French Horn Mouthpiece Chart [500+ Mouthpieces Measured]

Due to the difficulty of comparing different brands of French horn mouthpieces with each other, I’ve put together this French horn mouthpiece chart to display the measurements of some of the most popular mouthpieces all in one place.

Mouthpiece Chart

While everything here is provided for free, this page does take time and resources to maintain.
If you’ve found it useful, please consider a small donation via my Paypal page. 

Or download the French horn mouthpiece comparison chart as a PDF file.

Everything on this page is provided for free. However, running this site costs both money and time.
If you’ve found these things useful, please consider a small donation via my Paypal page. 

For some specific thoughts on how to choose a mouthpiece for yourself (or your students), I have a page dedicated to the topic of finding a great mouthpiece.

If you’d like some help deciding on a mouthpiece, feel free to contact me. I have many decades of experience and am happy to offer some advice or recommendations.

Mouthpiece Characteristics

Make and Model

This should be pretty obvious. The links in this column will take you to a site where you can purchase or to the maker’s website.

1 or 2 Piece/Thread Type

Is this model a complete mouthpiece, or does it have a screw rim/cup. There are various types of threads – in general, they are all compatible with others of the same name (ie: PHC work with other PHC but not with any Giardinelli), although sometimes Giardinelli cups and rims will have a “step” where the rim and cup join, some people find this distracting, some don’t even notice.

Rim ID (Internal Diameter)

Probably the most important measurement for how you interact with the mouthpiece, and one of the hardest to accurately compare between manufacturers. This measurement is the inner diameter of the rim taken around where the face of the rim curves in to make the cup. Different makers can measure this point at slightly different places along that curve, so although it can’t be used as an exact comparison, it’s a good place to start.

Rim Shape

Almost as important as the inner diameter is the shape of the rim. Some of the more common shapes include slightly vague descriptions like round, flat, semi-round, and semi-flat. Since these are often given by the manufacturer, the actual radius and feel can vary and is very much a personal preference.

A defined high point means that the mouthpiece will often feel a little thinner (since the lips will come in contact with the highest point first) than a round or flat contour, even if the rim thickness is the same or greater.

A reverse peak will put the highest point toward the outside of the rim, which helps to “bunch” the lips in toward the center and can help a smaller ID feel a little bigger.

A defined inner edge or bite means that the transition from the rim face to the inner cup is sharper (rather than rounded), and many feel that this gives better articulation (at the expense of slurs). It, like almost everything rim-related, is very much a personal preference.

Rim Width/Rim OD (Outer Diameter)

Either a measure of the rim thickness itself (this will usually be around 4-6mm) or a measure of the outside diameter of the rim (which is going to be around 24mm). Similar to Inner Diameter, this measurement is not always taken at the same place from one manufacturer to another, so it’s not always a 1-to-1 comparison. As discussed in the Rim Shape section, the contour can also have an impact on how thick a rim feels.

Cup Depth

A measure of the inside of the mouthpiece to (generally) where the bore begins. It usually starts wherever the rim ID measurement was taken (which can vary) and the ending point depends on both manufacturer and the precise cup shape, but this is still a useful place to start comparing. Whenever measurements were given by the manufacturer I used those, but many still use ambiguous terms like “medium” and “deep”.

Cup Shape

This, plus the cup depth and bore, have a great impact on the sound produced by the mouthpiece. There are a wide variety of cup shapes out there, and makers often use slightly confusing language to describe the differences. A V-shaped cup is fairly self-explanatory, as is a U-shape (also described as cup-shaped), while a bowl shape is a U-shape with a more gradual curve. Concave, convex,  and straight usually refer to the sides of the mouthpiece, as the cup transitions into the bore. While rims are important to match to your own face, a cup should be matched more to a specific horn – this is the reason many people use two-piece mouthpieces! As a very rough rule, Kruspe/8D style horns like deeper, more V-shaped cup shapes, while Geyer style horns respond better to more cup or bowl-shaped cups. More info on matching cups to horns is here!

Bore

This number refers to the size of the hole at the bottom of the cup at its smallest. Bore is often expressed in drill numbers (1 (5.79mm) being the biggest, and around 20 (4.1mm) being quite small), but I’ve converted them into millimeters for consistency. A larger bore (all other things being equal) provides less resistance to air, but in return requires much more air support and more efficient breathing. Although it used to be popular to use very large bores (5.8 – 5.2mm) many horns (and players) respond better to more moderate sizes (5 – 4.6mm)The flare and length of the backbore (although not on this chart) is equally important to the blowing and intonation characteristics of a mouthpiece.

Other Things to Consider

Mouthpiece Fit

This is incredibly important. Mouthpieces made in America are designed to fit a horn leadpipe with a Morse-0 taper (all American horns), but European horns (and mouthpieces) are built with a slightly different taper. If you are mixing European and American horns and mouthpieces, it’s worth talking to the mouthpiece maker to make sure it’s got the right taper for your horn’s leadpipe.

Heavyweight Mouthpieces

These bigger, denser cups (or stem weights for normal-weight mouthpieces) can have a dramatic impact on the way a mouthpiece responds. They are not universally good or bad and indeed depend on the combination of the player, horn, and mouthpiece. If you’re interested in trying one, it’s worth either getting two copies of the mouthpiece (one heavy and one normal weight) or getting a stem weight that can be removed to see which actually works better.

Plating/Mouthpiece Material

This aspect of construction is another thing to consider. Make sure to read Bob Osmun’s excellent remarks about mouthpiece plating below. Silver-plated brass is the most common metal for instrument mouthpieces, and is always a good place to start for younger players.

Other options include gold plating, stainless steel, and titanium:

• Gold sounds exactly the same as silver, but since gold is less likely to cause irritation for some players and feels more “slippery”, it is preferred by some. In my experience, the gold plating can wear off after a few years (as can silver plating) so replating may be needed every few years, but this depends largely on the quality and thickness of the silver plate!
• Stainless steel mouthpieces are made out of solid stainless steel (not plated), and the rims have a slipperiness somewhere between silver- and gold-plated brass. The sound of a stainless steel cup is supposed to be a little different, as well, with a slightly faster attack and a slightly brighter sound. Some feel stainless projects better, and some think it doesn’t – similar to heavy-weight mouthpieces, for some people and instruments it works well, for others it doesn’t.
• Titanium is sometimes applied as a coating to stainless steel mouthpiece rims, to give them a feel slipperier than gold. Because of the plating process, it is supposed to last an incredibly long time and shouldn’t need replating. Solid titanium mouthpieces are, to my knowledge, only made by one company, Giddings and Webster, and I haven’t heard much about them either good or bad – but they are costly!

This page is constantly updated as I discover new mouthpiece models and makers. If there’s something I’ve missed, or if you have questions, please contact me via email or social media!

If you’re looking for French horn lessons, I offer lessons online and in person. You can find more information on studying with me here.

While everything here is provided for free, this page does take time and resources to maintain.
If you’ve found it useful, please consider a small donation via my Paypal page.