Remember, Joseph, he's quoting you the "list price". And, of course, he'd really like to sell it to you for the list price, but you could probably get it for less. I agree, you need to do a little more shopping around.
Valerie in Tacoma

Joseph, I've noticed lately that the price of Holton Farkas horns has gone up since last year. WWBW had them for $2879 a year ago. Now they are just above $3000. So forget the prices I was quoting earlier when I posted. Everything has gone up a couple hundred or so. WWBW is very competitive & pretty much sets the actual selling price for new horns all over the USA.

In your search for a horn, don't forget to look into Yamahas (667 or 668). Everyone I know that owns a Yamaha LOVES IT. They really play very well. I remember trying them out & finding them very responsive. I didn't buy one because they were a bit large & open feeling to me. I'm small & am just more comfortable with the tighter wrap of a Holton, but you being a guy would probably be very happy with a Yamaha. They are excellent horns for an excellent price. ~~ Valerie in Tacoma

How about Conn 8D? I emailed the horn professor at Mizzou (Missouri Univerisity - where I am going to college in a couple of years perhaps) and she recommended the Conn.

She says this,
"The Conn 8-D horn is considered to be a "professional" model horn.
It is much more free-blowing, making the note targets much wider.
The 8-D doesn't come with a much-needed water key and the left-hand
grip can be uncomfortable. (However, with the addition of an
adjustable pinky hook, that can be easily fixed.) Many famous
hornists play a Conn 8-D (with modifications), so it is accepted
anywhere. (I do not play one, nor do I own one, so I am presenting
this information for discussion purposes only.)

Many professional do play a Yamaha 667, but generally with some
custom work done.

Something to consider is whether to get a "Geyer" style or a "Kruspe"
style wrap. That mainly deals with the thumb lever. Holton and Conn
8-D horns have the "Kruspe" wrap, meaning that the thumb has a short
throw lever. Many foreign horns are in the "Geyer" style and have a
long throw lever for the thumb. If you can't coordinate your thumb
with your other fingers, it has a big impact. So really check out a
Geyer-style horn very carefully.
"

Joseph, Conn 8D is a great horn. The new ones are excellent. Nice big "Hollywood" sound. Buying a used Conn is tricky because they've had a few bad years, but I've been told the new ones are great. I'd check out Conns AND Yamahas if I were you. Used Yamahas are very reasonbly priced & very reliable. I didn't know that stuff about the "geyer" vs the "kruspe" & the thumb lever. I may be mistaken, but I believe the Yamaha 667 is the "geyer" and the 668 is the "kruspe." You should be able to find out for sure at WWBW or perhaps Yamaha has a website.

Valerie in Tacoma

My 15 yr old son is interested in getting a horn. He has been playing for four years. His band teacher had a former student wanting to sell his Conn 8D for 2000 with the case. However, the horn is really scratched and has a few dents. I was found your conversations and wondered what suggestions you could give me. I found a used Conn 8d for 2900 on music 123 site, but it was used A quality. I believe the horn my son has would definitley be classified as used B quality. Thank you for any information..

ok.. I just found the site you two listed as WWBW and it has a NEW conn 8d for $3200. Wouldn't I be better off just spending another 1200 to get him a brand new one? Or should I try to get the used one less than $2000?

If you can give a horn a risk free "test drive" before you are solidly committed to buying it, do it. If you know any experienced horn players who can try it out for you, that's the best. Most experienced horn players really enjoy an opportunity to try out horns & make recommendations.

Valerie in Tacoma

Honestly I read some of these and these people are pretty dang smart...but I gotta say if you want a screw bell french horn, a holton specifically, go not with the 280, but the 281. The sound is goooorgeous once you get it adjusted and open it up. I bought one after a little testing period and at first hated it...I admit. But once I got my mouthpeice that I wanted, instead of theirs, and started just opening it up, it is intense. I have a teacher, julliard educated, who played it and loooved it, specifically the upper and lower ranges. They truly sing and it has some amazing capabilites. And with the brass most orchestras are very likely to accept your style as well as wind ensembles. AS you probably know some organizations don't like the dull, sort of big sound of 8 Conns and silver horns. They produce lots of sound but it's not usually very definite...very mellow and velvety. Brass produces brighter overtones but the size of the throat on the 281 keeps the sound fairly dark. The Bell ( gold or rose brass ) keeps is very ringing in a concert hall and richens the tone. It honestly is the envy of every single horn player I have met since I bought it, and besides the sound, it is gorgeous in person. You won't be disappointed...

The sound just rings in a concert hall, rich and fat, dark, but not conn 8 velvety mellow you know. And as he put it the combination of brass and rose brass will keep it open to basically every major ensemble in the world...ensembles who prefer brass and ensembles who prefer silver. It's the best of both worlds.

ChrisL, thanks for sharing you info about your Holton 281. It sounds wonderful. My friend plays one of those. And, speaking of mouthpieces: I play a Holton Farkas 179. The mouthpiece that came with it, MDC, was absolutely horrid for me, too. I tried out a bunch at my horn instructor's studio & settled on a Schilke 31B2. It has a much fuller richer sound than that pinched little MCD that came with the horn. You are right about the mouthpiece making a big difference.

Joseph, one more thing to consider when you buy a horn: The most important thing about any horn is not even the horn, but the hornist! Dennis Brain, the most renowned horn player of the 20th century, played on a pitiful instrument that was inferior to even most "student" model horns mass produced today. Brass instrument manufacturing has come a LONG way in the last 40 years. You really can't go wrong with most any horn you buy, unless YOU don't practice it! ~~~Valerie in Tacoma

I completely agree. I find that I have to adapt whenever I play a different horn, but I've also found that playing on my "inferior" horn seems to help me build up the muscle to get a richer sound on my school's Holton 379, which is a fabulous horn, I must say, if you don't go with that Conn 8-D.