Saxophones Bauhaus-WALSTEIN Tenor Saxophone

davhudson

davhudson

Member
154
Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
After contacting Woodwind & Brass I did the 110 mile journey to visit them on Monday morning to try their Tenor Sax. I was hoping that the horn was going to be awful and would not spend the £399 buying it.

After a quick chat with Martin he got the Sax from it's case and it looked very very nice. I hooked it up to my harness and it instantly felt good with the keys falling easily to my fingers and a good positive actions.

I have never played a Tenor (I was/am an alto player) so was not sure what note to blow - within about 30 seconds I was blowing low Eb's which felt that they would substitute quite nicely for a washing machine on a high spin cycle. The resonance at the low end is brilliant! Going up the scale it all felt very nice until I reached middle D which felt a little dull and lifeless. Once passed Eb the resonance returned but not as well defined as the low end.

I asked Martin about this and he tell me that the middle D area of a lot of tenor can be a little lifeless. I must add that I am by no means an experienced player so incorrect embouchure was probably a high factor in this.

I did feel the mouthpiece could probably be better so I tried a number of different MPC's from very bright Selmer and Vandorans to darker Otto Link's.
I finally went for a hard rubber Otto Link 6*.

From blowing the first note on this horn there was little doubt that I would buy taking it home with me. So it started the 110 mile return journey along with the Otto Link 6*.

So far I have done a couple of hours on the new Tenor and am very pleased with it. I still want to play my alto so am alternating the two.

One thing I am finding is that it does make my neck ache with the extra weight. I am currently using a Neotech Soft that I have to extend to its limit to fit. I am tempted to try the BG Harness but it does look like it may be a bit of a drama getting it on and off - comment invited.

So in summary a long a tiring day buying the Tenor, but I think it was worth it to try first before buying. Will this be the last Tenor I buy? Probably not, but I think it is a good introduction and will suffice for a good while.


David Hudson
Milton Keynes
 
Had a look at W and B website and I see the BW sax for £400 is the all brass one. The bronze version is now at £500. Did you try both of them, and if so were they any differences? You mentioned the sum of £400, so I assume you bought the brass model.
 
Dave, I'm so pleased that you are happy with the tenor. I too alternate between alto (my first horn) and tenor which is my main horn. I play a 1960 Amati which, although I haven't weighed it, is quite heavy, I also use a Neotech soft strap. With the Zephyrs, we give a very lively stage performance and I find the Neotech gives me good neck protection.
I hope you take to it like I did, Enjoy!;}
 
I too have a BW tenor with Otto Link 6*. Great minds and all that! However, the Neoprene strap I use on my alto is too short for the tenor (or just about long enough) so I went for a Rico padded strap on the advice from TomMapfumo. You can get one from sax.co.uk and are comfortable, easy to adjust and the metal hook is very sturdy.
The middle range does come with practice, but I agree that it is the lower register where the BW really performs. In any case, congratulations and happy blowing.
 
Nice acquisition, David - congratulations!

I used to use the BG harness a lot when younger (still do when I play longer sessions these days), and it's not as much hassle as it looks. It does take a while to 'set it up' in a way that you like (i.e. adjust the shoulder straps on the harness & the ones that go round the sides).

But once you've adjusted it once, you won't need to adjust it very often & it's very quick to put on or take off. if you don't mind it looking 'different' than a neckstrap, i'd definitely give it a try.

My teacher used to insist that anyone switching from alto to tenor would start out with a harness, since putting more strain on your neck may hurt your posture, etc. and that could be more difficult to fix later. Some players would later switch to a regular padded neckstrap - but most of us continued using the harness.

If you'd like more detail on this, let me know.
 
Hi all, hope it's ok to revive this thread!

I had 2 questions about the BW Tenor. I was thinking about getting the bronze one, how much heavevier is it than the brass? I have health problems and I'm concerned that standing holding the weight could be an issue- I'm fine with my standard brass tenor for approx 45 mins, which is the most I'd play at the moment.

Also, anyone know what mp comes with this sax?

And hello to you all, my name is chris and I've been playing about 5 months, I'm an adult learner xx
 
Hi Chris - good to have you with us.

With respect to weight - I don't know about the tenors, but from what I recall on the Alto's, the BW 'felt' heavier than a Yamaha 62 that I compared it with. However, when I weighted the two saxes, they were within 50 grammes of each other - not a big difference.

With respect to 'holding' the sax for a longer period of time - have you considered a 'harness' rather than a neck-strap? I use one, and my sax teacher recommended these to all of his 'younger' students, as well as some adult ones who would feel fatigue with a regular neck-strap. I started using the harness when I switched from Alto to Tenor, back when I was 15. Now, over a decade later, i still find it more comfortable...

Finally, the MP that comes with the BW saxes is a 'no brand' chinese plastic one - apparently these are 'playable', but i've never used one for a prolonged period of time. Either case, a basic Yamaha MP should do just fine, if you're a starter, and these can be had quite cheap either new, or second-hand (if you don't have an issue with using second-hand MP's). I'm sure if you mention it on this forum, someone will have a spare & affordable Tenor MP which they would pass on to you at a fair price.
 
chrissieb said:
Hi all, hope it's ok to revive this thread!

I had 2 questions about the BW Tenor. I was thinking about getting the bronze one, how much heavevier is it than the brass? I have health problems and I'm concerned that standing holding the weight could be an issue- I'm fine with my standard brass tenor for approx 45 mins, which is the most I'd play at the moment.

Also, anyone know what mp comes with this sax?

And hello to you all, my name is chris and I've been playing about 5 months, I'm an adult learner xx
Click to expand...
I bought the standard non-bronze one and apart from the fact that the bronze one looked nicer I did not notice much difference in the playability or weight.
The mpc that comes with it is not at all good and I was recommended to get a new one with it - I got an Otto Link 6*.
 
that's good to hear- I mean about the weight, not the mp! I'm not sure what mp is best for me, my rental sax has a TJJ one that I really like, but don't seem to be able to buy seperate from their horns. I bought a morgan protone, but I don't like the shape, the beak is too steeply curved, feels like it is sliding out of my mouth, shame cos the sound is nice. I'm thinking about trying a yamaha 4C, just until I am better.

cheers for the reply.
 
chrissieb said:
that's good to hear- I mean about the weight, not the mp! I'm not sure what mp is best for me, my rental sax has a TJJ one that I really like, but don't seem to be able to buy seperate from their horns. I bought a morgan protone, but I don't like the shape, the beak is too steeply curved, feels like it is sliding out of my mouth, shame cos the sound is nice. I'm thinking about trying a yamaha 4C, just until I am better.

cheers for the reply.
Click to expand...

are you using mouthpiece patches? if not, that may be a way of preventing the mouthpiece 'sliding out' from your mouth.

As to the Yamaha - if you've been playing a good amount in your 5 months, and have built up 'air support', I've got a feeling that the 4c may be a bit narrow a tip opening - 5c may be better.
 
I use a mp patch. The trevor james on is just a gentler slop and that suits me, the curve on the beak of the morgan just feels odd. Thanks for the heads up on the 4C, I am bidding on one on ebay so I might just end up with a whole draw full of second hand mps before I find one I like!
 
chrissieb said:
that's good to hear- I mean about the weight, not the mp! I'm not sure what mp is best for me, my rental sax has a TJJ one that I really like, but don't seem to be able to buy seperate from their horns. I bought a morgan protone, but I don't like the shape, the beak is too steeply curved, feels like it is sliding out of my mouth, shame cos the sound is nice. I'm thinking about trying a yamaha 4C, just until I am better.

cheers for the reply.
Click to expand...
I bought mine direct from Woodwind & Brass and while I was there I tried several mpcs until I found one I liked.
 
Kumimajava said:
Hi Chris - good to have you with us.

With respect to weight - I don't know about the tenors, but from what I recall on the Alto's, the BW 'felt' heavier than a Yamaha 62 that I compared it with. However, when I weighted the two saxes, they were within 50 grammes of each other - not a big difference.

With respect to 'holding' the sax for a longer period of time - have you considered a 'harness' rather than a neck-strap? I use one, and my sax teacher recommended these to all of his 'younger' students, as well as some adult ones who would feel fatigue with a regular neck-strap. I started using the harness when I switched from Alto to Tenor, back when I was 15. Now, over a decade later, i still find it more comfortable...

Finally, the MP that comes with the BW saxes is a 'no brand' chinese plastic one - apparently these are 'playable', but i've never used one for a prolonged period of time. Either case, a basic Yamaha MP should do just fine, if you're a starter, and these can be had quite cheap either new, or second-hand (if you don't have an issue with using second-hand MP's). I'm sure if you mention it on this forum, someone will have a spare & affordable Tenor MP which they would pass on to you at a fair price.
Click to expand...

Hey, I managed to miss this reply first time around! I've found some specs for the Walstein, so now I know how heavy the broze one is... just need to weigh my sax for a comparison!

I just won a yamaha 4CM on ebay, but having read other comment on here, we'll have to see if it's 'open' enough for me! Maybe I'll try a few this w/e if I go to the store.

thanks for your help
 
oh and about the weight, I'm not sure a harness would stop me getting tired- it's more the standing for long periods combined with having to concentrate that does it for me, I find the padded neck strap is ok. Although having said that, I am getting twinges in my shoulder now!
 
chrissieb said:
oh and about the weight, I'm not sure a harness would stop me getting tired- it's more the standing for long periods combined with having to concentrate that does it for me, I find the padded neck strap is ok. Although having said that, I am getting twinges in my shoulder now!
Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

two quick comments:

1. if standing up is an issue, try playing the Tenor while sitting down on a chair. When I was doing this, i'd rest part of the sax's body on my thigh (sax going diagonal across the body), so that would unload the strap a bit as well. this will, however, change your shoulder & hand/arm position a bit, so you may need to experiment a bit until you find a comfortable position.

2. with respect to the harness, if you can borrow one from someone for a few days, i'd give it a try nonetheless, even if you think the neck-strap is working ok. another thing which the harness does to some people is allow them to play with the throat 'a bit more open'. what my teacher mentioned to me was that when playing with the neck-strap, after a prolonged period of time, if your neck gets tired, you'll let it fall a bit forward & lose your posture - for some people, this causes them to 'tighten' some of the muscles in their neck & so 'closes' the throat a bit... which in turn makes playing more difficult & tiresome. This doesn't happen to everyone (so it may not be happening to you), but if you do have a teacher (or someone else who can observe you while you play) you could ask them to have a look. You may just find that using the harness would allow you to relax a bit more while playing, which would make it less tiresome overall.

Good luck with the Yamaha MP as well - let us know how you progress on that 🙂
 
Thans for the advice, I'm hoping to get a teacher soon (when I have my own sax!), so I can get them to check out my posture, etc.

I'm thinking about getting a yamaha 5C also, one of my friends is visiting from the US and can get one for $20!! I was tempted by the rubber otto link too, but that is pretty expensive so I'm not sure I'll give that a go yet.
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

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