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Saxophones 1 sax for life

Mine has to be my Cannonball Tenor. She is a beast. Big voice, looks good and a dream to play (esp with a Geoff Lawton MP).
 
Interesting thread.
My 1955 Selmer Mark 6 Alto fantastic instrument that I know all it’s quirks Makes it even better.
 
Well, I play more than one voice but I'm pretty well set on these:

Alto - Conn 6M I bought in 1978 for $130 ($613 today)
Baritone - Conn 12M I bought in 1984 for $750. ($2220 today).

I rather suspect these two will be my main alto and baritone till the bitter end.

Unless you've really spent decades using a particular tool till it feels like an extension of you, you simply can't understand the relationship.
 
I'm a bit of a hoarder. They're all for life. 15. And then there's the clarinets.
 
At the moment my first sax (Yamaha YTS32) still plays better than I can ;-)
I'll keep practicing for a few years on that sax, thinking of getting another mouthpiece in the next 6 months or so.....
But ultimately I'll go looking for another sax that should be better. I think that would then have to be my tenor for life.

If I would have to choose right now I would be looking to the Adolphe Sax co - Dinant-II, or the Eastman 52'nd street, or possibly the TJ Signature Custom (SC) RAW. I’ve read some promising reviews about these saxes and they appeal to me. And of course I'll be testing a few others along the way I guess (Yanigasawa, P Mauriat, …..).
And having the perfect tenor that will last me for life won't keep me from looking towards a baritone or a bass sax after that. But I'll need to keep saving
Strange to read a post of mine from 5 years ago. Maybe time for an update...
Since then I have got myself a Bari (cheap second hand, Stephanhouser). Plays remarkably well though!
But my main sax is still the tenor (still lots of work to really master it...). And my YTS32 still plays better than I do...
But about 7 months ago I got myself a Conn 10m. Tested it at a shop that had lots of vintage instruments and new ones too. Compared it to a new Keilwerth, ergo's were more comfortable on that one, but I kept going back to that 10m. It really had the kind of sound that I was looking for.
Tried an older Conn too, but those ergo's were not compatible with my hands....
Still working to get the hang of that beast, but the sound still blows me away!
I really think that this could be my lifetime tenor (although I kept the Yamaha as a backup).
But who knows....I might just stumble across some awesome vintage or new tenor that will replace this one?
And I am also curious about a 12m bari, that might be a perfect addition to the low A Stephanhouser?
And a bass sax is also on my wish list (when I win the lottery perhaps)....
 
Strange to read a post of mine from 5 years ago. Maybe time for an update...
Since then I have got myself a Bari (cheap second hand, Stephanhouser). Plays remarkably well though!
But my main sax is still the tenor (still lots of work to really master it...). And my YTS32 still plays better than I do...
But about 7 months ago I got myself a Conn 10m. Tested it at a shop that had lots of vintage instruments and new ones too. Compared it to a new Keilwerth, ergo's were more comfortable on that one, but I kept going back to that 10m. It really had the kind of sound that I was looking for.
Tried an older Conn too, but those ergo's were not compatible with my hands....
Still working to get the hang of that beast, but the sound still blows me away!
I really think that this could be my lifetime tenor (although I kept the Yamaha as a backup).
But who knows....I might just stumble across some awesome vintage or new tenor that will replace this one?
And I am also curious about a 12m bari, that might be a perfect addition to the low A Stephanhouser?
And a bass sax is also on my wish list (when I win the lottery perhaps)....
What year the 10 m?
 
Being among those who by curiosity want to play them all, I have a first challenge. Which of the 4 ? Btw, I did own a sopranino for a while.
Tenor would probably my number 1. The paradox: it is the horn which I replaced the most recently. Does it have something to do with unachieved expectations ? Currently a 2005 Ref36.
My bari and curved soprano are with me for more than 25 years, the alto 15 years.
 
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Reading this old thread, I see I posted five years ago that a sax for life, for me, would be a Yanagisawa T992 my tenor at the time. It still is, it still plays great and I haven't played any other tenor since buying it which I like more.
 
I still enjoy Martin Committees .... but I'm more worried about if the social sax life is coming back?
 
I can only say with any certainty it would be Tenor for me.
I looked back through my photos since about 2008,I had a few saxes up to that date but since then my collection over the years has morphed considerably.
At one point in the herd I had
YBS 62
YTS 62
YAS 62
YTS 875
YSS 675
YANI 901 SOP
SELMER MKVI TENOR

Now I don't own a single Yamaha. Not a conscious decision and only realised today how it all changed. No Bari, no Sop either.
Come and gone was a beautiful Buescher TH&C Tenor, Selmer MKVII tenor.
The only Keeper there has been the Selmer MKVI which I've owned since 1998.
I have some nice stable mates for it too though.
 
What year the 10 m?
1963, about half a year older than myself.
Non roled toneholes, but a very 'big' sound.
I had been working on my sound (embouchure, breath control,....) for the last 2 years now. And I am convinced that I would not have been able to get that sound out of it 2 or 3 years ago.

5,6 or 7 years ago (not quite sure when exactly) I got the chance to try out an Adolphe sax & co Dinant II, the sax that appealed to me the most back then. It played good, but what I learned from that was that I was not sufficiently advanced as a player to notice the differences between that sax and my Yamaha. That cured my gas for a few years.

I guess that the sax that is the best at a certain point can evolve when our technique advances or our needs change....
 
1963, about half a year older than myself.
Non roled toneholes, but a very 'big' sound.
I had been working on my sound (embouchure, breath control,....) for the last 2 years now. And I am convinced that I would not have been able to get that sound out of it 2 or 3 years ago.

5,6 or 7 years ago (not quite sure when exactly) I got the chance to try out an Adolphe sax & co Dinant II, the sax that appealed to me the most back then. It played good, but what I learned from that was that I was not sufficiently advanced as a player to notice the differences between that sax and my Yamaha. That cured my gas for a few years.

I guess that the sax that is the best at a certain point can evolve when our technique advances or our needs change....
That’s great the later conns I believe are great value I was warned don’t get one from the 60,s as made in Mexico but to be honest the one I played was good.
 
For alto it is undecided.

The last fifteen years I played a 1956 Hohner president tenor, lots of different sounds extremely usefull in jazz, rock, punk, heavy metal, etcetera. For classical music I prefer a 1970 Hohner president tenor.

They both have pads for life.
 
:):) A sax for life? One sax to rule them all? Impossible. I started 20 years ago and as a tech I had loads through my hands and ended up keeping quite a few. On reflection the outstanding ones were. In no particular order. 1928 Adolphe Tenor (Selmer made) It had that "sweetness". to the sound and was really well in tune. 1936 Conn 10m. Opened my eyes to the difference and introduced me to Dexter Gordon. (sold on the cafe). 1945 SBA , Absolutly delicious. The nearest thing to playing chocolate. The ones I play the most now are a 1946 Non rolled toneholes 10m which I have just finished and is now my busking horn and a 1930 ish 6m alto bought many years ago. Sweet and a very fast player which is also a busker. But the main ones now are the MkVI and the SBA alto. They are like the good old fashioned steam engines. Reliable and arrive everywere on time!! Regards :):)
 
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Ok with 21 saxophones to choose this will surprise you , it’s either going to be a Mkvi 1962 alto that I had restored from a piece of scrap ( thank you Paul Carrington making it the best Mkvi I’ve got ) or a vito beauinger (duke) which I’ve held onto for about 18 year
Both great players and both with attachments
 
I’ve had my silver pearl Borgani “OBT” Jubilee for seven years now.

Sold all the rest of my saxes: various sops (inc. SC992, Serie III, Borgani bent neck), various altos (Serie II, Super 400, Borgani Jubilee, etc.), and spare tenors (~5 other Borgani Jubilees, TH&C, Super 20, Big B, Serie III, Ref 36, etc.). It’s very satisfying to feel that I’ve had a chance to play most of the classic tenors, own a great many of the best, and have this one in top playing condition.
 
I thought my forever sax would be a RAW but after trying a Keilwerth MKX I changed my mind. Sadly, at over £3,000 it may be a while before I buy one...

I hadn't realised I'd posted to this thread.

It turns out the MKX really is my 'one'. :banana:
 
Haha, to me it's amazing that this 2018 thread has resurfaced 5 years later!

When I long ago - on a whim - responded to a rent/buy ad in a local paper, I had no idea that there were different size saxes! So I tried an Alto and a Tenor and immediately fell in love with the sound and feel of the tenor. Despite having played neither before. So I rented a (Vito) tenor sax for 3 months which I decided to buy.

I've been an amateur tenor sax Big Band player for many years. At one point, I swapped my (new bought) Vito for a vintage(1961) Buffet Crampon super dynamic. Which I've played ever since. At the time, I couldn't afford a new 'good, new' tenor sax (for example a Selmer) and this 2e hand sax at roughly 1800 euro (now 1500 GB pounds) was about all I could afford. I tried out a couple of different 2nd hand saxes and some were louder but I found this the easiest to play.

After all these years, I still play the Buffet Crampon super dynamic. I have absolutely zero tendency (or budget!) towards GAS. TBH, I've never quite understood the motivation to 'collect'. Whether it be saxes, cars, frogs or whatever. I just want one good playable tenor sax.
 

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