Construction of our custom horns takes over three times as long as any modern production model for just some of the following reasons. Articulated valve levers are fitted to the individual's hand and can be ordered long or short for either fast or slow but smooth action. Valve ports are fly-cut to exact specifications in order to avoid any feeling of 'stuffiness' when played. This requires that the cutters be replaced every few horns, not ground and used repeatedly, which would result in severely undersized ports. Braces are brazed as solid subunits for durability, and individually fitted to the span, not adjusted and tacked. Both leadpipe and bell are fitted with hand guard plates. Crooks are expanded into female dies to remove any ellipticity, and slides are drawn for an interference fit, then hand honed much like an auto engine cylinder so that they will 'seat' themselves for smooth operation within a very short period of time. Soldered joints are reheated after assembly to relieve internal stress. This ensures uniform valve action. Any residual distortion in the valve casings is removed by hand lapping. The overlap of soldered tubes is always more than 1/4 inch or it is brazed and the joints are hand-wiped clean, not acid dipped. Tapered tubes are rigorously checked for mandrel fit to ensure bore accuracy, and grinding during the finish operation is held to a minimum so that a true bore is maintained and the wall thickness is uniform. All of this extra care insures that Lawson horns require minimum service and play efficiently for as long as possible. We are the only producer that weld the seams on French Horn bell tails.

The alloys employed in a musical instrument affect its resistance to corrosion and physical damage and modify the tone quality near the flare. The purest nickel alloys are the most resistant to corrosion and are employed throughout the valve section. The valves themselves are machined from high grade bronze and plated with one of the purest nickels commercially available.

You may choose from well over a dozen popular screw bell flares of different alloys and degrees of hardness, enough to provide an almost unlimited range of tone colors. Lawson pioneered modern bell flare annealing processes and developed the powerful, mellisonant Ambronze bell flare used in major orchestras around the world.