M5 Horn Voicing (M5 Tuning)

Long awaited in my series of M horn maintenance videos. How to voice an M5. Often incorrectly called tuning, voicing sets the pressure that each bell speaks at. M horns, and all horns with adjustable back caps, can't simply be put together and expected to work, there is a careful process to voice the horn. On all M horns, the voicing must be done as the horn is assembled.

Hopefully this illustrates why the M horns fell out of favor. While this video is about 15 minutes long, in real time it took me two hours to do this one horn. Keep in mind that in railroad service it was recommended to voice the horns every 3-6 months! The number of parts that were required plus the time involved in setting up just one horn shows why the M's, although arguably the best sounding ones out there, fell out of use in favor of less maintenance intensive horns that had fewer and simpler parts.

Part one, making diaphragms for the #1 bell.
   • Build a new diaphragm for M horn  

Part two, parts and anatomy:
   • M Horn Anatomy and Parts  

Part four, full air tank runby:
   • M5 Chip Tooth Full Air Runby  

If you want to see other good M horn voicing videos, check these out.

   • How to shop tune an M3   A good demonstration of the shop tune method.

   • How To Voice or Tune a Nathan " M " S...   A good demonstration of the field tune method by the master himself, Ken Lanovich.