Saxophones New alto sax & mouthpiece demo

[Chris Sax]

Alright guys,

Im going on tour with a band in april and want a few cheap horns to take with me (had a bad experiance last year on the same gig with my expensive horns!). So iv currently got an order in with Pete at studiosax for an un-laquered BW bronze tenor and im very much looking forward to trying out after reading all the great reviews on it, once its ready. Alto wise, l took delivery of an ex-demo JP-045 vintage this morning & thought l would fire up this short clip of the horn and a few Parker licks.

Over the last week l have been buying in a few new/used alto mouthpieces to replace my broken Freddie Gregory piece (he has quite a waiting time now for his pieces). Iv got a HR Link 7*, a nice Vandoren Java 45 (l got from Chris on this forum), Myer 7 & a Greg Wier GW 7M piece from the U.S (Im using this piece in the video).

The horn itself l went for because (a) I am on a budget after splashing out on a new wooden flute & having to replace my Freddie Gregory mouthpiece (b) I heard Pete Long play one in a woodwind music intructor workshop up here in Glasgow last year and he spoke highly about it.
This video is the horn being played straight from out the box after about 10 mins blowing and quick check over. It does need setup slightly on the bottom half of the horn (you an tell from the video), but all in all im very happy with it...and more than anything very suprised as the horn cost me a shade over £300!
I honestly feel it compairs better than most student level horns l have played/seen & more worrying. . .on par with some pro level horns! Whether it will last the wear and tear of the pro horns...l doubt, but these Chinese horns have came on leaps and bounds over the years and offer alot of horn for cash.

VIDEO - Just a short clip of some parker licks on the GW mouthpiece, which l feel is a little to bright for me, but it does play very, very well. Please bare in mind im mainly a tenor player! lol.



Enjoy!

 

[jonf]

Thanks for sharing that. The sax looks nice, good value, and your playing was great. I wouldn't worry about the GW mouthpiece sounding bright. OK, my PC speakers are not great, but it sounded very nice, and certainly not over-bright. It had a good core sound and doesn't sound at all thin. Good combination.

 

[RobatBlueRock]

Cool. Scuse my ignorance, but what does JP stand for?

 

[jonf]

John Packer. It's a shop in the South West of England, and these are their own brand horns.

 

[RobatBlueRock]

Ta.
I've been relegated to the dining room again cos my other half and daughter are watching that dancing crap again!

 

[Chris Sax]

Thanks jonf. The GW is very nice and plays like a piece that cost twice the amount, im going to try a slightly harder reed to change the sound when using it on the JP......though now after an afternoon playing on the JP045 l think it is the horn itself which is quite bright as well, when l compair the GW on my selmer.

The Java 45 also plays well on the JP.

Admin - sorry if this post is in the wrong thread, just saw there was a video section.

 

[Chris Sax]

Just a follow up video where l used the JP045 alto in a funk band setting -

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[TomMapfumo]

Personal reaction - pretty good sound for such a cheap horn. My first reaction to this was a bit negative, but having heard it several times more, and taking into account recording equipment etc. and music which I don't like it sounds like it has some quality as a sax and merits a recommendation. I have a JP Tenor Trombone which is quite brilliant (JP/Rath 231) and universally acclaimed.

Kind regards
Tom

 

[thomsax]

Chris

I like it. You can play! I can't play like that. But the recording is not good. I use a Röde NT 2 microphone on a stand conected to a DVD. And the room was probably not big enough to handle the sound-volume. I can't hear a funky bass! I just hear too much bass sound. Hard to get a good ballance between the musicians. Selmer-, Yamaha-, JP-, BW- alto .... it doesn't matter.

It always hard to take a clip from a gig. You got to be there!!

Again. Good work on your alto. But you need to come out more in front. The bass and guitar is killing the saxes (I'm just writing on a blogpost in this subject, "Load and Hard")!!!! Are you playing in concert A or E?

You can play, that's for sure.

Thomas

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Thomas!

Do you think I sounded a bit harsh?! On listening to it this morning it sounded better, and appreciate comment about recording. I certainly would not question the playing, just the sound being produced/recorded, which merits consideration of several factors but does sound bright on the first recording.

Kind regards
Tom

 

[Chris Sax]

Thanks for the reply guys.
I think TBH the footage & sound your hearing here is was made on a handheld camcorder or even a mobile phone belonging to someone in the crowd, by the looks and sounds of it lol. The person is so close to the front of the stage, all its really picking up is both guitars backline and the sax in the monitor mix! so l dont think putting the decision of buying one of these or not on merit of this video is wise lol.
I actually think this type of setting is quite good for the JP-045, l do feel its to bright for me in my normal setting, but in the style of Sanborn, Dulfer, Lenny Pickett etc l think l will use it again.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Chris!

Useful comments - so it should be able to cut through then where necessary!

Kind regards
Tom

 

[thomsax]

Hi Thomas!

Do you think I sounded a bit harsh?! On listening to it this morning it sounded better, and appreciate comment about recording. I certainly would not question the playing, just the sound being produced/recorded, which merits consideration of several factors but does sound bright on the first recording.

Kind regards
Tom

No, I understand what you mean. It's hard to judge a sax and set up from a recording like that. The alto sounded funky. Byt I think the bass and gutar should try to get a more funky groove and back up the alto solo more. Funk for me is "nasty, filthy, dirty, greasy, slabby ...." I just say: Listen to Cornell Dupree(gtr)!!

Thomas

 

[daveysaxboy]

Hi, well for a quick home made video you sound great.Your fighting to be heard with the band but that's the norm for us sax player's and you need a more bright setup to be in the mix.Cant find fault with what i hear,good stuff and keep blowing.