Saxophones The Bauhaus Walstein Sax Owners Thread

[Col9]

Well came home from work had tea and gave it a try with fresh lips. The low end notes are more easily blown now. To blow quietly still takes a bit of effort but its much better. The tricky bit is getting a low C or below instantly and quietly, but again it can now be done. So following your lead Colin, I've ordered a Yamaha 5c, and we will see how she gets on with it when its delivered.

Obviously not all sax's are the same (duh!) and its hard sometimes without experience to know where the problem lies, either with us or the sax. The end result of all this is good, as I now have a tenor to play with and understand a little more of how the mechanism works and Jane has upgraded her mouthpiece and has a great sounding sax that we don't have to phone up about or send back. 😛 although I am now broke for a month 😉


Thanks again all.
Col.

 

[stephen_howard]

Sax god eh?? I'll have to put me rates up ( again )!

I think one of the strengths of the Walstein tenor is perhaps the thing that causes the most problems - it has a fantastically big low end.
It's not always apparent if you haven't spent time blowing a number of other horns - but if you put it alongside something like a Yamaha you'll certainly notice how big and fat the Walstein sounds down the lower end. It even trounces the Yani.

But..you rarely get anything for free, and the payoff for the fatness is that it can, for some players, be a tad more demanding...and it very definitely doesn't like tense embouchures.
The problem is that once a player starts to struggle with the low notes they often tense up. Fingers are pressed down harder, lips are tightened...and this just makes things worse.
It also doesn't help if the mouthpiece is more inclined towards the bright. Sure, it's entirely possible to get those low notes with a bright piece - but you will need to be in full control.
If you go for a piece that's more laid back it'll force you to relax, and those low notes will just ooze right on out.

If you get a Walstein and it doesn't do the biz down the bottom then it will boil down to one of three things;
It's copped a whack in transit ( not common, but it does happen ); the mouthpiece isn't up to the mark - or the player need to practice backing off the tension.
This I know, because the very first thing I do when I've finished my inspection is to pop out a fat whisper on the low Bb!

Incidentally, the Vandoren piece I use for testing is a plain T23. The T20 is pretty much identical, but suits people who prefer to use softer reeds.

Bottom line though - if you have any problems just give the dealer a call, he'll bend over backwards to ensure you're throroughly happy with your horn.
As independent as I am I'm more than comfortable being vaguelly associated with that kind of customer service.

Regards,

 

[stephen_howard]

Col9 wrote:
Yes, the smell Is a bit overpowering at first :x Still its not so bad now.
Looks like a return might not be necessary. It would seem that the pad above the F wasnt closing as it should and the D key/pad was tipping towards the pearl. There is the potential of hell of a lot of leverage from the pearl across the edge of the tone hole.

Still If we can smooth out the metallic vibration noise when low B is blown we have it sorted. Main thing is shes happy. 😉

Rizla's eh? fantastic bits of kit.

Sounds like it might have had a bump - and it's thrown out the Aux.F key regulation. I don't know how the D key would have got twisted though!
As regards the metallic vibration on the low B, check that none of the bell key guard stays have popped off. A knock in transit can pop one of these off, and leave it just hanging above the body. This will vibrate when certain notes are played.
Other than that, try a drop of oil on the bell key plates...and some on the little channel that connects the low B touchpiece to the C#.
Also, check that the adjuster screw between the low B and C# keys is snug ( if you can't move it with your fingernail then it will be just fine ).

Regards,

 

[chris_curtis]

MIne came this morning. Looks great, really easy and natural action (I have been playing alto), blows easily and sounds amazing. The low notes are scary and wonderful at the same time. More character than you can shake a stick at!

I bought a yamaha 5c mouthpiece and Rovner fabric ligature with it. I find it very easy to stay in tune with this set up, and very easy to play in the upper registers, but very hard to get the low notes. With the mouthpiece and metal ligature that came with it the whole range is pretty easy, and the tone has more edge, but I have to work harder to stay in tune as I go up the range. I'll keep working on the Yamaha - it's definitely me rather than the sax: I have similar struggles with low notes on my TJ alto and a Yamaha 4C mpc!

Would agree with the comments about woodwind and brass - what a pleasure to do business with nice, helpful people.

 

[onecat]

I can offer some advice here maybe: I have the Walstein alto, it did not play perfect out of box, and took some playing and a few trips to the tech to get things sorted. Same with any new sax, I think. Also, I have found choice of mouthpiece to be important; a large chamber Morgan or similar large chamber piece (HR Link?) works best for me. The low end is huge on this horn, not really hard to control but it will be if there are leaks or if using the wrong mpc. In the end I am very happy with the big, resonant sound. Ergos aren't as good as my Conn but sound and build quality are great. I am definitely keeping at as my backup axe.

 

[chris_curtis]

Had a close look this morning. The octave pad on top of the crook was not quite seated right. A little gentle finger pressure and the low notes are there, including with the Yamaha mouthpiece. Still a tendency for low C and below to "break" but that is me. If I keep my embouchure still it does not happen.

Had a good play and really love this sax. I even sounded mellow!

 

[ch_boogie]

Well thanks to everyone especially Stephen, for the advice and thoughts, its pretty much there now with the yamaha 5c mouthpiece. The vibration on the low B dissapeared when I changed the ligature from my Corton to the Walstein. Funnily enough its now doing it on my Corton 8| It may have had a bump on its journey to throw out the F key and I'm happy to belive the D was heavy handedness on somebodys part after its delivery. >.<

still thanks again all
Col.

 

[whyaduck]

I was having a little trouble with the lower F, E & D keys. Martin from W & B called me here in the states and I spoke with Stephen about it and gave me some suggestions to try. Bottom line is that I took it to a repair tech that made a few adjustments (possibly from shipping) and now it the warbling in the lower notes are gone.

The tech who made the adjustments had seen previous generation Chinese made saxophones and was impressed with the Walstein. She said the sound reminded her of the Cannonball line that is sold here in the US. Those go for around $2500 USD.

Great service and help from Martin and Stephen.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I called in at Woodwind & Brass (who distribute the Walstein) the other day, it seems they have a new range about to start (along with a name change).

He had a couple of prototypes there, and I managed to borrow the alto to try out for a bit. Very similar to a P.Mauriat, I'm tempted to buy this instead of the Rampone & Cazzani I was thinking of. From what I understand he's going to keep the original line going and do these as a more pro model. Looks very nice too with black pads and dark Mother of Pearl, I'll hopefully post some soundfiles soon.

 

[skully12]

How do they play? I haven't heard much from this walstein company. I'll have to look in to them.

 

[Pete Thomas]

This one plays exactly like one of the big bell Mauriats.

 

[rhysonsax]

That's interesting. Martin and Hat were talking about a name change when I visited them in May.

Are they still in phosphur bronze and modelled on the Yanagisawas ? I'd like to see them in silver and hope they avoid those fake antique finishes.

Rhys

 

[saxismyaxe]

Pete,

By Woodwind & Brass you are referring to a U.K. vendor I take it, and not WWBW in the United States?

Lately, you guys in Britain are getting all the good deals on the less expensive horn makes/models. 🙁

 

[jonf]

Saxismyaxe wrote:

Lately, you guys in Britain are getting all the good deals on the less expensive horn makes/models. 🙁

True, but it's swings and roundabouts. Have you seen the price of mouthpieces here? More in pounds than you pay in dollars in some cases. Not the retailers fault, there're just so many things bumping up the costs here.

I also get the impression that the better Chinese saxes such as Walstein are keeping profits low to build up a market presence and a reputation, and that once this is achieved they'll move steadily up market. When you take into account raw materials cost, labour (even at Chinese rates) shipping, import duty, VAT, retailer markup, tech checking over here, they can't be making much on an alto at three hundred quid. So get 'em now, while they're cheap!

 

[Pete Thomas]

Saxismyaxe wrote:
Pete,

By Woodwind & Brass you are referring to a U.K. vendor I take it, and not WWBW in the United States?

Lately, you guys in Britain are getting all the good deals on the less expensive horn makes/models. 🙁

Yes, it's Woodwind & Bras Ltd. , local to me down here in sunny Hampshire.

 

[tommy_ng]

Any indication on the price for the pro Walstein sax???

Would it be much more expensive ??

:S

 

[Pete Thomas]

Would it be much more expensive ??

I'm not sure how much but I think he said they would be a lot less than a P.Mauriat.

 

[koumou]

Any indications as to when will these be revealed/available?
The cheapest (tenor) Mauriat on Sax.co.uk is the PMST-202 retailing at about 900 GBP, I wonder how much less these are going to cost. The Walstein costs 400 GBP, so something around the 600 mark might be nice.

 

[snatch182]

I can't wait until they come out!! I heard about this a few weeks ago and contacted Martin by e-mail. He said they will be coming out soon, so just check out the website.

Plus i've been looking at the P.Mauriats for a while, if they sound anything like any of them and look as great as them as well, i'm gunna be so tempted.

Anticipation. So how would you campare it to the P. Mauriats, pete? Do they live up to the same reputation as do the walstein yani copies?

 

[koumou]

Quoted from:http://www.woodwindandbrass.co.uk/

The Walstein name will be changing to Bauhaus-Walstein. To promote this new name we will be making some changes to our existing range of saxophones. Our updated series will include Italian pads and steel adjustment screws. We will also be adding a Yamaha mouthpiece and Rovner ligature as standard. In addition we will be introducing a brand new curved soprano model. New instruments will be arriving at the end of August.