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High-register and descant horn playing favors a smaller cup and narrower bore than a standard orchestral mouthpiece — a smaller mouthpiece is a better acoustical match to a descant horn and makes the upper harmonics easier to find. This is a genuinely narrow, specialist market sold mostly through dedicated horn shops rather than big-box retailers, so this list runs 6 real, currently-sold mouthpieces instead of the usual ten, spanning about $55 to $145.
| # | Product | Price | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schilke 28 | $79-$99 | Amazon |
| 2 | Schilke 29 | $79-$99 | Amazon · eBay |
| 3 | Osmun One-Piece Horn Mouthpiece (Haydn Cup) | $140-$150 | Amazon |
| 4 | Laskey 85G | $90-$105 | Amazon · eBay |
| 5 | Stork CA Series | $95-$110 | Amazon · eBay |
| 6 | Houser Mouthpiece | $55-$85 | Amazon · eBay |
The picks, in detail
Schilke 28
Schilke’s true “French model” facing — a fairly small bore and shallow cup built specifically to favor the high register on descant and high-F horn setups.
- Small bore, shallow cup
- One-piece machined construction
- Part of Schilke’s numbered horn mouthpiece series
- Purpose-built for high playing
- Affordable relative to boutique one-piece mouthpieces
- Shallow cup trades away low-register depth
Schilke 29
A close sibling to the 28 with a similarly small, shallow profile favoring high playing — worth comparing against the 28 since players split on which feels more comfortable.
- Small bore, shallow cup
- One-piece machined construction
- Same price tier as the Schilke 28
- Same high-register benefits as the 28 with a slightly different feel
- Easy to buy both and compare
- Marginal difference from the 28 for some players
Osmun One-Piece Horn Mouthpiece (Haydn Cup)
Osmun’s Haydn cup is a specialist option with a very shallow cup and pronounced side-wall curve designed specifically to favor the extreme high register and Baroque/high-horn repertoire.
- Haydn cup profile (also available in Chicago, London, New York cups)
- One-piece machined mouthpiece
- Small #16 bore
- Purpose-built for extreme high playing
- From a well-established boutique horn mouthpiece maker
- Narrow use case outside high/Baroque horn work
Laskey 85G
Laskey’s G-series cup is built as a small-cup, high-range option with a round rim contour aimed at flexibility and clear articulation in the upper register.
- Small cup, high-range profile
- Round rim contour
- Interchangeable rim/cup system
- Clear articulation in the upper register
- Interchangeable system lets you fine-tune rim separately
- Slightly shallower low-register support than Laskey’s standard cups
Stork CA Series
Stork’s CA series sits as a well-regarded middle ground in price and response between Yamaha’s stock mouthpieces and boutique makers like Laskey — a reasonable step for players testing a smaller cup before committing to a custom piece.
- Interchangeable cup system
- Silver-plated finish available
- Multiple cup depth options
- Good value versus fully custom pieces
- Widely stocked at brass specialty retailers
- Less specialized for extreme high playing than the Osmun Haydn or Schilke 28/29
Houser Mouthpiece
Houser builds horn mouthpieces from stainless steel or brass in a range of small-cup configurations, priced below the boutique one-piece makers for players who want a metal cup system to experiment with.
- Stainless steel or brass cup options
- Interchangeable cup/rim system
- Multiple bore sizes
- Lower cost of entry into a cup-and-rim system
- Metal cup construction some players prefer for high playing
- Less name recognition among orchestral players than Schilke or Osmun
Buying tips
- A smaller bore and shallower cup make high notes easier to find but cost you some depth and volume in the low register — most high-horn players keep a second mouthpiece for orchestral tutti work.
- Interchangeable rim/cup systems (Laskey, Stork, Houser) let you dial in cup depth separately from rim comfort, which is worth it if you’re not sure which cup depth suits you yet.
- Try before you commit where possible — horn mouthpiece specialty shops (Osmun, Houghton Horns, The Horn Guys) often allow trial periods that a general retailer won’t.
- If you play a full double or triple horn rather than a true descant, a moderately shallow cup (Schilke 29-30 range) is usually more practical than the most extreme high-horn cups.
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