I hand make my English Horn bocals using traditional methods. Thick metal sheet is cut to shape and formed by hand around a steel mandrel before being brazed along the seam, with the outer profile filed and finished by hand. I offer a range of base metals and finishes to suit individual players’ needs.
- Unplated brass: Compared to a stock (silver plated nickel silver) bocal, brass bocals will offer a more cushioned response, a more stable feel, and a richer, warmer tonal aesthetic.
- Silver plated brass: The most conventional of my offerings, my silver plated brass bocal will have a tone and response reminiscent of other bocals on the market, but with the added benefits of my bore profile and tip configuration.
- Unplated copper: Offers a uniquely mellow, yet colorful sound with lots of variation; very intimate in nature.
- Gold Plated Copper: Offers a more soloistic aesthetic than unplated copper which is very versatile. Clean, focused, projecting, and flexible, yet also warm.
- Sterling Silver: The material of choice among many other hand-formed bocal makers. Silver bocals are very responsive, focused, and stable yet agile, making them a bit easier to execute difficult technical passages.
Bocals are offered in a range of lengths (#0 through #4). My numbering scheme is slightly more tightly spaced than the Loree standard, so my #0 will be just slightly shorter than a standard #1, and my #4 will be just slightly longer than a standard #3. If in doubt, sticking with the number you are used to is likely the best place to start!
Trials of multiple bocals are encouraged; simply purchase one bocal and let me know at checkout which bocals you’re interested in trying (subject to stock limitations!)