Saxophones Alright, let's see them

[Lisa]

Umm... I love Bruce too, I might even refer to him as Brucie - so charming! Why is your soprano rubbish Jambo?

<<-- Need you see more of Bryan?

Lisa

 

[jambo]

Well, its not that bad. Ive had some problems with it lately.... but today it seems to be fine..... got better over-night!

Perhaps its majical!!!

 

[tris]

Here is a quick snap of my new Guardala Alto. I'll have a better attempt in the day light. I was so busy blowing it I did not notice the time!

 

[Bobby G]

It;s a bit of a show-off isn't it? 🙂

I bet while you were taking that photo it was whispering 'play me... play me...'

It's very pretty, do you need a Guardala tenor now?

Cheers, Bob

 

[tengu01]

Wow. Now that is pretty.

Now be honest.....which do you spend more time doing:
a) playing the sax
b) admiring the sax
c) playing in front of a mirror or other reflective surface

😉

 

[Linky Lee]

The Martin
http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/7739/dsc00296dr3.jpg

The Tenor
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8764/tenorfy5.jpg

And the Alto to come once I recieve it back from Hanson. Looks lovely in it's frosted gold finish.

 

[jambo]

I likes the looks of that Martin Linky! 🙂

 

[Jules]

Following a very nasty incident involving my 1 1/2 year old son and my old Conn, dear Suzie (that's the Conn, not my son by the way) is now retired from active gigging duty pending some severe repair work.. Kids, don't ya just love 'em
Being forced to play on a borrowed horn for my last few gigs also made me realise- a moden horn is so much easier to play than a 1937 Conn (Suzie wipes the floor with most other saxes, tone wise, but after a couple of gigs on a borrowed Yamaha 62... boy, did I feel ike a set of lead weights had been lifted from my... er..... musical bits).
Hence this years extravagant purchase... meet FB, a very fine, honking Mauriat 66R. I rapidly discovered FB was not at all friendly with my old Dukoff (as well as the fact I've really got a bit tired of being a screaming rock and roll monster) so a Berg Larsen 105/2 grained ebonite hits the spot very nicely.... Getting close to that Illinois Jacquet sound, just got to learn to play like him now!!

PS- Illinois Jacquet sound= Lester Young with a bit of R&B edge to it.
FB= Fearsome Beastie (My Conn slaying infant is TB, tiny beastie)

 

[Bobby G]

I was sure FB was going to be something much ruder than Fearsome Beastie, and I'm sure I wasn't alone.

Presuming a Yamaha 62 tenor equates to a Yamaha 62 alto, it sounds like I should maybe steer clear of vintage horns? Then again, I've owned some pretty chunky guitars over the years, so who knows. There may be some sax rationalisation going on in my house during the coming year.

Cheers, Bob

 

[jambo]

Nice Horn!

 

[Jules]

My old Conn was a lovely instrument- fantastic tone, and quite playable (Its been my weapon of choice for years)- but ultimately its not as smooth as modern gear. You're a guitarist, aren't you- it feels a bit like gonig form playing an acoustic to an electric....

Bob Green wrote:
I was sure FB was going to be something much ruder than Fearsome Beastie, and I'm sure I wasn't alone.

Presuming a Yamaha 62 tenor equates to a Yamaha 62 alto, it sounds like I should maybe steer clear of vintage horns? Then again, I've owned some pretty chunky guitars over the years, so who knows. There may be some sax rationalisation going on in my house during the coming year.

Cheers, Bob

 

[Dylan]

How about a picture of dear Suzie for old times sake?

 

[tris]

I love old Conns 🙂 That is why I bough a Guardala. Weight wise balance and build quality if feels like finding an unplayed vintage gem. Sound wise it is true what they say, it is like a contempory evolution; what Conn might have done....

Enineering wise it is incredible.

For me it kills the Ref 54 Selmer. The closest I have ever come a modern vintage crossover. Probibally the best way to put it is a contempory sax but with vintage soul.

 

[Bobby G]

Nachoman, you are right about me being a guitarist, but predominantly an acoustic player - when I go onto electric it almost feels like there's nothing there. I think I prefer the more resistant feel of an acoustic guitar, so maybe I'd get on with a weightier vintage horn. Mind you, I like the sound of Tris's modern horn with a vintage soul, but unfortunately couldn't afford one. I don't suppose there's a cheaper alternative is there? Or maybe a vintage hirn with a relatively modern feel?

Cheers, Bob

 

[Jules]

I love the idea of a vintage soul to a horn -that's pretty much how I feel about the mauriat, being bigger toned, darker than the modern norm and generally a bit pre war sounding (hodges, webster, young etc).
There are actually a few other candidates for this type of instrument- Selmer references are incredible (I personally prefer the 36 to the 54- again, its the wider bore, hence bigger, darker booming tone), bronze bodied Yanagisawas a pretty much in the same vein too....

 

[Linky Lee]

I'm looking for something like that,

I've narrowed my search to the Mauriat (both the 666R 😛 and the system 76 which I currently prefer), the Ref 36 (which I can't afford) a Cannonball (see my new thread) and possibly something like a YTS62 or TJ Sig Custom with a nice mouthpiece.

My Martin covers the vintage side of things Alto wise, and the Hanson can do everything. I just need the Tenor... and then Baritone and then another Tenor etc. etc.

 

[Bobby G]

Surely you're going to need a soprano at some point soon? They may be, as mfox calls them, 'a curio in the sax world', but they are fun fun fun especially for pitch-bending and comedy vibrato. And making scary noises in underground carparks

Cheers, Bob

 

[Linky Lee]

I don't know... I thought about getting a SS-5 from Hanson just for the sake of having one but I can't see me using it that much.

I prefer the bigger instruments. I've got my bag pipes for the strange sounds and a wee piccolo for the cat

....killing. 😱

If I were to get a sop I'd stick to that eerie haunting almost snake charming like sound that they can produce. That's pretty cool.

 

[Melissa]

woo! MY topic has 10 pages

beautiful horns, guys!

 

[jambo]

Heres a nice pic of my 50-year-old Dolnet Alto