HornBlasters Outlaw vs Shocker vs Conductor's Special vs Rhino

HornBlasters names its horn lines like outlaw country records — Outlaw, Shocker, Conductor’s Special, Rhino — and the catalog never quite explains how they relate. Here’s the honest breakdown of what each line actually is, what it costs, and which one fits your vehicle and budget.

How the four lines actually fit together

The first thing to understand: these are not four parallel product tiers. Two of the names refer to horn designs (Outlaw and Rhino), one refers to the flagship horn family (Shocker, in XL 4-bell and S6 6-bell versions), and one — Conductor’s Special — is a kit family built around the Shocker XL horn with different air systems bolted on. Once you see that structure, the whole catalog snaps into focus.

Line	What it is	Bells	Loudness	Typical complete-kit price
Outlaw	Cast metal bells on a one-piece manifold	3	142.7 dB at 3 ft (third-party tested)	$369.99–$859.99
Shocker XL / S6	Composite bells, hand-tuned to the US train horn chord	4 (XL) or 6 (S6)	147.7 dB (XL)	S6 544K kit: $1,219.99
Conductor’s Special	Shocker XL horns + a ladder of air systems	4	147.7 dB	$579.99–$1,209.99
Rhino	Budget metal tri-tone horn	3	No current published rating	$399.99 (3-Liter kit)

All prices in this guide come from HornBlasters’ own product pages as of late August 2026 — sale pricing moves around constantly, so treat them as snapshots.

Outlaw: real metal bells, old-school blast

The Outlaw is the traditionalist’s pick — three real metal trumpets mounted together on a metal bracket, the classic semi-truck look. Per HornBlasters’ product page, the Outlaw horn has been third-party tested at 142.7 dB at 3 feet, which makes it the only line in the catalog with an independently verified number rather than an in-house one.

The kit ladder runs from the Mini Outlaw (on sale at $369.99 at this writing) through the standard Outlaw kit at $499.99, the Outlaw 127H light-duty kit at $579.99, and a heavy-duty configuration at $859.99. Honk times are respectable for the money: 4–5 seconds on the light-duty kit and 5–6 seconds on the medium and heavy-duty versions, with recovery ranging from about 35 seconds on the light-duty system to 1 minute 33 seconds on the heavy-duty setup refilling from 110 to 150 PSI.

• Only HornBlasters line with a third-party-tested dB figure (142.7 dB at 3 ft)
• One-piece manifold means one bracket, one mounting job
• Real metal bells with the classic chrome truck-horn look

• About 5 dB below the Shocker XL — a clearly audible difference
• The one-piece assembly needs a single large mounting spot; no splitting bells across the frame

Shocker: the flagship sound

The Shocker is what HornBlasters is known for. The Shocker XL is a four-bell horn — bells measuring 19.50″, 16.25″, 14.75″, and 12.75″ — built from fiberglass-reinforced ABS composite with stainless steel and brass internals, and hand-tuned to the US train horn chord. HornBlasters’ kit collection lists it at 147.7 dB, and the company backs the horn itself with a limited lifetime warranty. Sold standalone, it runs $339.99 on sale (regular $459.99), but remember it’s a bare horn: you still need a full air system.

Because the bells mount individually rather than on one manifold, you can spread them across a frame rail, behind a bumper, or wherever your vehicle has pockets of space — which is exactly why the Shocker XL fits vehicles the Outlaw can’t.

The Shocker S6 takes the same recipe up to six bells, adding two extra bells for a stereo effect. The flagship Shocker S6 544K Nightmare Edition kit — six bells, a 5-gallon eight-port tank, and HornBlasters’ 1NM compressor running 110–150 PSI — sells for $1,219.99 (regular $1,289.99) and delivers an 8–10 second honk with a roughly 2-minute recovery. It’s one of the loudest kits the company manufactures.

Conductor’s Special: same horn, a ladder of air systems

Here’s the part that confuses most buyers: the Conductor’s Special is not a different horn. Every Conductor’s Special kit ships with the same four-bell Shocker XL. What you’re choosing is the air system behind it, and the model number tells you which one — the trailing digits track tank size and compressor setup.

127H

1.5-gal tank, 2–3 sec honk — light duty

228H

2-gal tank, 3–5 sec honk — light duty

232 / 244K

2-gal systems, medium duty

544K

5-gal tank, 10–12 sec honk, ~2-min recovery

844K

8-gal tank, 18–20 sec honk — extreme duty

Pricing spans $579.99 for the entry configuration up to $1,209.99 at the top of the range, with the horns carrying a lifetime manufacturer’s defect warranty and most other components covered for 2 years. Since the horn — and therefore the loudness — is identical across the whole ladder, the only question is how long you want to lay on the button and how fast you want the tank back. Our air tank size guide walks through exactly how tank volume converts to honk seconds.

Rhino: the budget door into the brand

The Rhino is HornBlasters’ entry-level metal horn — a tri-tone unit 16.75″ long, weighing 14.2 lbs, rated to 150 PSI max, with a 1/4″ solenoid valve pre-installed so it plumbs straight into a small air system. Standalone it’s $249.99 on sale (regular $269.99), and the complete Rhino 3-Liter kit — horn plus an integrated 3-liter compressor-and-tank combo running 120 PSI — goes for $399.99 on sale (regular $529.97). Expect 2–3 seconds of honk and a roughly 35-second recharge.

Two things to know before buying. First, HornBlasters doesn’t publish a headline dB number on the current Rhino pages; our Rhino 544 review pegs the three-bell horn around 145 dB at 3 ft based on the company’s previously published figures. Second, the larger Rhino configurations are gone — the Rhino 544 (the 5-gallon pairing) is no longer listed on HornBlasters’ site as of 2026, so the line is now effectively the standalone horn and the 3-Liter kit. The Rhino also carries a 1-year warranty rather than the lifetime coverage on Shocker horns.

The air system is half the decision

Notice a pattern: the honk-time spread inside each line is bigger than the loudness spread between lines. A Shocker XL on a 1.5-gallon Conductor’s Special 127H gives you 2–3 seconds; the same horn on a 544K gives you 10–12. Meanwhile the dB gap between the cheapest Rhino and the flagship Shocker is a few decibels. So decide on sound first (metal vs. composite chord, three bells vs. four — our trumpet count guide covers why bell count changes the chord), then spend the rest of your budget on air. One more data point for planning: filling the S6 544K’s 5-gallon tank from empty takes about 6 minutes 45 seconds, so these are top-off systems, not instant-on ones.

Which line should you buy?

• Tight budget, want the brand: Rhino 3-Liter kit at $399.99 — real HornBlasters horn, short honk, easy install.
• Classic metal-bell look and sound: Outlaw. The $499.99 standard kit is the sweet spot, and the 142.7 dB third-party number is honest.
• Maximum authentic train chord, flexible mounting: any Conductor’s Special — pick the tier by how many seconds of honk you actually need.
• Money is no object: Shocker S6 544K Nightmare at $1,219.99 — six bells, 5 gallons, one of the loudest kits they make.

If you’re still weighing HornBlasters against the other big name in the space, our Kleinn vs HornBlasters comparison covers how the two brands’ catalogs, warranties, and dB claims stack up.

Sources

• HornBlasters Outlaw Train Horn Kit — Outlaw 142.7 dB third-party test figure, kit prices ($499.99/$579.99/$859.99), honk times, recovery times, metal-bell construction
• HornBlasters Shocker XL Train Horn — Shocker XL standalone price, bell dimensions, materials, hand-tuning, lifetime warranty
• HornBlasters Shocker Train Horn Kits collection — Shocker XL 147.7 dB figure, Shocker S6 add-on horn price
• HornBlasters Shocker S6 544K Nightmare Edition — S6 544K price, 6-bell configuration, 5-gal 8-port tank, 110–150 PSI, 8–10 sec honk, 2-min recovery, 6:45 full fill
• HornBlasters Shocker S6 Train Horn — S6 six-bell configuration (two extra bells for a stereo effect), standalone price
• HornBlasters Conductor’s Special Train Horn Kit — Conductor’s Special model tiers, tank sizes, honk times, $579.99–$1,209.99 price range, warranty terms
• HornBlasters Rhino Train Horn — Rhino standalone price, dimensions, weight, 150 PSI max, 1/4″ solenoid, 1-year warranty
• HornBlasters Rhino Black 3 Liter Train Horn Kit — Rhino 3-Liter kit price, 2–3 sec honk, 35-sec recharge, 120 PSI
• HornBlasters Train Horn Kits collection — Mini Outlaw and Conductor’s Special current sale pricing

Keep reading

• Kleinn vs HornBlasters: Which Train Horn Brand to Buy?
• Single vs Dual vs Quad Trumpet Train Horns: Which to Buy?
• Train Horn Air Tank Size Guide: 1, 2, 3 & 5 Gallon
• HornBlasters Shocker XL Review: Honest Test
• HornBlasters Rhino 544 Train Horn Review