The Alphorn is made of spruce-wood. But within this sort of spruce-wood differences can be observed. The most critical point referring to the quality of sound and also the durability is the fine growing of the wood. Good wood for Alphorns has been growing near the timber line at a level of 1500 to 1800 meters above sea-level.
Unfortunately it is more difficult to find such fine grown wood than fast grown spruce-wood from our cultivated forests in the middle of our country. Spruce-trees grown in the mountains are normally not made free from knots in the early years to be fine as much as possible. In return for it the wood of a slowly grown spruce is much more compact, robust and sounds much more.
The sound cup is glued alongside of two parts. Depending on the tuning (length) and also if specially desired the instrument consists of two or three parts. The lining of the tube comes to an average thickness of 6-8 mm.
The big open ending of the Alphorn is a turned ring of hard wood with a thickness of 2,5 cm. It has an outer diameter of appr. 22 cm. This ring gives a characteristic finish to the Alphorn.
The mouthpiece at the upper end is put into a glued part of hard wood with the form of a small tub. This tub forms the upper end of the Alphorn, has a length and a diameter of appr. 35 mm and an inner conical diameter of 15-10 mm for taking up the mouthpiece.
FINAL MANUFACTURE
The straight part of the Alphorn,www.trustytime99.com that means from the passage of the tube at the sound cup up to the small tub for the mouthpiece at the other end is wrapped round in halved reed. The whole Alphorn is painted over with a hard-wearing transparent varnish.
The hand-made painting of fast acrylic-colour is applied onto a priming colour and afterwards also painted over with transparent varnish. The inner surface of the Alphorn is treated with a porous oil.
MOUTH-PIECE
The mouthpiece is made of the following sorts of wood: box-tree, damson, olive, yew-tree or maple. The length of the mouthpiece comes to appr. 10 cm. The 5 cm below are conical with a diameter at the outside of 18/13 mm to put into the upper part of the Alphorn.
The form outside between the conical part and the rim for the lips is at the liberty of the turner to do as he pleases. The end below is at the inside opened exactly 10 mm. Therefrom a thickness of exact 1.5 mm is resulting. The rim measures at the outside 32 mm, at the inside 17-20 mm (nominated measure). The backbore at the inside is, depending on the inner form, appr. 20-25 mm away from the rim for the lips. It should show at a length of appr. 15 mm a diameter between 4 and 5 mm. From the backbore to the end below the mouthpiece the boring is made also conical as at the outside.
The shape of the cup of the mouthpiece defines essentially the kind of the tone. If the lining of the cup is shaped like a Champagne-glass and deep down to the backbore, there is a smooth tone resulting. From a cup shaped like a Cognac-glass, a rather more shrill tone is the result.
The wideness of the cup of the mouthpiece is also having a striking influence to the tone. A small mouthpiece (e.g. 17 mm at the inside) is simplifying the playing in the high registers, but a rather insufficient sound is resulting therefrom.
On the other hand a big mouthpiece (19 mm) is resulting in a rounded sound and enables good playing in the low registers, but makes more trouble to play in the high registers.
I would characterise the average mouthpiece for the average Alphorn with a wideness of 18 mm for a Fis-tuned Alphorn.
Finally, the decision will be made in fact by the personal feeling. For myself a mouthpiece with a deepness of the cup of 23 mm and a wideness of 18 mm seems to be ideal for the Fis-Alphorn. A good rounded rim with a thickness of 6,5 mm allows me a long exercising without pain.
The backbore of my mouthpiece has a diameter of 4,8 mm at a length of 15 mm and produces therewith a pure tone without air bustles. Such a diameter of 4,8 mm is rather big. But in relation to smaller borings we have here the advantage that the fortissimo played tones spring over less fast. This mouthpiece has been turned of damson wood.
DISMANTLING
The Alphorn is made in most cases in three parts: a lower part with the sound cup, a middle tube and a hand tube, Best Replica Watches in which the mouth-piece is placed.
At earlier times the connection tubes were not made of stainless steel. Therefore they had to be greased with Vaseline after every playing. We still find also connection tubes of brass or even with brass windings. Those almost do not need a servicing but are rather smooth and could easily be scratched.
With adequate treatment the connection tubes are rarely a problem. Today most Alphorn makers have passed on to connections of aluminium with rubber ringlets for fitting that are much lighter and need nearly no servicing. These connection tubes are placed at the outside of the wooden tube, so that the inner part of the Alphorn is continuous of wood.