Guide
French Horn Brand Market Share Report - 2016 (USA)
Editor note: this article is a historical snapshot, not a current market-share report. It was based on available International Horn Society section-listing data at the time and should be read as a 2016 view of listed U.S. players, not as a live picture of what everyone plays today.
What's the most popular horn brand in America? The International Horn Society has long published user-generated section listing information for orchestras. In 2016, HornReviews analyzed U.S.-based listings to get a rough sense of player preferences by brand, orchestra type, and region.
It may not come as a surprise that Conn topped the list. The Conn 8D model had been a mainstay in America since the 1950s. But digging deeper, some interesting trends emerged. At the highest professional level in the sample, Conn appeared far less often, while custom and European makers showed stronger representation.
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The data also reflected regional habits. In some U.S. regions, Conn and Holton were especially visible, which likely reflected the influence of major orchestras, teachers, and school purchasing patterns. In other settings, Geyer-style custom horns and European makers were gaining ground.
The main lesson still holds: horn choice is partly personal and partly cultural. Players are influenced by teachers, local orchestral sound, what repair techs know, what schools own, and what is available on the used market.
For a current picture, HornReviews is now collecting player reviews by model. If you have spent time with a horn, add your review. Over time, those player reviews should become more useful than an old brand-count snapshot.
Next: browse the horn model directory or compare college and professional-ready horns.