| bell 12 1/2in
bore size .450.
Engraving Carl Fischer
Horndawg: This is what is known as a "compensating double" horn. In Bb the air flows through the top set of slides. To put the horn in F, you press the thumb valve which also send air into the second set of slides. So, instead of a full set of F and Bb slides sharing a mouthpipe and bell, you use one set of slides for Bb and both sets for F.
The few of these I have played tend to have a pretty stuffy F horn. I once owned a compesating triple (Paxman, medium bore - very small for an American player) that had a nice f alto horn and a very nice Bb horn (the alto horn is independent, only the lower two horns use the compesating principle), but the low F horn was like blowing into a sock!
the low F horn was stuffy no matter what register I was in. I think (and this is just a guess) that it is caused by a combination of too many sharp bends in the tubing and going through the valves too many times (as you said). That said, I know there are some really nice compensators out there and people do play them. You probably just have to be really aware of how you wrap the darn thing!
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