Hanson v. Martin

Rogerb · Jan 15, 2007

Can't we be a bit more specific, Bob? 😉

phil_edwards · Jan 16, 2007

Meanwhile, back on topic... 😉

Spent ages with Steve yesterday - great character. Dress up warm if you're visiting and take your wellies !

He was busy sorting another brand-new Keilworth when I arrived so I sat around and just watched/listened to the banter. I was in no hurry and you can learn a lot about someone by just watching and listening - he certainly knows his stuff, and can play the damn things so he knows what is right and what isn't. My previous repairer was more a brass than woodwind man, and I think it showed.

Anyway, out came the Martin - and he was wildly enthusiatic about it, even in its slightly sorry state. A couple of areas worried him a bit more than others, with the sucking of teeth and whistling and "oh, dear, look at this..." but the upshot is, it's now in his hands to be brought back to life. He loved it, and hearing it blown alongside his own MkIV reminded me of why I bought it in the first place. I bought it originally on it's tonal quality alone, as all else seemed equal, and it still holds true.

So the whole exercise of trying a new model has confirmed to me that my Martin is as good as ever, just needs a bit of work.

Steve was less than impressed with my previous 'repairers' efforts at an overhaul. I'd already vowed not to go back there myself.

So what seemed to be my irrational devotion to maintaining a true vintage horn is fully justified by it's performance when stood against the best (that I can afford at least). Can't wait to get it back now. Look out for a write-up of it on his site.

regards, Phil

jambo · Jan 16, 2007

Hurrah for Vintage Saxes!!! 😛

Linky Lee · Jan 16, 2007

Sounds great! My Martin is going down their on Friday.

funnily enough... So is my Hanson, but only for a minor tweak to the low C key and the C# bell key.

greg_strange · Jan 18, 2007

I thought Steve Howard played a Yamaha 62 series Mark I alto sax? Is a MKIV, a Balanced Action Selmer? I sent Steve an e-mail several months ago about my YAS62 as he is a bit of a Yamaha sax guru and knows how to set them up properly.

Greg Strange.

phil_edwards · Jan 18, 2007

The other day he had a Selmer MkVI alto (I incorrectly put IV in my last post, got me roman numerals backwards, :blush:

) and a Yamaha Tenor (basic old 23 series I think)

regards, Phil

jambo · Jan 18, 2007

So whats the action like on Hansons? Really slick?

Linky Lee · Jan 18, 2007

Mine seems to be pretty average.

It's sprung heavier like modern horns are but it works with the fluidity you get from modern technology.

With a decent action you can set the spring tension and cup hights to get a vastly different feel. I'm going to get it set a bit looser as I think it's slightly too hard. It is very even though, I'm suitably impressed by it.

My Martin runs like a dream, really fast and slick, but you can see that there is need for mechanical improvement on it and the tensions are a bit over the place, but your fingers somehow manage to learn their way around the different spring tensions.
I'm going to get that evened out when I get it re-corked.

phil_edwards · Feb 27, 2007

Well it's back from Steve's (actually it was a while ago, not been able to post for a few days, too busy).

Huge difference he's made to it - so much easier and consistent at both ends of the range. Funnily enough I now prefer my Selmer D mpc to the Otto Link I purchased a while ago, so I'm back on that for the moment. I guess the Otto was previously an improvement because it made a better job of compensating for the leaks, but the tone is so much sweeter and crisper (how I like it) with the Selmer.

Very pleased overall though, and very good value. Lord knows what the last repairer thought he was doing. I don't think Steve particularly enjoyed the challenge! I'm told a review will be posted soon.

regards, Phil

Linky Lee · Feb 27, 2007

So.. time for a re-review Hanson compared to Martin after a quality set-up.

I'm thinking of getting a Hanson ST-8-V or finding something on the vintage market around the same price, though I have a feeling I won't find anything that tops the Hanson. My mind is open though. Specifically for a conn 10M, the last one I played sang and sang and sang, beautiful!

phil_edwards · Feb 28, 2007

Linky_Lee wrote:
So.. time for a re-review Hanson compared to Martin after a quality set-up.

Well I sent the Hanson back a few weeks ago so that'll be difficult. Suffice to say that at the time I chose to keep the Martin (even when it badly needed a service) and return the Hanson, so now it's no contest.

regards, Phil

Linky Lee · Feb 28, 2007

Fair enough.

I'm thinking of getting rid of one of mine, but I can't bring myself to do it. The Martin is so special and has sentimental value and is a very nice saxophone, and the Hanson is equally as nice and is a superb saxophone for jazz and classical as well.

I just don't need two and the money would be really helpful.

I don't really want to get rid of either of them, but It seems a bit silly to have two altos when I want to primarily play tenor.

phil_edwards · Feb 28, 2007

Yeah, if you've got both it's probably quite a tough call. I owned one (Martin) and would need to sell it to afford the other (Hanson), so in many respects that made it a bit more clear cut. Was the Hanson sufficiently good all round to let the Martin go? No, not for me.

I bought the Martin on the beauty of it's tone when played against others, and that still holds true.

regards, Phil

saxismyaxe · Feb 28, 2007

I have owned, and currently own, a wide variety of vintage horns, and the Martin models have the BEST tone overall in my opinion.

I'm very much enamored with my The Martin Committee A/T/B horns in particular, both in terms of sound as well as keywork/playing characteristics.

I admit to not being able to sample a Hansen yet, simply because they aren't readily available in the USA yet.

Linky Lee · Feb 28, 2007

I find the Hanson feels very much like a yanigasawa under the fingers, it's tight and precise but maybe not quite as 'polished' and suave in feel, but then mine is two years old and hasn't been serviced so it could well be when set-up well.

In terms of sound it is crystal clear and very rich. For me I find that this gives a really full broad sound that projects very well and brings with it versatility. You can give it a really fat R n B pop/rock kind of sound and scream away, or you can have a smooth broad ballad tone and equally as easily you can sub-tone and still fill the room with the richness and clarity that it projects.

Mouthpieces seem to have quite a varied affect on the horn which I guess is good as it gives versatility though it may take you a while to find the one you really like and keep as your main one. Depends on how far your perfectionism goes.

It also seems to be a heavy horn. Which I hope reflects the quality of the build and possibly why it has a very big rich sound if you go down that path.

There are a few things with the keywork that could be altered slightly for me, a few which I have done myself e.g. the front F key bends away from your fingers as standard and I found it much better to bend this key so that it points towards your fingers allowing you to pivot your first finger to activate it easily of slide upwards or lift and replace. How I have it I think is the best front F system I have ever came across, for me personally anyway.

One thing I've noticed is that the lacquer hasn't been as good as I had hoped. It's worn off in a few places along with the plating underneath. only very minimal but I wouldn't of thought anything would of happened after two years.

saxismyaxe · Feb 28, 2007

Thanks for the nice review Lee! Short of play testing one personally, your assessment gives me a good (albeit vicarious) frame of reference to go by.

Cheers.

Linky Lee · Feb 28, 2007

well I understand that you have absolutely no more idea of what they're like after reading my review but maybe you'll have an image in your head and if and when you get the chance to play one you can see for yourself if some of the positive delights and maybe negatives hold true for yourself.

As different as we all are, I still find you can get a grasp of the basic elements of a saxophone mouthpiece whatever by reading lots of reviews and picking them apart. I try to keep everything I write as factual and frank as I can get it but I'm sure some bias and exaggeration will creep in there someone even if I don't notice it myself.

Could be quite a while until Hanson saxes are in the US, they still are a small company building there name over here in England.

Pete Thomas · Feb 28, 2007

One of Hanson's strong points (apart from the very good instruments) is the service you get. You can visit the factory, and although that can be a whole days travel from many parts of England its still possible. And a lovely part of the country too.

There's also the very helpful Maria to talk to on the phone.

The prices are good because it's mail order as opposed to retail stores and unlike other mail order companies the customer service is excellent, plus the returns policy is very good.

However not much of this translates well to a US market.

I'm still hoping for a window in my life that will allow me another visit, I'm especailly keen on looking into a bass clarinet and I believe they may be doing one sooner or later, not to mention finding that ultimate tenor.