Omnitonic horn | Charles Sax | Circa 1835
Omnitonic horn | Charles Sax | Circa 1835
Several makers produced omnitonic horns in the early 19th century. The instruments allowed for the natural horn to play in different keys without changing crooks (omni = all and tonic = key). This model has a long piston which, when moved step-by-step into the instrument, added a loop of tubing. Unfortunately the omnitonic horn’s extra tubing made them cumbersome to play and they were not accepted by most horn players. This horn was made by Charles Sax, father of the more famous Adolphe Sax.
Charles Sax, father of the more famous Adolphe Sax, was also a highly skilled and an inventive instrument maker. In the early 19th century several makers produced omnitonic horns which had some mechanism for giving the instrument a number of different tube lengths without the necessity for the player to change crooks and couplers. Sax's model has a long piston which, when moved step-by-step into the instrument, adds at each step a further loop of tubing. This instrument (the piston unfortunately is broken) could be put into Bb alto, A, G, F, E, Eb, D, C and Bb basso; when in this deepest tonality the windway loops round through all the coils.