Screw Bell French Horn Conversion

Cut bells on French horns have been increasing in popularity. But what if the horn you currently use has a fixed bell? The professional instrument repair technicians at Horn Stash can cut your horn’s bell!

 

Why a cut bell?

Cut bells on horns have been increasingly popular in recent years. The biggest attraction to this modification is the ease of transport. A cut bell allows for the player to wear the horn in a space-efficient backpack case, making it ideal for a musician on the go, such as students walking across campus, commuters riding public transportation, or those who frequently travel by plane, allowing them to utilize their horn as their “carry-on” item.

 

In the case below, this horn player had her handcrafted main horn that she used in her day-to-day, but wanted to give her old Conn 6D another chance at life as a travel horn. This horn served her well in high school and her first years of college; it is a good horn and she likes how it plays, but just wanted it to be a little more transportable.

 

The Process

Our technician began by removing the bell from the body and stripping the lacquer. Raw brass offers a more forgiving surface for soldering, but our technician can cut a bell with lacquer as well. Then, he fitted the ring and got to sawing! The original brace that connected the bell to the body was a little too high on the flare, so our technician created his own. Check out the photos below for some action shots!

The Result

Jasmin could not be more thrilled with her new cut bell! Some may say that the cut bell affects the sound of the instrument, but it is negligible compared to the benefits of having a cut bell.  The raw brass bell also adds a new color to the horn's sound.

Get your bell cut at Fix This! for $500-750.