Saxophones Singing the praises

[gladsaxisme]

Hi every body

I'm all alone in the house ,my wife and son have gone to the match, that makes a change doesn't it,I'm not into footy, so I've been practising on the sax,going through all the tunes I can play reasonably well and trying to put my own slant on them.

And for the first time I was really pleased with the tonal quality I was achieving and the more I played the more I enjoyed it,and then I got to thinking what a great little sax I was playing, the more I play it the more I love it....It's not a Yamaha or a Nawasaki or a Selmer or a Mauriat or any of the would be quality horns you can think of, and by the way I do have a 62 to play as well.

No it's a lowly Elkhart series 2 which is my first trial horn I bought when I first started, it is really well built, there have been no soft and bent keys, or corks falling off and the pads seem to be of a very good quality.I have never had to take it back to have it tuned or serviced,I have kept it lubricated to the best of my ability but that's all the attention it gets, and I have had the pleasure of it's company for 2.5 years now and I feel that as I improve so can it,and it keeps on showing me what it can do.


I really feel it is no where near it's limits, I'm saying this because very few people mention the Elkharts which I think is a shame especially if someone is about to take up the sax can only afford a budget sax. I think that for the £340.00 including a starter pack it is incredible value for money and I doubt that I will ever part with it.

The only problem I foresee is when It does need a re-pad what do I do when you can buy a new sax for similar money to the re-pad cost. I'm sure there may be many of you out there who may disagree with me and maybe some with a lot more knowledge of saxophones than I have but I really do think this is a great sax.:welldone

 

[visionari1]

G'day,

I have two saxes made in Elkhart (Indiana) My alto an old Conn and a newer Blessings soprano and I often sing there praises.
This photo was when I visited Elkhart in 2004
Ciao
Jimu

 

[thomsax]

I've never played/tried an Elkhart sax but it sounds good to me. There are lots of good saxes out on market for less money. Even if I have old saxes like Martins, Conn, Buescher, Keilwerths ..... I bought them for less money!

The limit when it comes to saxplaying is the player, not the sax!! I've been listening a lot to Noble "Thin Man" Watts (R&B saxplayer) and he blew a Conn Shouting Star ("Mexicosax") on his late recordings/performances. A junksax according to most people, includiing myself! Would Watts be better if he was on a Selmer MK VI, Cannonball, ...... ?

 

[kevgermany]

Yep, I believe it's the player, mostly.

When it needs a repad - do some reading, take your time and do it yourself... Lots of fun. and quite do-able. Stephen's manual is an excellent guide.

 

[Clivey]

Well Well. I also play an Elkhart. My soprano, and I agree it is a good horn. Put it this way. It`s only let down is it`s owner.

If I recollect Elkhart is distributed by Vincent Bach who also do Selmer amongst others. Now, I don`t know much about the musical instrument game but I do buy from manufacturers directly while running my daily business, and I`ll tell you this. A manufacturer will sell to anybody as long as the money is right. All they do is re-label the goods. If it can happen with a Shirt or a Tin of beans it can happen with a Sax.
Also every maker /manufacturer will have key customers and standards which they demand. so what happens when the quality dips below the required level? I`ll tell you what. Out comes the " Second Line" stamp, erm "Who could that be"?


LOL. if we could only get the real bottom line about "who really makes what" What a muck up would occur. Unfortunately the bad side of this would mean lot`s of financial loss to the good people who make a living in the musical instrument business combined with a great devaluation in the asset price/value of each Branded "First line" instrument owned by players worldwide..

Oh. Just a Quick real example of what I mean.

196~ Selmer Mk6 Alto Sax - Price 97 Guineas

196~ Selmer Student Alto Sax - Price 75 Guineas


If we look at these Prices 40 odd years on. The former will be valued un-proportionally high at about £2k up to as high as the sucker will pay.

The Latter will come in under £300 ..weird stuff seeing how both instruments were originally quite close in price, which would suggest a similarity in quality.


Anyway I agree the Elkhart brand saxes have a quality feel to them ;}

 

[Andante cantabile]

Glad to hear that you are thoroughly enjoying your Elkhart. I know nothing about them, something I could say about most other saxophones. But be aware that GAS will strike, and it will be virulent.

 

[dooce]

Taz has got an Elkhart alto that I picked up and played at a jam session we were at recently, and I was knocked out by it. Beautiful tone, lovely action - no idea what mouthpiece he has on it.

If he offered it to me, I'd be happy to take it off his hands........(small pig just flew past the window)

 

[gladsaxisme]

I've never played/tried an Elkhart sax but it sounds good to me. There are lots of good saxes out on market for less money. Even if I have old saxes like Martins, Conn, Buescher, Keilwerths ..... I bought them for less money!

The limit when it comes to saxplaying is the player, not the sax!! I've been listening a lot to Noble "Thin Man" Watts (R&B saxplayer) and he blew a Conn Shouting Star ("Mexicosax") on his late recordings/performances. A junksax according to most people, includiing myself! Would Watts be better if he was on a Selmer MK VI, Cannonball, ...... ?

Hi thomsax

I have to admit I'm a bit of a saxoholic really and I am getting really drawn to the martins, and one of the main reasons for this I think is that the people involved with them always talk of the build quality of them and how sturdy they are

I am always trolling EBAY looking for interesting horns but as you would expect the real quality horns always demand quality money,maybe not to the same extent as Selmers perhaps, but still more than the £340 of the ELKHART and the ones that are cheaper usually need a lot of money spending on them.

One thing I would love to do now that I am a more competent player is to try blowing some of these vintage giants to form my own opinion of how they compare to the modern stuff, but unfortunately that's not very easy to do unless you have a large group of friends near to you who own these horns and are willing to let you have a blow....bye for now john

 

[gladsaxisme]

Glad to hear that you are thoroughly enjoying your Elkhart. I know nothing about them, something I could say about most other saxophones. But be aware that GAS will strike, and it will be virulent.

Sorry Beckmesser but that went straight over my head maybe you could enlighten me...john:shocked:

 

[gladsaxisme]

Taz has got an Elkhart alto that I picked up and played at a jam session we were at recently, and I was knocked out by it. Beautiful tone, lovely action - no idea what mouthpiece he has on it.

If he offered it to me, I'd be happy to take it off his hands........(small pig just flew past the window)

Hi dooce

I didn't know that Taz was alto friendly I thought he was a wild tenor man.,I'd love to know what you think of your cannonball...john

 

[dooce]

I'd love to know what you think of your cannonball...john

Oh, don't get me started!

I can bore for England on the subject of my Cannonball, all of it unstinting, adoring praise......... I love it, and I have to say that every saxist who has ever picked it up for a blow has praised it, and even those that know nothing about the things love its looks. I see you are interested in vintage instruments - I came to the CB from a Conn10M and while I would never say that one sax is better than another, the CB suited me far, far better than ever the Conn did while making a pretty much similar noise, when required. If you can find one, they are well worth a trial.

 

[Andante cantabile]

Sorry Beckmesser but that went straight over my head maybe you could enlighten me...john:shocked:

GAS = gear acquisition syndrome. It is a well established fact that saxophone players are never happy for long with what they have. They should be, I know.

 

[gladsaxisme]

GAS = gear acquisition syndrome. It is a well established fact that saxophone players are never happy for long with what they have. They should be, I know.

Now I understand do we all get it or do you have to be totally insane like me? I think I now own ten at the last count.But I still think I love the elkhart the best at the moment anyway.

 

[Chris98]

Now I understand do we all get it or do you have to be totally insane like me? I think I now own ten at the last count.But I still think I love the elkhart the best at the moment anyway.

You have ten saxophones! Wow, anything interesting in your collection?

All the best,

Chris

 

[Andante cantabile]

Now I understand do we all get it or do you have to be totally insane like me? I think I now own ten at the last count.But I still think I love the elkhart the best at the moment anyway.

I am not qualified to give an opinion on anyone's sanity, but your case does sound interesting. At the same time, you are in good company, judging by other posts. There is something about the saxophone that makes people acquire them beyond their immediate needs. I have two. One would be enough. I sometimes wonder whether, for example, sousaphone, clarinet or oboe players also feel drawn to owning more than of their instruments. When it is all said and done, however, I think that those of us who have discovered the saxophone are among the lucky ones.

 

[thomsax]

The last years I've been trying to sell my saxes and just keep the saxes that are best for me to play and the saxes that are special for me. The sax that I bought the same week as my first child was born, my Martin Magna tenor that I grab the same day as we moved to our house.... . When we went for vacation I use to pack my clothes in a saxcase without a saxophone. A tenor flightcase is perfect. The bell of a tenorsax can store lots of socks, ...... .

I did well to last autumn But I did it again! I traded a Corton De Luxe (Yanagisawa). A nice sax!!! And reacently I bouhgt a Klingsor tenor. Just before Eastern, I send my son to inspect and testplay a Cuesnon Monopole baritone in Stockholm. A bargain. And there is a overhauled ready-to-play New KIng alto from the 50's .... . I'm stuck again.

"Somebody call me a doctor, I need my perscription!!" A song by Big Walker. http://www.ourstage.com/tracks/YQCGETKJRBGQ-i-need-my-presciption (Keith Done vocals, Jimmy Dawkins, King Perkoff and Big Walker saxes).

Thomas

 

[gladsaxisme]

The last years I've been trying to sell my saxes and just keep the saxes that are best for me to play and the saxes that are special for me. The sax that I bought the same week as my first child was born, my Martin Magna tenor that I grab the same day as we moved to our house.... . When we went for vacation I use to pack my clothes in a saxcase without a saxophone. A tenor flightcase is perfect. The bell of a tenorsax can store lots of socks, ...... .

I did well to last autumn But I did it again! I traded a Corton De Luxe (Yanagisawa). A nice sax!!! And reacently I bouhgt a Klingsor tenor. Just before Eastern, I send my son to inspect and testplay a Cuesnon Monopole baritone in Stockholm. A bargain. And there is a overhauled ready-to-play New KIng alto from the 50's .... . I'm stuck again.

"Somebody call me a doctor, I need my perscription!!" A song by Big Walker. http://www.ourstage.com/tracks/YQCGETKJRBGQ-i-need-my-presciption (Keith Done vocals, Jimmy Dawkins, King Perkoff and Big Walker saxes).

Thomas

My goodness thomsax I really do believe you may be worse than me THANK GOD there's hope for me yet

 

[gladsaxisme]

You have ten saxophones! Wow, anything interesting in your collection?

All the best,

Chris

Hi Chris

I think maybe different rather than interesting might best describe my collection,I get drawn to mainly old saxes that appear to be a bargain but in truth never really are.

I listed 8 I think in my introductory biog it's probably best you avoid that one.But here's the list so far

1) elkhart 2
2)stagg sop
3)Vintage LINDELL tenor (stripped de-laquered and polished by myself, then re-built and tuned with black roo pads and all new springs by john clark my local genius mech)
4)yas25 lovely little sax (sold later)
5)yas62 another lovely sax but spends most of it's life sleeping in it's case
6)Vintage Paul Cavour tenor (resting in pieces awaiting a re-build)
7)vintage dearman (sleeping peacefully in it's case very tired I'm afraid to say)
8) Vintage Conn alto student model, maybe pan american? brass body chrome keys (resting in pieces after being thoroughly cleaned awaiting re-pad and re-build)
9) vintage Conn Chu berry alto (at the mechs having some dents removed prior to overhauling)
10) Modern thorman tenor in antique finish (bought to practice tenor on).

Well thats all folks;}

 

[Chris J]

Just before Eastern, I send my son to inspect and testplay a Cuesnon Monopole baritone in Stockholm. A bargain.

Thomas

This is where I stick my hand up and admit to collecting many things Couesnon.

Thomsax - what era was the bari? My Couesnon Monopole bari is pre 1937, and great to play but a bit of a beast ergonomically. That said, many don't like the ergonomoics of the 1950s and 1960 Monopoles, but they all play and feel the same, so I am very used to them - I have soprano, alto and tenor of the so called Monopole series II (well, actually I have 3 altos) - also in the stable are a Yanagisawa A600, Buescher TT sop and recently a gold plated Conn Chu tenor, and a Conn NW II C melody.

And no, it is not confined to saxes, this GAS thing - I seem to have more clarinets than you can shake a black stick at (including 2 Couesnon Monopoles, of course).... not quite sure how it happened really

Chris

 

[Chris98]

Hey John, (in a suitably deep and threatening voice )

You've got a YAS62 asleep in it's case! - How could you do that? Don't you have a heart, it's meant to be played, give it a chance, let it show you what it can do, it'll stand by you whatever happens. By the way, is it an original 62 or the later 62II?

All the best,

Chris