You sound fabulous on either!!! To my ears, the Yamaha has more lower darker overtones in the sound and the Lewis has more brighter higher overtones, which is confirmed by the flick test. The Yamaha doesn't sound as nimble as the Lewis, too. As a Yamaha Performing Artist, I have found that the mouthpiece match to the horn is a big deal for Yamaha for flexibility, response, and intonation. A lot of folks find that the 671/871 need euro style mouthpieces, but it seems as though they really just need a mouthpiece to fit not too deep in the leadpipe. Someone recently measured the 871 venturi at 16mm deep in the leadpipe, so a lot of mouthpieces will go past that entirely, which may contribute to the way it feels for you. Hope this helps!!! Brava as always!!! Yes for the video about not getting tired! :D
I agree with this. I've been playing on an old Yamaha 861 for years and only just realized how much better a Euro shank mouthpiece works for it. Go Figure!
This. This is awesome. The horn world could use more of this kind of content. Thank you and keep it coming. I'd be really interested to hear your take on the virtually unreviewed Hoyer Model K10.
These comparisons are great! I much prefer the lewis. More complexity to the tone and looks (and sounds) like it takes less effort to play dynamic extremes. A lot of that might be the bell though... A video on chop endurance would be amazing. I vote yes!
Very nice! It's interesting that when flicking a Vienna Horn bell, it sounds pretty dull, but the actual sound of the horn is amazing! The modern double horn bells ring much more.
I have a Yamaha 567, 'inermediate' horn. It sounded like mud, dull, lifeless. I contacted both Felix Contesanu and Lukas Horns in which both horm makers remove the lead pipe and strip it from all epoxy clear coat. I send my horn in for this mod and I can tell you, the difference is astonishing. They have done hundreds of horns right up to the most expensive and everyone comes out better. That mud horn will compete and exceed with some of the best out there. Warmer, powerful, rich, Hollywood sound, in tune throughout, easier to breathe, high notes are easy, and when played with other horns, the sound is glorious.
Their both good horns.Lewis has ringing sound which I like, yamaha has on the darker side,may be if will set up with different mouthpiece for yamaha to compensate on additional overtones for the sound. But their both good horns. Bravo to wonderful playing of Ms Haley
This was great. Love the sound of the Lewis. The first note you played on the Yamaha immediately sounded a lot smaller. Maybe more focused? Or just less resonance after the “bell test” (I live in Boston and may know who you’re talking about hahaha.)
Much to my surprise, Ion Balu mentioned on one of his YT videos that the Yamaha 671 has a European mouthpipe taper! I know you're playing an 871 here, but I don't see why the mouthpipe receiver would be different. That YT video is titled: Balu Musik detachable bell conversion Yamaha 671.
Have you had a chance to explore the new bells? I'm curious to hear how it affects the sound. I notice that they use gold brass for the leadpipe. I had a gold brass horn that was difficult to project in big spaces, and replacing the gold brass leadpipe with a nickle silver leadpipe made a huge difference for that. (Admittedly, it's entirely possible that the improvement was the result of adjusting the tapers or improving the quality of machining and had nothing to do with the change in metal.) It sounds like this is a really good horn to start with, and it would be nice to finally have a mass-produced geyer-wrap horn that, with a few relatively easy and inexpensive (relative to the cost of a custom horn) adjustments, could at least hold its own with a Lewis or a Rauch even if it never quite gets to the same level.
Haley - you sound fabulous on both instruments; to my ear the Lewis has more high overtones and a more interesting overall sound. The 871 sounds just a bit dull in comparison. We just purchased 4 671's for my University and the students playing them are enjoying the instruments. Excellent return for the cost involved IMO
I know what you mean by the Yamaha requiring more work. I play on a predecessor Yamaha Custom (YHR-87). I wonder if instead of looking at other bell options, you might look at other leadpipe options. While the Yamaha is a great horn in many respects, I experimented with an alternate leadpipe (Cantesanu), and found that slurs were much easier, smoother and the horn, overall, was much more responsive and efficient. I wonder if the same effects could be seen with the 871...
Am about to perform the Boyman Double Concerto with my daughter in April; I will be playing the lead part..... but it is TIRING!! Would really like to hear what you have to say about endurance!
Hi Haley! Thanks so much for doing these videos. These etudes are wonderful musical/phrase exercises and it’s so great to hear you. On the horns, I actually find them up close to sound very similar. I agree with you that from farther away in your hall or a recital hall...I’m sure I’d notice a much bigger change! However, I do agree that the Lewis is warmer. That of course could be that you just know the horn super well and can relax into it. Gorgeous playing, Haley. Happy New New Year 🎊🎉
From a quick listen: The Lewis has a larger dynamic range, more colors and cleaner slurs; a more musical presentation. At less than half the cost, Yamaha does excellent work. Historically, their custom horns feel stiff when playing and get only one color, even at different dynamics and that's what I'm hearing. I'm curious what mouthpiece you're using on these tests.
The Yamaha is "bumpy" between the notes on slurs. Sound is duller than the Rauch and it does not seem to keep the beauty of the sound at louder dynamics. I hope it's a loaner!!!!
I suspect Yamaha wants to break into the Europe market, which is why the bore size is bigger than original Geyer and the bell delivers a thicker Alexander like sound? The Lewis sounds more sensitive and maybe not as "stable" as the Yamaha.
Yamaha is quite well established in Europe, they used to be very popular in Germany even until the 103 took over just before the turn of the century. Lewis also uses 12mm bore by the way. The 871 was developed at least partly with a famous Japanese hornist, Fukukawa Nobuaki. He played a Paxman before so if they adjusted the horn to his preferences that could explain the natural colour of the instrument.
