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Over the past year or so I have acquired 3 Beechler Bellite tenor pieces. The 1st was an "80s" piece stamped with 8 on the table. I was searching for a piece for Rock, Pop & DJ sax. My Freddie Gregory MKIV 7* was not cutting enough and I was using a Bullet chamber metal Berg .115 1 SMS. The Berg could punch through walls but was wonky, difficult to control and reed picky. Sebastian Knox massaged it a little but said it would be the last stainless piece he worked on!
The BB 8 met my needs. It blew everything I had previously tried away, a little wild at first but I got it under control after a week or so and pretty much mastered it after about a month of playing. It is an amazing piece with crazy colours and a little raw.
I played it on my C Melody, a current Chinese model and it worked to perfection, took a bit to tame but it gave the horn the punch and volume it lacked and allowed me to play it full throttle.
I swapped the 80s 8 between my Cannonball T5 Hot Spur and the C Mel until I plucked an 8 Custom BB off of eBay. The Custom is smoother and more tame still a great piece just not as raw and colourful as the 80"s piece. I eventually settled on the Custom 8 for the C Mel and the 80s 8 on my tenor.
Recently I acquired a 3rd tenor Bellite piece off Facebook. I questioned the seller as it appeared to be worked on. It had no facing stamp and showed signs of baffle work. The owner, an older fellow, assured me that was how it was when he bought it in a shop in LA in the early 80's, it was his main piece. He thought it was a 7 or 8. He recently bought a JJ SuperJet 7 to get brighter. I have JJ SJ 8 but find it too bright. I have a Deep V 9 that is just insane, a Miami Dukoff 9 and other pieces so I have been diligent in my search.
I received the piece and it is amazing, definitely worked on but in perfect balance for me. I can play any style of music on this piece, Jazz to Rock be it Trane or Brecker, just wail in the altisimo with ease I can play cocktails on it if I want. I thought at 1st it might be a little tight. I play a Rico 3 Orange box reed. I only now learned a BB 8 is a .100 I play 7* and up as a norm on tenor. I compared the tips and was shocked to find the recent piece is much more open yet plays much easier and I can go harder on the reed if needed.
My question: what is this piece and who did the work? Left is the unstamped, Middle 8 on table, Right is Custom 2020. The modified piece is on the left, 80's 8 on the right in tip to tip picture. Seems Charles Black era pieces demand crazy money but Yoakum seems to have done a lot of Beechler refacing. The modified piece seems to have been ground at a different attack angle as it is narrow at the back and the piece is longer, rails are thinner.
The BB 8 met my needs. It blew everything I had previously tried away, a little wild at first but I got it under control after a week or so and pretty much mastered it after about a month of playing. It is an amazing piece with crazy colours and a little raw.
I played it on my C Melody, a current Chinese model and it worked to perfection, took a bit to tame but it gave the horn the punch and volume it lacked and allowed me to play it full throttle.
I swapped the 80s 8 between my Cannonball T5 Hot Spur and the C Mel until I plucked an 8 Custom BB off of eBay. The Custom is smoother and more tame still a great piece just not as raw and colourful as the 80"s piece. I eventually settled on the Custom 8 for the C Mel and the 80s 8 on my tenor.
Recently I acquired a 3rd tenor Bellite piece off Facebook. I questioned the seller as it appeared to be worked on. It had no facing stamp and showed signs of baffle work. The owner, an older fellow, assured me that was how it was when he bought it in a shop in LA in the early 80's, it was his main piece. He thought it was a 7 or 8. He recently bought a JJ SuperJet 7 to get brighter. I have JJ SJ 8 but find it too bright. I have a Deep V 9 that is just insane, a Miami Dukoff 9 and other pieces so I have been diligent in my search.
I received the piece and it is amazing, definitely worked on but in perfect balance for me. I can play any style of music on this piece, Jazz to Rock be it Trane or Brecker, just wail in the altisimo with ease I can play cocktails on it if I want. I thought at 1st it might be a little tight. I play a Rico 3 Orange box reed. I only now learned a BB 8 is a .100 I play 7* and up as a norm on tenor. I compared the tips and was shocked to find the recent piece is much more open yet plays much easier and I can go harder on the reed if needed.
My question: what is this piece and who did the work? Left is the unstamped, Middle 8 on table, Right is Custom 2020. The modified piece is on the left, 80's 8 on the right in tip to tip picture. Seems Charles Black era pieces demand crazy money but Yoakum seems to have done a lot of Beechler refacing. The modified piece seems to have been ground at a different attack angle as it is narrow at the back and the piece is longer, rails are thinner.
