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Saxophones: gear, playing, repair, impro
Selmer no longer supreme!
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<blockquote data-quote="Stephen Howard" data-source="post: 641829" data-attributes="member: 41"><p>There's absolutely no reason why your RAW shouldn't last as long as a Selmer. In fact it's likely to last a bit longer given that Selmer keywork tends to wear rather faster.</p><p>It's a bit of a moot point though because when you boil it down you're basically dealing with brass, steel and solder - and assuming no-one's done anything incredibly stupid, even a cheapo horn will see the average human out (economics aside).</p><p>Even the most mediocre horns (Weltklang et al) are gonna hang round one's neck like the proverbial albatross for quite some time yet.</p><p></p><p>I had all this bs back in the '70's when folks in the trade told me my Yamahas would fall apart in ten years. 50 years later and I'm still waiting...</p><p>Both my 'vintage' Yamahas are gig ready - and I haven't had to tweak them in years.</p><p></p><p>As for 'Eastern' horns not being up to snuff - I've seen a number of pro clients in recent years opting to eschew the 'big three' and go for something rather more off-menu. I've even had a couple switch from Borgani/Rampone to TJ. Who'd have thunk?</p><p>Eastman seem to be doing quite well on the workbench, Mauriat not so much - but Thomann's own pro range seems to pop up a lot.</p><p></p><p>It's going to get a lot more interesting in the next few years because some of the stuff coming out of China these days is eyebrow-raising in terms of build and playability. If you're one of the big manufacturers, now is not the time to be complacent.</p><p>And no, it's not sufficient to slap a once-revered name on a Chinese horn (cough...Elkhart) and call it a day.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Stephen Howard, post: 641829, member: 41"] There's absolutely no reason why your RAW shouldn't last as long as a Selmer. In fact it's likely to last a bit longer given that Selmer keywork tends to wear rather faster. It's a bit of a moot point though because when you boil it down you're basically dealing with brass, steel and solder - and assuming no-one's done anything incredibly stupid, even a cheapo horn will see the average human out (economics aside). Even the most mediocre horns (Weltklang et al) are gonna hang round one's neck like the proverbial albatross for quite some time yet. I had all this bs back in the '70's when folks in the trade told me my Yamahas would fall apart in ten years. 50 years later and I'm still waiting... Both my 'vintage' Yamahas are gig ready - and I haven't had to tweak them in years. As for 'Eastern' horns not being up to snuff - I've seen a number of pro clients in recent years opting to eschew the 'big three' and go for something rather more off-menu. I've even had a couple switch from Borgani/Rampone to TJ. Who'd have thunk? Eastman seem to be doing quite well on the workbench, Mauriat not so much - but Thomann's own pro range seems to pop up a lot. It's going to get a lot more interesting in the next few years because some of the stuff coming out of China these days is eyebrow-raising in terms of build and playability. If you're one of the big manufacturers, now is not the time to be complacent. And no, it's not sufficient to slap a once-revered name on a Chinese horn (cough...Elkhart) and call it a day. [/QUOTE]
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