well for about a year. As I regained proficiency with the single horn, I learned that several problems that I attributed to this instrument, such as poor intonation and stuffiness in the mid-low register, were actually due to poor embouchure and technique. However, as I overcame these issues and learned to get consistent intonation and better sound out of the single horn, I gained confidence that it would be a great instrument for a smaller player. It took me a lot of trial and error to find a right hand position that didn’t muffle the sound too much, but an average middle-school student would be just the right size to play the 322 like a pro.
From March through September of 2022, I thought off and on about what type of horn I would like to upgrade to. As my range became secure up to a high B-flat, I considered buying a double descant with a high F side, but as I thought about the fact that I would probably want to do orchestral playing again at some point, and also that I would want a horn that was more practical for teaching, my thoughts returned to the traditional full-sized double horn. However, I wanted to go with a Geyer-style instrument this time, as opposed to the Conn 8D that I bought 20 years ago. Because of my prior experience, I knew I would not be happy with anything less than an entry-level professional instrument, but I wanted to stay within a $6000 budget.
The Yamaha 671, available virtually everywhere, looked like the easiest choice to meet that balance between quality and budget, but I wasn’t completely sold on it. I also wanted to see what else the local music stores had before travelling to a regional store or shopping online. I was pleasantly surprised to find that here in Oklahoma City are numerous options that would easily meet the needs of most students from middle school through college. I called Larsen Music after finding out that they had a Conn 11DRES, but their Conn was being shipped back to the manufacturer for a cosmetic defect. However, they invited me to go ahead and come try out a Yamaha 671, a Hoyer G10, and an Eastman 884. There’s not much to say about the Eastman. It seemed well-made and had no obvious issues with sound or intonation, but I felt that it was less responsive to me than the Yamaha or the Hoyer.
The Yamaha 671 and the Hoyer G10 each had their strengths, but I still felt like the tone color, complexity of sound, and character I’m looking for were more likely to be found with the Conn 11DE. The Yamaha 671 was of course well-designed and easily produced a characteristic Yamaha sound, with a bit more nuance than less-expensive Yamaha models, but having heard plenty of Yamahas over the years, I was not confident that the 671 would lose the boxed sound and grow in complexity. A good horn has a tone that starts to break in after about six months of daily playing. When I picked up the Hoyer G10, I was immediately struck by the G10’s smooth tone and ease of slurring from top to bottom, like driving a luxury car. However, I had a feeling that if I stuck with the Hoyer G10 for a long time I would eventually be dissatisfied. Although it had a sweet sound throughout the entire range of the horn, the F side sounded exactly like the B-flat side, which I found boring and also too European. After trying out these horns, I ordered a Conn 11DES, and when it arrived the first thing I noticed was how well the two sides of the horn were balanced. However, with the Conn I could easily get a more traditional American horn sound if I stayed on the F side of the horn, or I could opt for the smoother sound of the B-flat horn if I chose. There were no discrepancies in intonation or resistance between the two sides of the Conn 11DE, and I could see using either side throughout the entire range of the horn if the situation warranted.
Although I did wind up choosing the Conn 11DES, I was very grateful to have the experience of trying out the other three Geyer-style models for comparison. I ordered my horn straight from Osmun Music, and I was immediately struck by its ease of playing and beautiful tone. After about five minutes of warming up, I played an octave scale up to the high B-flat on the F side of the horn, and then did the same on the B-flat side of the horn. I had heard that some of the older 11Ds had high B-flats that were difficult to hit, but my 11DE felt pretty secure up there. As I continued getting used to the horn over the next few days, I fell in love with the sweet sound it produced at soft and medium volumes and felt assured that it was just the type of sound I was looking for. I did notice that it can easily get brassy when played loud, but when I discovered how well the sound carries I realized the main thing is just to take it easy and not overblow. I practiced passages alternately with and without a practice mute to learn the resistance of the horn, and I figured out that it only gets stuffy if you use too much air. For a player who can’t play loud without brassiness, the rose brass bell might be worth considering.
Another selling point on the Conn 11DE is that the 4th rotor is reversible and can stand in either F or B-flat. This is pretty common on professional horns, but worth mentioning because the 11DE weighs about 6 pounds. I’ve noticed in my own playing that the leadpipe angles downward slightly more at the top of my range than in the low register, and the physics involved means that more weight is pressing on my pinky, especially when the thumb lever is engaged. I initially thought that I would want to reverse this horn to stand in B-flat; however, since the pinky hook and thumb lever are both fully adjustable, I've been able to find a comfortable left-hand position and no longer feel that reversing the 4th rotor is necessary for me.
In short, the Conn 11DE was the best option for me within the entry level professional range. It is a versatile horn that can handle solo literature or chamber music but easily mesh with an orchestra if needed. I have no need to spend an extra $2000 for a custom horn. It does everything that I want it to do, and it has the sound characteristics that I have played out in my head over the past year as I have considered this purchase.
