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Buy your ToneBlobs either by Paypal (on this page below the menu), or by credit card here, or phone your order to: +44 (0) 1452 536264
Can the performance of a horn be enhanced?
So what are they, what do they do, and how do they work?
How did you do this?
What were your results?
Isn’t this just the same as a heavy mouthpiece?
What are the effects of this as experienced by the player?
Gosh!!! Okay! So where exactly do you locate them?
Which makes of horn are ToneBlobs currently available for?
How do I buy one and how much are they?  ToneBlob Can the performance of a horn be enhanced?The answer is a very definite YES! Our ToneBlobs do exactly that. And they work so well that we have patented them for all brass instruments (Pat App No.6).
Here's what Jonathan Barrett - Principal Horn of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra - says about them:
'I have used my ToneBlob for two months now in the orchestra and I can safely say that there is a marked difference in 'feel' and tone quality. The instrument actually does speak more readily in pianissimo - sometimes catching you out as you often have to sustain that dynamic which you have just 'ghosted' in on! The fortissimo is really 'locked down,' by which I mean the tone is much more stable, without the pitch-wandering and undesirable timbre that can occur at high dynamic levels. There also appears to be a 'sheen' to the sound in the fortissimo that replaces the 'blaring' sound common to that dynamic. A very inexpensive modification that anyone can make to their instrument with ease. I wouldn't go on stage now without mine. Fabulous!' And here's what Tony Catterick - top London-based freelance player and Second Horn in the London Mozart Players - says about them:
I want to thoroughly endorse your ToneBlob concept. I tried one on my beloved Elkhart Conn 8D, with a certain amount of scepticism and took a risk and used it on the day of delivery, for a London Mozart Players Wind Sextet date that very same day, in a very difficult programme, including the Beethoven Wind Sextet. I was so pleasantly surprised at how focused the notes felt from before and the fast E flat arpeggios for the second horn in the first movement felt so much more centered and I felt quietly confident that it was all going to be alright !
I would be happy for you to use this recommendation for publicity if you want.
And what about Martin Bender, one of our Canadian professional colleagues from the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra:
The improvement on my nickel-silver New World Paxman was immediate, as well as significant. I equate the qualitative tonal enhancement to the fine focus control on a telescope: it brings an object into a sharper focus, and removes the last vestiges of blurriness from around the periphery of the image. Being a freelance horn player, I might be performing as a member of a big band playing Stan Kenton's 'Malaguena' one night, then playing in the back-up orchestra for "Il Divo" a few nights later, so the extra stability and accuracy provided by the dampening effect in the air column is a very desireable thing to have, particularly once the chops are feeling fatigued later in the evening.
topSo what are they, what do they do, and how do they work? ToneBlob in position ToneBlobs are simply very heavy valve caps. We have conducted exhaustive tests to arrive at the optimum weight and density and we have found it. One can currently buy heavy valve caps for trumpets but the existing products on the market are not heavy enough to gain much noticeable advantage. Furthermore, nothing was available until now for the horn. ToneBlobs have an internal thread at the bottom so you can remove one of your rotor caps and fit a ToneBlob in its place. And they have an external thread at the top so you can put your rotor cap on top of the ToneBlob if you want to. They’re made from solid high-grade brass and they’re chromium plated – so they look lovely. They are beautifully finished and unobtrusive.  ToneBlob another view ToneBlobs introduce an area of high-density damping to a tube in which air is resonating – your horn. Several scientific journals have published extensive research about the effects of introducing such localised high-density dampers to brass instruments. The results were astonishing. They found that introducing such a damper to the approximate acoustic centre of a brass instrument improves its performance in many ways. They carried out all sorts of tests and surveys to establish this, with blind playing tests, blind listening tests and goodness knows what else. But we didn’t just believe them – we carried out our own tests. Our results are even more astonishing because we found that two experienced, professional horn players were both able to identify whether or not a ToneBlob was attached to a horn 100% of the time - because it plays and sounds so much better – without knowing beforehand whether or not a ToneBlob was actually attached to the horns they were playing. top How did you do this?We hired two experienced, professional horn players. Both were blindfolded. They had a fixed repertoire of excerpts, one playing position and one listening position. One played whilst we (Tony Halstead, Alan Wiltshire and the other player) listened and then they would swap, using the same instrument/ToneBlob configuration. So that they couldn’t possibly tell from the weight of the horn they were playing whether or not a ToneBlob had been attached, we weighted the horns equally. We attached a little lightweight Velcro bag to the horns and put a ToneBlob in this bag when the ToneBlob was not actually screwed onto the instrument. So, whether it was acoustically attached (screwed in place) or not, the horn(s) always weighed exactly the same. Our horn players were not told beforehand whether the ToneBlob was acoustically attached – they didn’t see this for themselves until we took their blindfolds off at the end of the tests. We handed them the equally weighted horns and took careful notes on their comments. They repeated the tests with many horns and in three very different acoustics, but always using an individual horn in each single test – so that our results were not confused by comparing different instruments, either knowingly or unknowingly. We only ever compared a single instrument with itself, with the ToneBlob fitted and without it. top What were your results?They were spectacularly conclusive: both players could easily and immediately identify when a ToneBlob was acoustically attached to the horns they were playing because the effects were so beneficial. They got it right 100% of the time. So the scientific journals were right: by introducing a localised, high mass damper into the approximate acoustical centre of the tubing – this is the area in which the ToneBlob has the greatest affect – the performance of a brass instrument is radically enhanced. top Isn’t this just the same as a heavy mouthpiece?It’s the same principal, but the heavy mouthpiece localises the damping into completely the wrong part of the tubing, affecting only the very high notes – which is not much use – and tiring the embouchure much more quickly. Our ToneBlobs operate over the entire range of the instrument and one’s embouchure is unaffected. top What are the effects of this as experienced by the player?The effects you will experience are: - A bigger, fatter, warmer sound – the notes sound richer, and really want to sing
- The instrument speaks more readily, more controllably and with greater subtlety – so all kinds of note attacks become easier and work much better
- A greater sense of security and ‘notchiness’ – the horn feels more ‘solid’ and secure as you play in all registers, but particularly so in the high register
- A greater and easier dynamic range:
- it is much easier to play very quietly
- your sound will not break up and become ‘brassy’ so early in a crescendo when you play at louder dynamic levels
top Gosh!!! Okay! So where exactly do you locate them?You experiment with them. You’ll probably find that your ToneBlob has its most beneficial effect on one particular valve. But the crucial thing is to supply a focused area of high density damping to the valve block. Try each valve in turn and you’ll soon find the best location for your ToneBlob and your playing – and then you won’t want to part with your ToneBlob for love nor money! top Which makes of horn are ToneBlobs currently available for?Alexander
Paxman
Yamaha & Holton (For Holton, order a Yamaha Blob!)
Conn (Eastlake)
Conn (Elkhart & Texas)
top How do I buy one and how much are they? ToneBlob detail Simple: click the 'Order yours NOW!!!' link below and fill in the order form. Your credit card details will be securely encrypted, so don’t worry about Internet fraud. Be sure to specify your make of horn and please include all personal details – name, address, phone numbers and email address. Your ToneBlob will cost you £44-95 GBP – cheaper than a high quality mouthpiece - and it will last you a lifetime. ToneBlobs are super high-quality, precision-engineered performance-enhancing accessories. Furthermore, they are a one-purchase item. Your ToneBlob will be despatched immediately. Special OfferBuy a ToneBlob and get 30% off any 3 Absent Soloists CDs – that’s a saving of £31.45! Credit card orders can also be placed by telephone:. ToneBlobs are currently ONLY available from hornsAplenty.com What are you waiting for? Order yours NOW!!!
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