Saxophones Selmer no longer supreme!

[Stephen Howard]

@Stephen Howard thanks 😉👍 I have always loved the look of the Raw from when I first saw it pictured in your book, it was love at first sight to be honest 😍😍😍🎷 but never considered them as they were always beyond my budget, but I find your comments on the Evo compared to the SR interesting 🤔☺️
I'll definitely be giving the TJ horns a go when I get the opportunity for sure ☺️

I would always advise caution over bare brass finishes. For players like me, who tend not to create a lot of moisture, they're fine. But if you're a player who does, the bare brass finishes get grotty pretty quickly unless you keep on top of the cleaning.
The only reason mine's a bare brass is 'cos that was the only model they made at the time. These days they have lacquered versions.

 

[turf3]

I would always advise caution over bare brass finishes. For players like me, who tend not to create a lot of moisture, they're fine. But if you're a player who does, the bare brass finishes get grotty pretty quickly unless you keep on top of the cleaning.
The only reason mine's a bare brass is 'cos that was the only model they made at the time. These days they have lacquered versions.

The worst thing about the intentionally unlacquered (or delacquered) finish is that they strip it off (or never apply it) down under the mechanism, where keeping things from turning into a forest of verdigris is difficult and time consuming.

Horns that have lost their finish due to actual age and playing (which is what all these unlacquered and stripped horns are trying to imitate) will almost always still retain most of their finish down in the bowels of the machinery. But if there's no finish anywhere on the thing, all that inaccessible area will get really nasty. And if you try to clean it with the horn assembled there's a high chance of knocking off a cork or felt; and it's a big pain to take the keywork off.

 

[Stephen Howard]

The worst thing about the intentionally unlacquered (or delacquered) finish is that they strip it off (or never apply it) down under the mechanism, where keeping things from turning into a forest of verdigris is difficult and time consuming.

Horns that have lost their finish due to actual age and playing (which is what all these unlacquered and stripped horns are trying to imitate) will almost always still retain most of their finish down in the bowels of the machinery. But if there's no finish anywhere on the thing, all that inaccessible area will get really nasty. And if you try to clean it with the horn assembled there's a high chance of knocking off a cork or felt; and it's a big pain to take the keywork off.

Wellllll...you're mostly right. Yep, the lacquer/plating will fall off the body long before the guts of the keywork (key barrels, feet etc.) - but most of this 'benefits' from being coated in oil, so the gunge tends to be confined to the key cups and touches. On the whole.
The worst affected key cups seem to be the top B, G, Aux.F and low B.

 

[turf3]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 😉

Well, de gustibus non disputandum, but there are practical implications to eliminating the corrosion-resistant coatings that are generally applied as standard to brass objects.

In my late middle age, I have taken to avoiding any option in any of my belongings that adds an ongoing maintenance requirement. So, brick for houses (NOT painted!); plating or lacquer coating on wind instruments; no tile countertops, anywhere (grout!); no subscriptions to computer/internet/streaming this and that; etc.

 

[teen37]

Well, de gustibus non disputandum, but there are practical implications to eliminating the corrosion-resistant coatings that are generally applied as standard to brass objects.

In my late middle age, I have taken to avoiding any option in any of my belongings that adds an ongoing maintenance requirement. So, brick for houses (NOT painted!); plating or lacquer coating on wind instruments; no tile countertops, anywhere (grout!); no subscriptions to computer/internet/streaming this and that; etc.

Yep! I'm with you on all that! 🤔😊😂 I just wish they did the unlaquered look with a matt clear laqueur finish so you get the look but not the maintenance 🤔😊

 

[Targa]

Yep! I'm with you on all that! 🤔😊😂 I just wish they did the unlaquered look with a matt clear laqueur finish so you get the look but not the maintenance 🤔😊

I bought my alto in an ‘antique’ finish not because I wanted it to look like an antique, it doesn’t, but because I didn’t want bright gold shiny’

 

[BalancedReaction]

Yep! I'm with you on all that! 🤔😊😂 I just wish they did the unlaquered look with a matt clear laqueur finish so you get the look but not the maintenance 🤔😊

Some manufacturers offer that. They chemically "age" the metal and then apply a clear lacquer.
Here's Keilwerth "Vintage" finish, for example:

Keilwerth SX 90R Vintage Tenor Sax

Vintage Tenor Saxophone Untreated body, Clear lacquer finish, Mechanisms: Matte nickel-plated, Black mother of pearl inlays, Adjustable thumb rest, Bell Ø 155 mm, Rolled tone holes, Adjustable trill keys, Black leather pads with metal resonators,...

www.thomann.cz

 

[teen37]

I bought my alto in an ‘antique’ finish not because I wanted it to look like an antique, it doesn’t, but because I didn’t want bright gold shiny’

Yeah, I'd go for that too if they do one in a tenor.

 

[Targa]

Yeah, I'd go for that too if they do one in a tenor.

Then my tenor is black with silver plate keys.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Then my tenor is black with silver plate keys.

Ooh! Shiney 😁

 

[teen37]

Then my tenor is black with silver plate keys.

I do like silver keys 😍🎷 my old La Fleur had light gold body with silver keys 😊

 

[Pete Thomas]

FYI missing posts from Tuesday have now been restored to this thread

 

[teen37]

FYI missing posts from Tuesday have now been restored to this thread

Yeah I've thought I was super popular just now as I've had a whole load of alerts to posts 😳😂😂😂 but then I realised I had seen them all before so figured you had just reinstated them 😂👏👏👏😉

 

[Pete Thomas]

Yeah I've thought I was super popular just now as I've had a whole load of alerts to posts 😳😂😂😂 but then I realised I had seen them all before so figured you had just reinstated them 😂👏👏👏😉

I couldn't find a way of doing it without people being re-notified. But I think it was worth trying to do as I hated the idea of everyone's contributions to the discussions being lost.

Even when I disagreed with them.

I think all post are now restored and correctly time stamped

 

[teen37]

I couldn't find a way of doing it without people being re-notified. But I think it was worth trying to do as I hated the idea of everyone's contributions to the discussions being lost.

Even when I disagreed with them.

I think all post are now restored and correctly time stamped

You're doing an amazing job! We all appreciate all your hard work here 🙏😘

 

[teen37]

I've covered the Evo II (alto) It's very nice. In fact I'd rate it slightly over the SR in terms of build quality.
It comes out of TJ's new Chinese factory - and it looks to me like they've got quality-control nicely buttoned down.
Definitely worth a try, even if only to rule it out.
The Signature Custom range are all very good and would make an excellent secondhand purchase - assuming you liked it.

As you've played all 3 TJ horns here, did you find the Evo to be slightly brighter than the SR and SC? Does the SR have that warmer fatter sound similar to the SC because of the slightly larger bore and modified crook and red brass composition?
Where as the Evo differs here making it a slightly brighter more modern sound.
What's your experience amongst the 3?

 

[Stephen Howard]

I found the Evo II to be rather warmer than the SR - but bear in mind that's for the alto. I would imagine the tenor follows suit...but it might not. I've not yet played an Evo II tenor.
The SR borrows a lot from the SC RAW but doesn't quite have as much versatility in terms of tone - whereas you can push the SC pretty much wherever you want it to go with the right choice of mouthpiece.

Forget about supposed differences with red brass etc. - it's all down to the dimensions. Try any 12 apparently identical crooks and you'll find that they all have slightly different characteristics...and some will be quite noticeably different.

 

[dreadnet]

Over the years I've had 3 silver Yamahas. All held up beautifully.
The only real wear is on the neck strap ring. I should get that replaced soon.

This one has been my primary alto since late '99 or 2000.

I do take really good care of my instruments and very helpful that my main tech is also a personal friend.

Wrights Silver Polish, 3M anti-tarnish strips and always swabbed after play and now it gets pads dried post play via little battery operated blower.

Recently overhauled with black 'roo pads. Love it.

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Love Yamaha's in silver plate. Yours look beautiful🙂