Saxophones P. Mauriat 76 Tenor

[Chris98]

Hello VirusKiller,

Please don't come to any conclusions based on what you hear on youtube. The audio quality for the P.Mauriat PMT-500BX "Black Pearl" video is 22.05 kHz, 70 kbps!

For comparison purposes the original iTunes fromat was 44.1 kHz, 128 kbps and the new plus format is 44.1 kHz, 256 kbps. The audio quality has been seriously crunched by YouTube and you will not be hearing what that instrument truly sounds like.

The Mauriat PMXT-66RUL Unlacquered Tenor Saxophone video is better at 44.1 kHz, 126 kbps but only if you step up the quality to 480P, but then there are other things to consider. Look at the environment the recordings were made in, all those hard surfaces and what looks like a small room! Notice you can't see a microphone in shot, that suggests the sound has either been recorded by the on camera mic or by a mic out of shot, either way it will probably be picking up a lot of the reverberated sound as well as the direct sound from the sax.

What are you listening to the videos on, small computer speakers, you're HiFi system or headphones?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that sax.co.uk are putting up these videos, and they may be very helpful in making up a short list and to know what's there. But to pin down the tonal difference between one instrument and another by contemplating its harmonic content based on these videos might not be a true reflection on reality.

Just my thoughts,

Chris

 

[daveysaxboy]

Just go and a try a 66R,they are for me the most powerful ,dark tenor going and i had them all.Also had the mauriat 60NS Nickel tenor,brother to the black nickel horn which blew more bright and cutting.

 

[VirusKiller]

Thanks to this thread, I will definitely be adding the whole Mauriat range to my shortlist, along with the other big bore saxes: Keilwerths, Rampones and, possibly Borganis! Then I suppose there is also Selmer to consider, and it would be remiss of me not to try at least one Yanagisawa and Yamaha! More than one trip to the sax shop, I think.

 

[VirusKiller]

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that sax.co.uk are putting up these videos, and they may be very helpful in making up a short list and to know what's there. But to pin down the tonal difference between one instrument and another by contemplating its harmonic content based on these videos might not be a true reflection on reality.

Chris, I agree that the various videos are useful to get an idea of the range, but without this thread, I would have dismissed the 66R or at least put it way down my list, so from that perspective, the videos have failed. The "Influence" video in particular where Phil really builds up the horn, but there then follows four minutes of Simon playing in a single style which, IMO, does not stretch the horn - I'm not sure he even hits a bell note...

I'm planning trips to Frankfurt, Crowborough and London for a lot of auditioning.

 

[daveysaxboy]

Thanks to this thread, I will definitely be adding the whole Mauriat range to my shortlist, along with the other big bore saxes: Keilwerths, Rampones and, possibly Borganis! Then I suppose there is also Selmer to consider, and it would be remiss of me not to try at least one Yanagisawa and Yamaha! More than one trip to the sax shop, I think.

I have owend 3 66R horns,2 were UL's.Had a Borgani pearl silver jubilee,very very nice but the worst horn i had to keep playing right,forever getting it setup.Also a Keilwerth SX90,not blew a Rampone yet but all these are in that Conn big bore sound scape,alot different to Selmer,yamaha,yani's.All the above blew very fat and spread out sound.Can really be pushed to the limit and all were loud.As said try as many as you can but you will know the difference straight off when you play these bigger bore,bell horns as compared to the more tight focused sound of selmer,yamaha and yanagisawa but at the end of the day every 1 of these horns are amazing works of art with there own sound and feel,its just which 1 suits you sir,go on ,you know you want it.As for me i have found the last couple of years my all time fave modern horns are a Yamaha custom Z and the Mauriat 66RUL,both different but both are beasts i can throw loads of air into and they keep going,have fun trying them.

 

[VirusKiller]

Thanks Davey. Pretty sure I want big bore "dark with sparkle", but interestingly, the Custom Z was the Yam I fancy trying. I'll definitely have a lot of fun!

 

[jazzdoh]

I have owend 3 66R horns,2 were UL's.Had a Borgani pearl silver jubilee,very very nice but the worst horn i had to keep playing right,forever getting it setup.Also a Keilwerth SX90,not blew a Rampone yet but all these are in that Conn big bore sound scape,alot different to Selmer,yamaha,yani's.All the above blew very fat and spread out sound.Can really be pushed to the limit and all were loud.As said try as many as you can but you will know the difference straight off when you play these bigger bore,bell horns as compared to the more tight focused sound of selmer,yamaha and yanagisawa but at the end of the day every 1 of these horns are amazing works of art with there own sound and feel,its just which 1 suits you sir,go on ,you know you want it.As for me i have found the last couple of years my all time fave modern horns are a Yamaha custom Z and the Mauriat 66RUL,both different but both are beasts i can throw loads of air into and they keep going,have fun trying them.

I agree with you about the Borgani`s i had a pearl gold jubilee tenor, sound was awesome but i had to have it setup a few times in the 18 months i kept.
Mauriats are good i own a system 76 alto,one of the first editions without the serial no on,great horn closest sound to my mark VI,but it does have slight intonation problems on low D and low C i have to lip up slightly but there again what horn doesn`t have issues.

 

[Jules]

Just go and a try a 66R,they are for me the most powerful ,dark tenor going and i had them all.

Likewise...