One of the original, iconic double horn designs was developed by German horn maker C. F. Schmidt in the early 20th century. The use of a piston valve for the thumb valve allows for a unique — and in ways probably ideal — airflow through the horn. But also that same thumb valve is the big problem, it makes for a complicated design and one with basic ergonomic problems.
But they were used by many leading players of the past, and still see some use today. Because it is such a unique, iconic design, there are also collectors that own multiple examples by Schmidt and other makers.
Before looking at the Schmidt, I’d also mention that this is not my first article “dreaming” about iconic horn designs, it’s become a series. For more reading check out:
The Perfect Horn!
The primary importer (to the USA) of Schmidt horns was Carl Fischer in New York, the illustration below being from a catalog of theirs from the 1920s.
While Schmidt is long out of business, this type of double horn has been produced by a number of makers, and it’s still possible to buy a new one.
In my own case, at one point I owned a King Schmidt model horn. When I got it I was itching to explore the design more. But that particular horn, I really didn’t like the ergonomics of that instrument, and it didn’t play that well either. And while I do have too many horns, I’m not enough of an instrument collector to keep it around.
Still, following all the horn work during my sabbatical, I like working on project horns, and I was interested in a Schmidt project with more potential to play well. Soon a horn popped up that interested me as a project.
My Pan American Schmidt
Conn, by the early 1920s, was producing a Schmidt style double which was their original 6D. In 1935 they replaced the Schmidt model 6D with the more familiar 6D that was in production until 2023, when it was replaced by the new Kruspe style 6D. The original 6D is very similar to those produced by Schmidt except for rearranging the flow of the F side tubing.
However, 1935 was not where things ended. Conn had a subsidiary brand, Pan American, and Pan American continued to make a version of the original Schmidt style Conn 6D. It was simplified somewhat with, for example, no nice ends on the slide tubes and an odd bracing scheme in the valve section. I believe, as much as anything, the model continued because they had valve sections on hand for the original 6D (this was a way to use up the parts), but maybe also there was still some demand for the Schmidt style horn.
In any case, I was able to locate a Pan American, produced in 1940, in pretty rough shape. I felt it had several things working in its favor, especially the nice bell (it’s not a tank) and the better (for me at least) thumb valve position and (shorter) throw. However, the horn was not at all playable, it had a huge leak leading into the Bb horn, many dents, a patched and roached out lead pipe, etc.
A post describing the project at the midway point may be found here in my personal blog. A big fix worth mentioning here is I had to rebuild the main slide, the one that was on it was probably from an alto horn or who knows what. It had a completely useless water key on it, and the bore was oversized in the crook. I used a King crook of the correct bore and added a brace that closely matches the original Pan American braces. You would have to look closely to notice that it’s not the original main slide.
To that all I’ll add is that I’ve never had so much trouble getting the valve levers on a horn! It’s so cramped. Makes one appreciate the Geyer design that much more, they easily go on a Geyer in just a few minutes.
My Christmas present to myself
It was a big project to get this horn back together, taking me, off and on, close to two years. It’s also good that I’m not motivated by a profit motive, as the work done would have been major $$$ at a shop.
With relatives visiting after Christmas I just had time to finish everything up on Christmas Day.
Starting with this front view, it was quite a project to get the body back together. There was some poor repair done in the past (still slightly visible around some braces underneath) that had to be corrected.
The biggest issue was that the horn body overall was jammed together somewhat. Looking at the photo above, for example, up around the 2:00 point on the body of the horn as it sits in the picture, that brace was missing, and somehow that tube was jammed over next to (and touching) the first branch. It was all wonky. Referencing photos of other Pan American and Conn Schmidts, and using Cerrobend to safely rework multiple parts (plus making a brace in the same style as one of the small braces on the horn), I was able to get it all squared up and back together properly. Three of the slides only clear the bell by the thickness of a business card! Things really have to be just right.
Speaking of braces, I also felt it important to set up the valve section with what I saw to be the typical Schmidt bracing scheme. I believe that has improved things a good bit, but if nothing else I like the classic look I’ve achieved there.
There are four patches on the horn now. There was originally a big ugly one on the bell, which I replaced with a more nicely shaped patch. I also had to patch the horn under the hand guard I had added (which is from an 8D — that area arrived crushed badly), and there are patches on the Bb horn and the first branch.
Another challenge was I could not test the horn at all until I had it to the point that the horn was almost finished — finished to the point I could plug in a loose lead pipe. And of the four pipes I had on hand that could reasonably be used on it, only one was bent somewhat close to the correct shape.
But what testing I did made it pretty clear that, surprisingly, a Conn 8D pipe (most likely Abilene era production) was the best option of what I had on hand. Being a fairly low-dollar item too, I was like sure, lets bend this thing and put it on the horn! Get this horn playing again. I cleaned up and annealed (to dead soft) the portion that needed the major bend (filling it with Cerrobend as well) and got it set up for the horn (which included shortening the pipe about 1/2 inch, to match the original). As I had the time to do so, I also splurged and put a water key on it (which will save some wear and tear on the slides) and a ducks foot that I had on hand (which has helped the holding position a great deal). I still may swap the pipe out in the future, but as of now I’m liking how it plays. It’s a good starting point for sure.
This is only the second double horn on which I’ve done a major rebuild of this level, and with this project I learned a lot. I’m not sure what the next project will be, it might be a crooked single, but there will be more double horns in my future. In particular I’d like to make a Geyer from fresh (or fresher) parts in the next few years.
Initial testing
And now between relatives and such I’ve had only limited time to test the horn. And I won’t really until after about January 4.
What I have done to now has been generally positive, this horn is a lot of fun. I’m liking the sound and slurs. The tuning feels comfortable, ranges feel good.
I’ve not yet mentioned, the valves are not very tight. I’m playing the horn using bearing oil as valve oil, to fill the gap better. It could really use a valve job. The worst culprit is the thumb valve.
Speaking of valves, something is up with the third valve, T23 especially. That specific fingering is a little stuffy, odd feeling. Like there is a pinhole leak, but it comes and goes, depends how I approach it. I have scope aligned the valve, so that is not the issue, and using water to test for leaks has not pointed out a specific issue either. This will be an area requiring more trouble shooting.
This Schmidt probably won’t be my main horn ever, but playing it so far has been fun, a holiday treat. I’m really looking forward to playing on this more.
UPDATE: I’ve found JM Lubricants Spacefiller Oil 15 Synthetic to be very helpful with the horn. It’s sort of good news/bad news in a way. It’s really heavy oil that allows the horn to play pretty well, but the bad news is the valve compression is poor. The oil is heavy enough that it would not be usable on a “normal” horn in better shape, but it is on this one. I’ll probably develop this into a longer article on oil, but hope even here this info is helpful.
