Tech/maintenance Long Spike for Playing Bari Standing

[rhysonsax]

I was watching Mark Ronson and his band playing at the Glastonbury festival on Sunday night on BBC TV. The bari sax player seemed to have a long metal rod attached to the side of his bari to take some of the weight of the horn but still let him sway around while standing up.

I found a clip on the BBCi player [Edit: no longer available].

Here are four screenshots that I captured from this long clip. I am pretty sure that there is a gold-coloured rod running on the left side of the bari from the back of the bell brace slanting forwards to the bottom of the bow and downwards. It could be a fixed tube on the side with a metal rod inside it, adjustable for height (but I'm just guessing).

The bari player is definitely using a neck-strap but I am pretty sure that the spike is taking most of the weight. The movement of the horn looks like it is rotating about a fixed point on the ground.

Do you see what I see and do you think it is home-made ?

Does anybody recognise or know the bari player with Mark Ronson's band (of course musicians never seem to get name checked, only the "star" vocalists) or know anything about this sax ?

Rhys

 

[griff136]

Rhys,

it's probably somehting very similar to the wide threaded spike Bendict Eppelsheim uses on his Tubaxes and saxes

you can see it clearly in the middle of the picture

 

[Pjonah]

I did see that, but didn't really think about it.

Its kind of similar to the spike kit available for Baris and Basses, comprising two unions which fit around the tube near the B/Bb pads, below the bell brace. The rod then slides up and down. But I have never used one. I should imagine it takes a bit of getting used to.

Yani do a spike on there flagship if I remember rightly, as of course do the ? 800 G4M Bari on which its based.

Also I would think you increase the risk of damage to the lower bell brace and or joint through inadvertant knocks on the ground, just a thought.

I'm going to stick with the harness and stand, its seems easier.

But more interesting and pleasing is the resurgence of the baritone at Glastonbury, just about every band had one.

Simon

 

[rhysonsax]

Hi Griff,

That's a wacky spike on the Eppelsheim ! Presumably you just adjust it once to the right height for you and then the thread means there is no risk of it slipping (unlike a plain rod and a grub screw to hold it).

Someone on SOTW has identified the player as probably being Jim Corry http://www.jimcorry.co.uk/

Jim Corry's MySpace page certainly has him touring with Mark Ronson, so it seems likely it is him. He is based in Leeds and his website has links to Woodwind Exchange and All Brass & Woodwind. I wonder whether the techs there made the spike for him ?

Rhys

 

[mfox]

it acctually looks like its connected to the ring that is between the body and bell.
i once played with a guy who played bass sax. he had a modified mic stand, the type with the heavy round base. and at the top a Y piece which he hooked under some sort of rod welded to the sax.
this was only used while he wasn't playing to take up the weight..
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