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Saxophones Opinion on the brand LA sax?

LA Horns used to be available here in Europe back in the early nineties, my dealer had a bunch of 'em for a while, I tried a few back then, and can remember finding the key work to be very clunky and awkward, didn't appeal to me at all. Can't remember how to spell aardvaark. Haven't seen any around over here since then so I guess they didn't go down well on the European (German) market. And yes there's nothing wrong with a well set up Yamaha, I've had two or three over the years. Very well mannered instruments, jolly good indeed! gruss - spike
 
I own and play a red LA Sax soprano. I also have a Selmer MK VI soprano. I play in alot of night clubs where there is smoke and lots of dust etc. I retired my Selmer to my home studio and purchased this red soprano to play out. At that point I was in a cover band and we actually did many Kenny G hits. LA Sax offered what appeared to be a great product for the price (at that point I think i paid about $1200USD for it) One of the selling points for me was that it came with two necks: straight and slightly curved. I wanted the curved neck because of my tendency to play toward the ground. Mind you, I had never had my hands on one of these before. I mail ordered it and when it came I slapped my metal mouthpiece on that curved neck and began to play........extremely out of tune! It did not even dawn on me for a few days to try the straight neck and when I did, the intonation was right on. I have had this horn over 10 years and I love it. It not only looks good but plays every bit as good as my Selmer. Maybe I just got lucky and got a good one. I don't know. And to this day, I know no other sax players that own one. I would recommend trying it before you buy it if you can find a store that stocks them.

I also wanted to comment on the thoughts that many have put down in this thread. Many have suggested that as long as the horn is in playing condition, it should be fine for you or me or anyone. In my 30 years of playing for a living, I have found that my sound mostly comes from me!! If I take my mouthpiece and put it on a dozen different horns, and you were blind-folded, you would probably not know when I changed horns or if I actually did change. There may be some very and I mean small, differences, but my sound is my sound. Some may argue that, and that is OK. If I were to put my mouthpiece on your horn, I would not sound like you. I would sound like me. Mouthpiece and reed have alot to do with it, of course. Your sound is produced by your oral set up, i.e. your throat (open/closed) your tongue, your emboucher and what you hear in your head. Take the advice all these guys have given you and have your current horn checked out for leaks and missing corks and felts. If it plays good and you like the way it feels, forget about it and concentrate on becoming the player that you want to be.
 
saxman1010 said:
I also wanted to comment on the thoughts that many have put down in this thread. Many have suggested that as long as the horn is in playing condition, it should be fine for you or me or anyone. In my 30 years of playing for a living, I have found that my sound mostly comes from me!! If I take my mouthpiece and put it on a dozen different horns, and you were blind-folded, you would probably not know when I changed horns or if I actually did change. There may be some very and I mean small, differences, but my sound is my sound. Some may argue that, and that is OK. If I were to put my mouthpiece on your horn, I would not sound like you. I would sound like me. Mouthpiece and reed have alot to do with it, of course. Your sound is produced by your oral set up, i.e. your throat (open/closed) your tongue, your emboucher and what you hear in your head. Take the advice all these guys have given you and have your current horn checked out for leaks and missing corks and felts. If it plays good and you like the way it feels, forget about it and concentrate on becoming the player that you want to be.
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I think I would agree with a lot of this. My own mouthpiece search was aimed purely at finding the one that allowed me to play with as little physical effort as possible. The rest, as you say, is an instrument in good order and a lot of practice.
 
kevgermany said:
One the necks - I nticed a big sound difference between straight and curved. Not really intonation. Turned out the curved neck wasn't well fitted and has a leak at the tenon.
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Straight and curved necks behave in a very different way. Having a curve in such a delicate point heavily affects both tuning and sound, to a point where different mouthpieces can be more suitable for one or the other.
 
aldevis said:
Straight and curved necks behave in a very different way. Having a curve in such a delicate point heavily affects both tuning and sound, to a point where different mouthpieces can be more suitable for one or the other.
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I tried taping up the tenon joint on the curved neck. Made a big difference, but didn't really compare teh two. Must do it again.
 
Lastbluesun said:
Gosh, i haven't laughed so hard in forever, you guys are hillarious. I will say however, I do know the yas 23 is a high quality student horn and is capable of great things, however I do know that my band director is extremely prestigious in the music world having performed with earth, wind and fire, the tommy dorsey orchestra, the marine corps band and many others.
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How come he can't afford a more expensive car? :D
 
He`s probably spent the money where he performs best - Brilliant horn player / Crap driver ? .. saying that, you couldn`t get a new Jericho Tenor for what my car is worth and my driving is just fine :thumb:. I bet that band director will lose a lot less on that Yani than he would on a new Audi .....

Doesn`t give him the excuse to behave like a pompous Ass about someone's horn which is not only perfectly servicable but capable of top grade performance. My answer to the Band director would be . If a Yamaha 23 is good enough for Stephen Howard for 20 years, it`s good enough for your band - if you want me to have a more "Elite" horn then take a trip to Sax.co and get me one .
 
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spike said:
Can't remember how to spell aardvaark
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It's spelled 'aardvark'. I suspect it's an Afrikaans word, from the Dutch 'aarde' meaning (and cognate with) 'earth' and 'varken' meaning pig. Remember that and you'll never again have trouble with the spelling of 'aardvark'.
 
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I have just had a look at Google Translate (yes, I know!) and that says that both Afrikaans and Dutch use 'aarde' and 'aardvark'. But there might well be variations.
 
Hey there, I agree with a lot of the other people posting here - your Yamaha is a great horn, and I wouldn't rush into buying a replacement just yet... Keep working on your longtones, overtones, altisimmo chops and wide intervals, do LOTS of listening to sax players you like, and your sound will eventually become whatever you want it to be.
In answer to your question, I bought an LA sax about 12 years ago, and still really love it. It's one of the old-model black enamel ones, and it's got a big, versatile sound over the whole range of the horn (although altissimo is harder than on other tenors I've played...). Intonation is stable, and mechanics are pretty good too. I tend to play in a range of different styles and settings (you have to if you want to eat...) and find it works in all of them - from bright and funky reggae, funk, fusion to dark and soulful modern jazz and big-band. It's definitely not as easy to play as a Keilworth SX90, and doesn't have the richness of a Conn 10M, or the personality of a a Selmer Mark VI, but it definitely holds it's own in comparison with the horns, for a fraction of the cost.
 

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