P.Mauriat System 76-GL and a lot of other alto saxes

[bethany]

Hi,

I've posted a separate subject about upgrading to a pro sax and this is kinda a follow-up. If you what any background info its in the beginners section.

I went to my local sax shop yesterday and tried a P.Mauriat System 76-GL, a Keilwerth SX90 (I think), a Yanagisawa 991 and a silver-plated Yamaha 62.

I decided that the Mauriat was my favourite. I also liked the Keilwerth and the Yani but for some reason I just really didn't like the Yamaha.

I'm going back to the shop in a few weeks to try some more. Others I want to look at are a Yamaha 875EX and a 82Z, a P.Mauriat PMXA-67RGP, a Selmer s80 series II and a Selmer la voix. all of these are just normal lacquered.

So does anyone have any thoughts on these saxes also what about hansons and other smaller brands like rampone & cazzani, what are they like?

Another problem I have is not being able to try out the sax with the mouthpiece it comes with when you buy it so I have absolutely no idea what difference they make.

So any thoughts at all? Thanks.

 

[danmays]

Hey There,

I have a Keilwerth SX90 tenor and absolutely love it I was considering a Mauriat and loved it first time I played it but played another one and it didn't grab me so to speak.

Personally I'd buy a different mouthpiece as the mouthpieces that come with the saxophones above aren't great.

So try out a few mouthpieces at the shop you're going to and see what you like. Check out a ottolink ebonite (what I use and very versatile).

I've never tried a Rampone and Cazzani so I can't comment on them.

Hope this helps

 

[Jules]

"Personally I'd buy a different mouthpiece as the mouthpieces that come with the saxophones above aren't great. " I was going to sort of echo the same sentiment. The mouthpieces provided are usually a 'one size fits all' sort of affair, Personally I rate the yanagisawa stock mouthpiece pretty highly but don't get hung up on having to use the stock 'piece with the sax.
R&C- nice, but something of an acquired taste. Folks who are used to vintage horns (Mr Thomas included, I seem to remember) like thme, but they're not for everyone.
Selmer La voix (American Selmer), actually well worth a try, good value.
Yamaha 82Zand 875EX- again, worth a try, the top end Yamahas have rather more personaility than the lower range.
Well... ultimately, everythings worth a shot, even if it's just to prove you don't like it as part of the elimination "I've made the right descision" process.

 

[jersey_mike]

bethany wrote:

Another problem I have is not being able to try out the sax with the mouthpiece it comes with when you buy it so I have absolutely no idea what difference they make.

So any thoughts at all? Thanks.

You could ask to try the mouthpiece that comes with the sax before purchasing it as it should be in the case stored in their backroom. You could also try different mouthpieces they carry on the horn you'd like to purchase.

I recently (last month) did just this. I tried about a dozen different horns and decided on 2 that I really liked. Then on a different day I tried those 2 with a few different mouthpieces, including the ones that came with the horns. The odd thing about it is that the PMauriat PMXT66R that I liked sounded better (at least to my ear) with the stock mouthpiece and a medium Fibracell reed than with any other piece I tried, including the high priced ones!

As a result, I purchased the horn and absolutely love it.
Good luck

 

[daveysaxboy]

So you joined the 66r club,enjoy ya sax.Wise move,great horn. 😛

 

[Jules]

david keighley wrote:
So you joined the 66r club..

A select club for those of us who appreciate the finer things in life..... Lets hold a meeting, drink port, smoke cigars and honk at each other!

 

[Linky Lee]

I think if you have a mouthpiece at the moment which you like. Then use that as your reference.

Try out the horns with your mouthpiece and reed combo and see what you think. Don't get too hung up on the tone at first. First think about the mechanics and the layout, then think about how it's responding, how easy is it to blow and all those other things. Once you've narrowed it down there go back and start thinking about the tone.

If you have a sax you can play really well you'll end up producing a better tone on it than one you can't play really well once you've found the mouthpiece and reed choice that give you what you want on the sax that lets you play what you want.

That's the way I look at it anyway.
For me the saxophones job is to make the job of expressing myself as easy and efficient as possible. Then the mouthpiece and reeds job is to let me express myself most accurately. And my job is to actually express myself by playing the thing properly.

 

[Bobby G]

Like the signature, Vincent Black Lightning Jules?

 

[TomMapfumo]

The R&C Alto has excellent reviews on the sax.co.uk website (sax tests) which describes it as the "Italian Reference 54". I started playing on a R&C R1 Soprano which had a beautiful sound (sold to my sax teacher - I
play high brass instead!). In the end I went for the "French" one.

Mauriat seem excellent - depends what sound you are looking for!
Good luck in your search!
Tom

 

[daveysaxboy]

From all the top brand's there all as good as each other in my eye's,it's the one that suit's you in sound,feel etc.You will know when you play it,try as many as you can and keep going in circle's around the horn's,have a break then try again and with time you should tell what you like and dont like.Hope you find what you want,i did with my mauriat.

 

[nosaxyet]

Well personally I have heard a lot of good things about the P Mauriat saxes and I personally bought a Hanson SA 8 in all silver based on recommendations from many on this site. Then my teacher offers me his Keilwerth SX90R which I ended up buying!

When I get around to it I will sell the Hanson which has only 6 months of use.

I can recommend the Hanson, in fact you could even buy mine! :whistle:

 

[bethany]

thanks for all the replies so far i really was expecting so many 🙂

 

[milandro]

I've never played a Hanson but Mauriat and Rampone are most impressing and very much for the same reason : big, vintage American sound.
Frankly speaking if I would be in the market for a new alto , I would love either one of the two but I would probably go for the Rampone & Cazzani for the great looks (I am trying to concentrate on tenor lately and in fact bought myself a cheap , but very powerful, King 613 alto after selling my Martin " the Martin")