FAQs and how to choose

"Can I try it" / "What's the return policy"?

Absolutely.  We have 30 day returns on all standard models and sizes.  No two horns, even the same model, are the same and there's no substitute for trying it out.  Send it back if it isn't right (though do shoot us an email first so we know to expect it!)

We offer full custom services, including duplication, other threading standards & full custom designs.  We encourage you to try stuff off-the-shelf first because it helps us anchor designs in something we know.  Something like "I want it to be more open or have a darker/brighter sound" from a known foundation helps us enormously.

 

"I'm a low / high player and your models names / types don't give me much guidance on which is best for me?"

We really spent a lot of the R&D time on making sure all the models work in all the ranges.  Every design needs to open up in the low register to let you develop a big, resonant sound.  And up top they need to give you a little bit of resistance and brighten up to keep everything efficient.  None of our models go into production without these characteristics.

Where they differ though; low players often valuable more flexible slotting and have different sound preferences.  In general our deeper, more open cups (GH, GC, GS, C) tend to give more flexibility where the shallower cups (GD, MD and to a lesser extent the G) tend to slot a little harder.

 

"Do I want a deep or shallow cup?"

If you want a bright, clear sound and narrower, more accurate slots you want one of the shallower cups (GD, and MD).  These are efficient and project very well.  This comes at the expense of some ability to bend and form the pitches - they're "slotty".  High horn players tend to prefer this tradeoff.

If you want a darker, rich sound you want a deeper cup (GS, GC, C).  These come with better pitch bending for slurs & the most demanding intonation matching, but they're less "slotty" and don't project as intensely.

The "default" (G, GM, LA, M) cups are designed for balance for typical playing on their respective instruments.

 

"My horn isn't either a Geyer or a Kruspe, what do I need?"

The whole "Geyer/Kruspe" think is a bit over indexed at the best of times; does a large belled Geyer/Knopf really play differently than a small bell Kruspe?  No, not really - it's a continuum and the leadpipe + bell combo is much more impactful than the shape of the tubes.  I use this as a shorthand for "large belled" and "small belled" horns - most of the time to balance them a large belled horn is accompanied by a more restrictive leadpipe (think a Conn 8D) which we're calling a "Kruspe" horn.  "Geyers" have narrower bells and more open "free blowing" pipes.  If your maker has supplied you a large bell horn with a restrictive leadpipe - regardless of the bends in the tubes - we'd steer you towards the models LA or C.

 

"Ok but that wasn't actually that helpful, tell me which to choose."

Ok first you're going to figure out what shank you have.  If it's American you want to choose from the American shank family (G, GM, LA, GS, GH, GD, C, etc..).  If you have an Alex or other "European" shank horn you want the M series (M, MD).

Let's break down the American shank options first; and it's going to start with what feel you want.

If you feel your horn pushes back to you and won't let you play with as big or open an air stream as you want, you want to shop the "kruspe" line - the LA and C.

If you feel the opposite - that your horn wants to be bright and feels open, you probably want to start with want one of the G trinity (G, GM, GS).

If you're in between or want a specific sound concept, there are a number of "in betweens" - the GC or GH.

If you're looking to play the Brandenburg on a modern double, you're going to want the GD, that one's easy.

On the Mainz shank we offer the deeper M and shallower MD.  The larger, open receivers on these horns require a small throat and a semi-narrow backbore so the only real choice is on the depth.  If for some reason your European shank horn is playing really tight and bright on the M with it's standard 18 bore we can open it up to a 16, 14 or even 12 as a special order.

We're also here and happy to work with you by email - info@strachan-brass.com.

 

"For full-custom orders how do the plastic prototypes differ from the brass finished items?"

The plastic prototypes tend to play kinda "dry" - they don't have a lot of ring to the sound and can feel kind of "dead".  What we're looking for is that they're in tune, they open up in the low register to support good tone and volume production in the basement, and that they add resistance in the high register to let you play efficiently.  We also want to make sure the octaves are even on every valve combination available on the instrument.  Once we've gotten all that worked out we would move on to the brass finished piece.

The brass versions have consistently "wow"ed compared to the plastic prototype.  When we get to the "the plastic one plays pretty good" stage we're quite confident going into production that the final mouthpiece is going to deliver great results.

 

"Where / how do you make them?"

This has changed recently!  We used to be 100% contract manufacturing with me designing the cups and then using an aerospace-grade machine shop to manufacture them.  Now we have in-house manufacturing for some models and all custom orders.  This lets us have more flexibility and prototype more quickly.

Rims are generally hand polished in house, so that's still very much me and a dremel spending some quality time putting a mirror-smooth finish on your rims.  We strive for accuracy and consistency, but the rims can vary a little bit, especially if you're trying one in a different material than you've tried before.

 

"What are they made of?"

Cups are made of standard industrial brass.  Brass contains trace amounts of lead though so it's unsuitable for rims.  You can either coat it with silver / gold plate or just use a different material for the rims.

We don't use silver plate as a default; a decent number of people are allergic to silver.  It also tarnishes which people clean up with metal polish - thinning the coating and eventually exposing the brass.  It is, however, available on request.

We use Titanium as the default.  It's polishes nicely and has good bio-compatibility.  It's also hella difficult to damage if you drop it - it's much more likely to bounce than to dent or scratch.  Un-coated rims are great for longevity as they never wear to expose an unsuitable material.  It's also much less heat conductive than brass so you can play in the cold!  We can also make a stainless un-coated rim on request - they weigh more and add some heat / sizzle to the sound.

We're also able to offer gold plated brass - since the gold plating doesn't corrode or tarnish, there's no need to polish the surface giving these a good working life provided you don't beat them up too much.  Some people like the surface feel of gold (which is very slippery) so we offer these.  Gold plating is unfortunately very expensive these days and the pricing unfortunately has to reflect that.

 

"When will it get to me?"

In-stock items (the default bore of each mouthpiece) ship within a day or two and ship from San Francisco via UPS.  If you order express they get sent 2-day air.  Regular shipping is UPS ground.  International orders are calculated at checkout and you can choose your carrier.  If you have questions just email us and we'll get you a shipping time estimate.

Special orders ship in 3-4 weeks.  We can (sometimes) go faster in an emergency since we have the production equipment available, please get in touch if you have special circumstances.