Posted by Oberon [ 12.211.138.7 ] on October 06, 2004 at 10:33:26:

In Reply to: Horn length (revisited) posted by Kevin Jordan on October 03, 2004 at 10:26:47:

Horns *can* be made smaller in some situations, and use in groups is one of them. Venue is very important, as the correct size can vary as much as 10X depending on usage.

There is a common misunderstanding that horns must be 1/4 wave long and mouth area must be 1/4 wavelength in circumference. This is only a rule of thumb. If a horn is flown alone, that's true, and length should really be 1/2 wave. However, that is rarely the case and almost never for basshorns.

Basshorns are almost always used on the ground, which cuts these values in half. Use a pair of basshorns on the ground and the size is cut by 1/4. In fact, the most common basshorn is actually 1/8th size. It is smaller both in length and in area. If used in groups, 1/8 size horn is all you need. This will be both shorter in path length and smaller in mouth size than 1/4 wave.

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