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Misc Reviews Locoparasaxo Wall Stand
I must admit I was a bit nervous about this at first, wondering what would happen if it fell off the wall. My house was built in 1925 and I'm not sure I completely trust the walls to hold something as heavy and valuable as a saxophone. Added to that the best place in my musicroom was immediately above my wife's harpsichord, so a fall would have truly catastrophic consequences.
The first thing I thought was that the mounting plate has 3 screw holes, configured with one at the top and two at the bottom. My knowledge of physics is a bit sketchy, but I presumed that the screw at top of the plate is the most important, as the weight from the saxophone would be attempting to pull the screw out at the top, but pushing the bottom of the plate in against the wall. So I thought it would have been better to have the two screws at the top. I contacted the manufacturer, who assured me that this is not the case:
He also mentioned that if the wall is in really poor shape there are various methods to make it safe:
Alternatively you could mount a large wooden "plaque" with as many screws as you think are necessary, and then screw the stand into the wood. This could work especially well also if you wanted several stands on the wall, ie you could screw a whole plank along the wall, like a skirting board but higher up, and then mount the stands into this. It would then distribute the weight across the a large surface.
In the end I decided against the situation above the harpsichord, as an accident could happen while I was reaching for horn anyway. I chose a spot on the chimney breast and drilled three holes, expecting the drill to sink into some soft mortar or crumbly old brick, but was very pleasantly surprised to find that each time I drilled I felt a good resistance from the bricks (luckily I missed the mortar in between). Whenever I drill into walls I expect quite a few goes to find out where the bricks are and where the mortar is.
Anyway I seemed to be lucky, but what I hadn't realised is that the supplied rawlplugs and screws are for a size smaller than the holes I'd drilled (being sue to standard English plugs for which I would use a 6mm drill. Not to worry though as I just used my own plugs and screws instead. (A note to the manufacturer: maybe you should include instructions on what size drill bit to use. Or maybe you did and I lost them).
I screwed the stand in and the screws went in satisfactorily tightly (can you use two adverbs like that?). I was half expecting the brick to crack and have to redo it all, but no. Apparently they knew how to make good bricks in 1925.
On to the stand. There's not much to say about this, which is a good thing. It holds the saxophone very well and firmly giving me lots of confidence. I chose to use it for my alto, I would have been just as happy with a tenor up there but the space I chose was a bit small for tenor, but I'm sure I'll get another one to use for a tenor.
The bell support unscrews so that you can fit into one of five positions to suit the size of your horn, but I found even in the lowest position (pictured) it's still perfect for my alto so I presume it would also fit a curved soprano with the support higher up. In the lowest position it was also fine for my tenors.
Unlike a floor stand, the wall stand becomes part of your home decor, so as well as being functional, it has to look good, and this is definitely an area where these stands win out. There needs to be an adjuster so you can fit different size horns, and the look of this is rather nice IMO with a spherical knob to tighten the support, and this has very stylish look as well as functioning well.
Why use a wall stand?
Well, there are two schools of thought about whether it's good to leave a saxophone out on its stand when not in use. It's possibly true that if you put the horn away after practising it might last a bit longer between services. Leaving it out means it can get a bit dusty or exposed to sun meaning the pads might have a shorter life. Although this may be true, I don't think it makes enough difference to the inevitable trip down the tech anyway to be too bothered, but the very big plus side is that saxophone is there ready to play at all times, practically begging you to practise. Of course you can leave it out on a floor stand, but this has its disadvantages of not just taking up valuable floor space, but also being easy to knock over or walk into. Not to mention the hazards of pets and small children.
In conclusion I would say that this is not just a great space saver, but a safer way to keep your horn out and ready to play, and it's a great addition to your home decor!
The first thing I thought was that the mounting plate has 3 screw holes, configured with one at the top and two at the bottom. My knowledge of physics is a bit sketchy, but I presumed that the screw at top of the plate is the most important, as the weight from the saxophone would be attempting to pull the screw out at the top, but pushing the bottom of the plate in against the wall. So I thought it would have been better to have the two screws at the top. I contacted the manufacturer, who assured me that this is not the case:
He also mentioned that if the wall is in really poor shape there are various methods to make it safe:
Alternatively you could mount a large wooden "plaque" with as many screws as you think are necessary, and then screw the stand into the wood. This could work especially well also if you wanted several stands on the wall, ie you could screw a whole plank along the wall, like a skirting board but higher up, and then mount the stands into this. It would then distribute the weight across the a large surface.
In the end I decided against the situation above the harpsichord, as an accident could happen while I was reaching for horn anyway. I chose a spot on the chimney breast and drilled three holes, expecting the drill to sink into some soft mortar or crumbly old brick, but was very pleasantly surprised to find that each time I drilled I felt a good resistance from the bricks (luckily I missed the mortar in between). Whenever I drill into walls I expect quite a few goes to find out where the bricks are and where the mortar is.
Anyway I seemed to be lucky, but what I hadn't realised is that the supplied rawlplugs and screws are for a size smaller than the holes I'd drilled (being sue to standard English plugs for which I would use a 6mm drill. Not to worry though as I just used my own plugs and screws instead. (A note to the manufacturer: maybe you should include instructions on what size drill bit to use. Or maybe you did and I lost them).
I screwed the stand in and the screws went in satisfactorily tightly (can you use two adverbs like that?). I was half expecting the brick to crack and have to redo it all, but no. Apparently they knew how to make good bricks in 1925.
On to the stand. There's not much to say about this, which is a good thing. It holds the saxophone very well and firmly giving me lots of confidence. I chose to use it for my alto, I would have been just as happy with a tenor up there but the space I chose was a bit small for tenor, but I'm sure I'll get another one to use for a tenor.
The bell support unscrews so that you can fit into one of five positions to suit the size of your horn, but I found even in the lowest position (pictured) it's still perfect for my alto so I presume it would also fit a curved soprano with the support higher up. In the lowest position it was also fine for my tenors.
Unlike a floor stand, the wall stand becomes part of your home decor, so as well as being functional, it has to look good, and this is definitely an area where these stands win out. There needs to be an adjuster so you can fit different size horns, and the look of this is rather nice IMO with a spherical knob to tighten the support, and this has very stylish look as well as functioning well.
Why use a wall stand?
Well, there are two schools of thought about whether it's good to leave a saxophone out on its stand when not in use. It's possibly true that if you put the horn away after practising it might last a bit longer between services. Leaving it out means it can get a bit dusty or exposed to sun meaning the pads might have a shorter life. Although this may be true, I don't think it makes enough difference to the inevitable trip down the tech anyway to be too bothered, but the very big plus side is that saxophone is there ready to play at all times, practically begging you to practise. Of course you can leave it out on a floor stand, but this has its disadvantages of not just taking up valuable floor space, but also being easy to knock over or walk into. Not to mention the hazards of pets and small children.
In conclusion I would say that this is not just a great space saver, but a safer way to keep your horn out and ready to play, and it's a great addition to your home decor!
25 Replies
·
8409 views
I'm wondering if anyone's noticed a change in the consistency of Vandoren Java Red reeds recently? My last two boxes have been noticeably substandard, with the last box not having a single, decent reed in it. Resistance has increased noticeably and the sound is much less bright. I swapped in an old Red and it was great.
It feels like they've changed how they gauge the Reds, or changed the design slightly. Is it just me or has anyone had this recently?
It feels like they've changed how they gauge the Reds, or changed the design slightly. Is it just me or has anyone had this recently?
19 Replies
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381 views
Miscellaneous Your Favourite Picture Of You Playing
We spend so much time ripping apart our playing, dissecting all of our flaws and generally not celebrating our successes that I thought a thread where we share our favourites images of ourselves playing would make a nice change.
I'll get the ball rolling with this image taken by my other half at a ska gig. It was my first ever experience of stepping in at the last moment (48 hours earlier I'd never even heard most of the 30 or 40 songs, never mind played them). Actually, thinking about it, it was the first time I'd ever played ska music. It was also my first gig with my Keilwerth. Musically it was a bit of a disaster - the band wasn't well rehearsed (to say the least) and the singer kept changing the arrangements as he sang. The first 45-50 minute set was over in under 30! But other than my G# sticking on one song, that I couldn't hear because I was stood next to the PA speaker with no monitoring at all, I think I pulled off my parts without embarrassing myself. At least not too badly. 😉
It was definitely a fun gig but I'd be lying if I said I'm not also glad that there are no recordings from the night or that my name was never mentioned. 😉 Normally I prefer action shots but there's just something atmospheric about this picture that I really like.
I'll get the ball rolling with this image taken by my other half at a ska gig. It was my first ever experience of stepping in at the last moment (48 hours earlier I'd never even heard most of the 30 or 40 songs, never mind played them). Actually, thinking about it, it was the first time I'd ever played ska music. It was also my first gig with my Keilwerth. Musically it was a bit of a disaster - the band wasn't well rehearsed (to say the least) and the singer kept changing the arrangements as he sang. The first 45-50 minute set was over in under 30! But other than my G# sticking on one song, that I couldn't hear because I was stood next to the PA speaker with no monitoring at all, I think I pulled off my parts without embarrassing myself. At least not too badly. 😉
It was definitely a fun gig but I'd be lying if I said I'm not also glad that there are no recordings from the night or that my name was never mentioned. 😉 Normally I prefer action shots but there's just something atmospheric about this picture that I really like.
479 Replies
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35420 views
Cafe Moderator
Theory & Impro Using patterns in jazz impro
There are many approaches you can take to improvising from just playing what comes into your head to assessing chord tone and associated scales or melodic phrases based on "vocabulary." The great thing about using patterns though is that so often you needn't bother too much about wrong notes because the mere fact that a short motif may be moving in a pseudo mathematically patterned way, often it (the pattern) let's you "get away" with notes that in a more melodic or random setting might sound wrong. The more cynical among us might say if you play anything fast enough you get away with wrong notes.
You could find for example the first two bars of this could work well on a C7 or D7, it doesn't need to be an augmented or any other kind of alteration. Likewise it be OK on A minor. What I'm saying is the brain is taken somewhere else by the patternistic nature and provided you come out of it with some kind of neat resolution then you are fine.
You could find for example the first two bars of this could work well on a C7 or D7, it doesn't need to be an augmented or any other kind of alteration. Likewise it be OK on A minor. What I'm saying is the brain is taken somewhere else by the patternistic nature and provided you come out of it with some kind of neat resolution then you are fine.
0 Replies
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17 views
Saxophones Alto for warm tone
Me again!
I'm curious to know - what alto do you think produces the warmest, most mellow tone?
No particular reason for asking just pure curiosity........
I'm curious to know - what alto do you think produces the warmest, most mellow tone?
No particular reason for asking just pure curiosity........
37 Replies
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630 views
Tech/maintenance Super glued pads - a cry for help
Hello, folks. Many of you may know me from that other site.
A while back, I bought a nice, shiny purple logo Yts-32 from a guy in Japan. It arrived unplayable due to leaks. No prob, I think. I'll fix 'er right up. Wrong again.
The pads are glued in with ca glue. Lots of it, filling the cups. It is very hard and thick. I have scraped out a couple of pad cups. It was a long, tedious drudge. Acetone barely softens the surface.
Is there a better way?
A while back, I bought a nice, shiny purple logo Yts-32 from a guy in Japan. It arrived unplayable due to leaks. No prob, I think. I'll fix 'er right up. Wrong again.
The pads are glued in with ca glue. Lots of it, filling the cups. It is very hard and thick. I have scraped out a couple of pad cups. It was a long, tedious drudge. Acetone barely softens the surface.
Is there a better way?
37 Replies
·
583 views
Miscellaneous Old Saxophone Advertisements or Case Emblems ?
Anyone have vintage catalogs, advertising or case emblem pictures / copies to share ?
Store emblems make for some fascinating historical research.
This sax below came from Smarts Music Shop. Could it be the one in display case ?
Store emblems make for some fascinating historical research.
This sax below came from Smarts Music Shop. Could it be the one in display case ?
71 Replies
·
1816 views
Hello everyone
my turn to be SOTM host again, I've chosen 'Footprints' by Wayne Shorter.
I've added lead sheets and backing tracks HERE
Lead sheets - there is one for Eb instruments, and Bb has a high version, for people with leaky low notes, and a low version for people who don't like palm keys. There are some adventurous looking tuplets, but if you're struggling with them have a listen along to the original (below) and it makes a lot more sense. Structurally, think of it as a Cm (concert pitch) blues, with a more harmonically exciting turnaround at the end.
Backing tracks - I had a look on ireal pro but none of the backing tracks really captured the feel/rhythm correctly, so the backing track uploaded is me bashing away at a piano and a drum module in Reaper. It's more natural sounding than the iReal stuff, but still not great so if you've got a better one feel free to use that! There are two versions of my homemade one, both with a four bar intro - one that repeats 6x, and one that's just 3x, although you could argue both versions are....SHORTER 😉
Here's the original:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgaIUqH0w6c&list=RDLgaIUqH0w6c&start_radio=1
Looking forward to hearing your recordings.
my turn to be SOTM host again, I've chosen 'Footprints' by Wayne Shorter.
I've added lead sheets and backing tracks HERE
Lead sheets - there is one for Eb instruments, and Bb has a high version, for people with leaky low notes, and a low version for people who don't like palm keys. There are some adventurous looking tuplets, but if you're struggling with them have a listen along to the original (below) and it makes a lot more sense. Structurally, think of it as a Cm (concert pitch) blues, with a more harmonically exciting turnaround at the end.
Backing tracks - I had a look on ireal pro but none of the backing tracks really captured the feel/rhythm correctly, so the backing track uploaded is me bashing away at a piano and a drum module in Reaper. It's more natural sounding than the iReal stuff, but still not great so if you've got a better one feel free to use that! There are two versions of my homemade one, both with a four bar intro - one that repeats 6x, and one that's just 3x, although you could argue both versions are....SHORTER 😉
Here's the original:
Looking forward to hearing your recordings.
9 Replies
·
516 views
Saxophones The Alphabet of Tone
The Alphabet of Tone
words often encountered when one discusses or expresses an instruments tone....
Bright
Warm
Rich
Dark
Lush
Centered / Focused
Spread
what else have YOU heard?
words often encountered when one discusses or expresses an instruments tone....
Bright
Warm
Rich
Dark
Lush
Centered / Focused
Spread
what else have YOU heard?
8 Replies
·
136 views
Introduction Hello!
I would like to introduce myself. My handle is Viljams (IYKYK). I am a trained woodwinds player (clarinet major). The sax became my focus in college (university for all you European folks), but the clarinet paid my bills! I have been a classroom music teacher, a fulltime private instructor, and played in all kind of ensembles/bands. I even had the privilege of joining the Chicago Musicians Union so I could play one gig. But hey that was the '70's in Chicago! I haven't played much in recent years due to my career and a lot of travel. I am hoping to restart things soon. I already did that once in my life and found that the restart resulted in me playing better than ever. Looking forward to following the various threads and journeys that others are on.
1 Replies
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31 views
Saxophones Trying to date my Amati Kraslice Tenor
Hi everyone!
A coworker's grandma passed away and her family passed her Amati Kraslice Tenor on to me.
It looks quite old (for example: the whole thing is silber, but the inside of the bell is gold), but me and my friends didn't have any luck finding something with the serial number.
The serial number is: 43826
I've added some photos, maybe this will help 🙂
Thanks already!!
A coworker's grandma passed away and her family passed her Amati Kraslice Tenor on to me.
It looks quite old (for example: the whole thing is silber, but the inside of the bell is gold), but me and my friends didn't have any luck finding something with the serial number.
The serial number is: 43826
I've added some photos, maybe this will help 🙂
Thanks already!!
17 Replies
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9977 views
I found this ancient Otto Langey Saxophone Fingering Chart, circa 1890, inside the case of a 1921 C Melody sax. The condition is poor, but it's still a cool find. I gather it's a fingering chart for those transitioning from the "older" 12-key saxophone to the "newer" 15-key layout. I don't see a date on this anywhere, so the 1890 guess came from the PC.
14 Replies
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311 views
Miscellaneous Photography - all aspects
Following various recent posts, I thought I would create a thread specifically for photography. Somewhere to talk about equipment, experiences, processing...
To start off, I was a Nikon user for over 40 years, but had to 'down size' as handling full-frame cameras and lenses was getting to be too much like hard work and giving me shoulder issues. My current digital camera is a mirrorless Fuji X-T5.
For film cameras, I have a Pentax MX, Mamiya RB67, and a Sinar F2.
To start off, I was a Nikon user for over 40 years, but had to 'down size' as handling full-frame cameras and lenses was getting to be too much like hard work and giving me shoulder issues. My current digital camera is a mirrorless Fuji X-T5.
For film cameras, I have a Pentax MX, Mamiya RB67, and a Sinar F2.
426 Replies
·
16528 views
Cafe Moderator
Café Supporter
Miscellaneous Daily Check In
Good morning,
We thought it might be good to have a thread where you can just come and say hi, tell us what you are doing today, have a moan, share an idea that you wouldn't necessarily start a thread for ( we can always create a new thread from posts here if it became a substantial discussion).
It doesn't have to be sax related🙂
Basically an easy way to connect on a daily basis.
So to kick us off, I am writing this whilst prepping a casserole for the slo cooker as I am playing sax today with café sax and need a quick easy tea when I get home.
I am still suffering with a cough which will impact my playing today and I am worried as we are playing our first care home gig next Sunday!!
Have a lovely Sunday
Jx
We thought it might be good to have a thread where you can just come and say hi, tell us what you are doing today, have a moan, share an idea that you wouldn't necessarily start a thread for ( we can always create a new thread from posts here if it became a substantial discussion).
It doesn't have to be sax related🙂
Basically an easy way to connect on a daily basis.
So to kick us off, I am writing this whilst prepping a casserole for the slo cooker as I am playing sax today with café sax and need a quick easy tea when I get home.
I am still suffering with a cough which will impact my playing today and I am worried as we are playing our first care home gig next Sunday!!
Have a lovely Sunday
Jx
2987 Replies
·
96240 views
Cafe Moderator
Cafe Announcements 📣 Testing new feature: Social Feed
As some of you have noticed we are testing a new forum feature that may or may not be made permanent. It is still under development so any critique, bug reports are welcome.
This is a different way of viewing recent posts, in a social media type view. This is never going to replace the existing traditional forum / subforum and new posts view, rather it's an alternative if you like that kind of view. So we don't need need an opinion on the feature itself. In fact I don't really like it myself. The reason is to make the forum more familiar and hopefully less perplexing for new users who may be used to this type of view but not the traditional forum format.
Currently the access to Social Feed is a sub menu item of New (along with the various different New views). You can also switch back and forth between the SF view and trad view via a link at the top of each thread. Social Feeds shows the latest started or replied to threads showing the first post and latest two or three replies. The Load More Replies link opens up each thread to show all replies (but we may reduce that to 10 or so at a time)
If you reply to a post in SF format it will show as "nested" but when viewing the same post in traditional view it will have the post it is replying to as a quote. (or rather, it should do with any luck)
Please supply any comments in this thread, so not interrupt normal threads with comments about the Social Feeds system.
Again: this is totally optional and will not replace any current view so we won't be taking a poll on whether you like/want it or not.
What will be most useful is if those of you who are used to this kind of feed with social media can comment in this thread which may be sticky for a while
This is a different way of viewing recent posts, in a social media type view. This is never going to replace the existing traditional forum / subforum and new posts view, rather it's an alternative if you like that kind of view. So we don't need need an opinion on the feature itself. In fact I don't really like it myself. The reason is to make the forum more familiar and hopefully less perplexing for new users who may be used to this type of view but not the traditional forum format.
Currently the access to Social Feed is a sub menu item of New (along with the various different New views). You can also switch back and forth between the SF view and trad view via a link at the top of each thread. Social Feeds shows the latest started or replied to threads showing the first post and latest two or three replies. The Load More Replies link opens up each thread to show all replies (but we may reduce that to 10 or so at a time)
If you reply to a post in SF format it will show as "nested" but when viewing the same post in traditional view it will have the post it is replying to as a quote. (or rather, it should do with any luck)
Please supply any comments in this thread, so not interrupt normal threads with comments about the Social Feeds system.
Again: this is totally optional and will not replace any current view so we won't be taking a poll on whether you like/want it or not.
What will be most useful is if those of you who are used to this kind of feed with social media can comment in this thread which may be sticky for a while
Do you use the social feed?
10 votes total
31 Replies
·
2111 views
Social
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