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Saxophones Gear Fiends - What's Got Your Interest Piqued Lately?

Jmoen3

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Sax Friends! I've been slow on my posting (taking a short break from recordings after my Christmas videos and practicing a lot more to add some new skills to my repertoire!) I've been wondering what everyone is up to in the sax world, and I just wanted to know what new (or new to you) gear others are getting, hoping to get, or recently acquired! This can be gear of any kind, from horns or mpcs, to reeds, neckstraps, thumbhooks, or anything else. Just eager to hear what everyone is excited about lately.

Recently: I was gifted a reedgeek geeklet, a beautiful hand finished wooden mouthpiece rack and a new (backordered) recording microphone from Advanced Audio. Very excited about these additions (wish the mic was here), although it does make me want to fill up my new mouthpiece rack with even more gear. I've also got a nice fun trip planned to Sax Alley to get my tenor looked over, and I'll be hoping to playtest some things while I'm scheduled there.

And some other things that have piqued my interest (Sadly, not making any purchases anytime soon, but its nice to dream):
Chad-LBs Jazz Articulation Masterclass
King Super 20s
GS Reso Mouthpiece
Modern Borganis (love that pearl silver... but the special edition -Rose Gold and Silver - I can't stop looking at it)
Just Joes Neck Strap (forgot I wanted to buy one of these years ago, and a recent thread brought that back)
Windy City Woodwinds 3d Printed piece
Forza Thumbhook (definitely want to try this at least)
Phil Tone Isotope and Mosaic
Saxscape Downtown (or other Guardala Copies)
Eastman 850/852s
Silverstone Ambipoly Reeds
Vintage Brilharts (Always wanted some of these for my collection)
Set of new pads for my Conn stencil project
10mfan Celebration (of course I'd want to try this )
Vintage (Conn or King) Bari project (DIstant future idea, probably the only way I'll ever get a bari though... so expensive)

So, I could probably go on forever, but I am very intriqued of what kind of things have got the community interested!

(For non-gear heads and those who are content with what they have, happy to hear from everyone. But hoping this can be a happy thread for people to share. So please there is no need to lecture anyone here)
 
There won't be a shortage of people on here wanting to talk to you about gear.... I recently got a more fancy mic and a focusrite audio interface - I'd been recording on a blue yeti usb mic previously but now I can keep that one with my work computer for calls.

Very recently I had the chance to get hold of a ted klum new London mouthpiece for a good price - I've only played it once so far, but it's very comfortable to play and I like the noise I make with it when I listen back to recordings. Need to play it a bit more to decide whether it's my new favourite.

I've also been trying synthetic reeds a bit more - i already had a Legere signature, but had a go on the new Legere American cut and a Silverstein alta ambipoly. They're all pretty nice.

And finally.... I have one of the foldable Hercules stands that you put in a bag and store in the bell. In my last tenor gig before lockdown I lost the bag for it in the green room. So I made a new one on my girlfriends sewing machine using an offcut from some old curtains. Strangely satisfying!

Gear I maybe still want... 10mfan chameleon and saxscape live look fun mouthpieces to try, and I still sometimes get the urge to try a vintage tenor like a Conn 10m. Mainly though, I just want to play what I've already got at a rehearsal or a gig.
 
What a great list! I see we have very similar taste, as just last year I replaced my blue yeti for a focusrite scarlett 2i2 and an Audio-Technica 2020. Now upgrading the mic bit :).

Also have a ted Klum piece (Yardbird), 10mfan chameleon and Daddy-O, and Legere American Cut! Still hoping to try that ambipoly and Saxscape downtown (although the live looked good too). Great stuff!
 
Got a Hanson LX tenor in black a little while ago now and have a PPT #8 on order. Hopefully this will complement my Jody Jazz Jet 8. Been using Leger signatures for a while (just #2) and am enjoying using the American cut also now. Think I'll probably get a Hercules fold- up stand like sax panther so I can fit it in the bell for future busks hopefully..
 
Very recently I had the chance to get hold of a ted klum new London mouthpiece for a good price - I've only played it once so far, but it's very comfortable to play and I like the noise I make with it when I listen back to recordings. Need to play it a bit more to decide whether it's my new favourite.
Can you do us a review of this once you've put it through its paces, these have intrigued me a lot
 
Got a Hanson LX tenor in black a little while ago now and have a PPT #8 on order. Hopefully this will complement my Jody Jazz Jet 8. Been using Leger signatures for a while (just #2) and am enjoying using the American cut also now. Think I'll probably get a Hercules fold- up stand like sax panther so I can fit it in the bell for future busks hopefully..
I had one of those Hercules travelite stands for alto some years ago, be careful practical for size and carrying around but I didn't find it very stable especially when you have thousands of pounds worth of saxophone on it.
Twice my sax nearly took a tumble, that was enough to consign to the bin.
 
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In the last 6 months I have got a new (used) tenor sax and three new mouthpieces (ATB), so I most definitely don't need anything, but for the last few years I have had a desire to try a Martin tenor sax - ideally a Comm II, but otherwise, more realistically, an Indiana. There's no specific reason for this, it just feels right. And I covet the R&C saxello that @aldevis has for sale, but since I hardly ever play soprano at the moment. it's not something that I could justify, even to my inner GAS fiend.
 
In the last 6 months I have got a new (used) tenor sax and three new mouthpieces (ATB), so I most definitely don't need anything, but for the last few years I have had a desire to try a Martin tenor sax - ideally a Comm II, but otherwise, more realistically, an Indiana. There's no specific reason for this, it just feels right. And I covet the R&C saxello that @aldevis has for sale, but since I hardly ever play soprano at the moment. it's not something that I could justify, even to my inner GAS fiend.
For some obscure reason, lockdown prevented me from practising soprano.
Learning to play flute, these days... I definitely need a new headjoint (for the flute)
 
I've bought a Rode PSA-1 boom arm and a Heil PRSMC shock mount to go with my EV RE27N/D dynamic mic. This gives the look of a radio broadcast setup (think Frasier Crane and his producer Roz).


The ostensible reason is so that my working from home Zoom calls and training courses sound professional and not too tinny. The incidental benefit is that I can easily adjust the position of the mic for height and angle to suit all my saxophones.

Rhys
 
Not in the market for anything, happy with what I got but wouldn't mind a new mouthpiece for alto
possibly a Ted Klum, Absolute colour line (blue) or maybe PPT alto.
Must resist, must resist.
 
Does it fit nicely?
Also when mic is horizontal?

I read some information on a mic/recording forum online that suggested it would fit OK with a bit of jiggling around, but in practice it fits perfectly - there is even a cut out in the clamping ring that allows the microphone location pin thingy to slide through.

The mic is front-addressed and so far the boom arm and the suspension are holding it securely in any position I want - horizontal, pointing 45 degrees down or up and with the mic above or below the end of the boom. The mic is heavy, so I do wonder whether I should take it off the arm and suspension when it isn't being used.

Rhys
 
"What's Got Your Interest Piqued Lately?"

Reeds.

It might sound daft, but I've always used legere reeds and have loved the ease of using them, but when I got the sop I didn't like the sound of the legere reed, so I got some cane. I've since tried different brands for alto and tenor, and am loving the different sounds.

There's also something strangely satisfying about going through the reed rituals (moistening, rotating, trying to adjust less good ones to be more good ones...), that I didn't need to do with plastic. Happy for now, and it's a nice and easy thing to mess around with :)
 
I had a Hercules for years and the give it has in it always made me nervous. It never fell, but it did not instill confidence!!
I much prefer the Peak stands. They fold up nicely and most importantly, the sax is held solid.
 
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