McCracken Horns grew out of George McCracken’s work as both a builder and a problem-solver for horn players who wanted something specific that did not already exist.
The earliest major chapter of that history begins with George’s work for the King Company, where the Fidelio and Eroica horns were developed and mass-produced. Those instruments became an important part of his reputation and mark the beginning of the broader McCracken story.
After that period, George moved beyond standard production work and into more individualized building. Players would come to him with ideas — requests for a piston horn with certain playing characteristics, or a design that solved a particular musical or technical problem — and he would figure out how to make it real. That custom, player-driven approach became a defining part of McCracken Horns.
Many of the instruments in the Horn List represent that period: horns made not as generic catalog items, but as responses to the needs of real musicians. Some of those players were major figures in the horn world, including Phil Myers, whose name appears at the top of the list and reflects the level of artist trust George earned.
Doug Hall’s connection to this work began through apprenticeship. After learning directly from George, Doug went on to school, became a full-time horn player in the San Diego Symphony, and kept returning whenever he had time away — especially in September and June — to continue building, designing, and refining horns. Out of that process came instruments Doug would go on to use professionally, including horns he built and played in the symphony for years.
Upon George’s death, Doug became the sole owner of McCracken Horns and moved the business to California. In doing so, he carried forward the part of George’s work that mattered most to the players who came to him: careful listening, practical problem-solving, and a client-first approach to building and repair.
That continuity matters. McCracken Horns is not just a catalog of instruments, but a living design history: mass-produced models like the Fidelio and Eroica, custom horns shaped by specific players, and an ongoing line of work carried forward through apprenticeship, performance, repair, and shop practice.
The broader story includes the instruments themselves, the players who used them, and the workshop decisions that shaped how each horn looked, felt, and responded.
Further Reading
Genius George—The Work of George McCracken
“George's merger of the practical with the artistic was a true marriage of right- and left-brained brilliance.”
— Ralph Lockwood
Ralph Lockwood’s remembrance adds another valuable perspective on George McCracken’s mind, design instincts, and unusual ability to connect engineering with musical intuition.
In Memoriam
George McCracken
April 10, 1931 – April 12, 2024
Today the horn community mourns the loss of George McCracken, horn designer extraordinaire, gracious host, and friend to one and all.
George was raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and began his career playing horn in the U.S. Navy. After starting a family, he moved to Cleveland in the 1960s to work for H.N. White / King designing brass instruments. It was while working at King that he conceived the 4B and 5B trombones, the Duo Gravis bass trombone, and the two horn models that still have devoted admirers today: the Fidelio and the Eroica — instruments he believed in throughout his career.
George ultimately left King and settled in Virginia in 1980, eventually arriving in West Point, where he ran his own shop and applied his expertise to building horns of his own. He also built many one-off instruments for players with very specific requirements.
Anyone who knew George in his later years could appreciate his still-active mind, boundless imagination, and attention to detail. His knowledge was immense, and he knew and appreciated music deeply, always lighting up — and sometimes conducting along — when some special performance came on his stereo. He often communicated ideas by diagramming on index cards, and by his own admission, his ability to solve problems and conceive instruments for others was still the thing that got him out of bed each morning the last time we saw each other, two years ago.
George is survived by his daughters Robin and Martha, and his son Mark. The McCracken shop continued under the management of his apprentice and close friend, Doug Hall.
George was a great man, and, I believe, the last of his kind: a classicist, a romantic, and a real engineer who truly loved the horn, his family, and his friends. I know I speak for all of us who knew him well when I say that we are devastated.