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Honkin Ron Howe
Member
- Messages
- 66
- Location
- Horley, Surrey UK
Intro
So, after reading Steven Howard’s review I finally bought a Thomann Low Jazz Baritone Sax.
Background
I owned an old silver Buescher True Tone Bari Sax in the 80s and loved its sound and light weight, the set-up and key layout. Regrettably, I sold that as it was very old and didn’t have the high E and F etc. and, played various Low A Baritones including the Yamaha YBS-32 and my Sakkusu Deluxe, which has served me well. Missing that distinctive Low Bb sound, I bought the Thomann fairly recently. I’ve never been happy with the Low A Baritones.
General
I’m not going to add to anything that Steven Howard covered in his review but, I’m really pleased with it. The horn is heavy at 5.3 kg but lighter than the other Low A’s I’ve played – my Sakkusu is 5.5 kg. It sounds good, is indeed well built and the intonation is well sorted. Typical of Bari saxes it’s a little cumbersome under the fingers and the action needs tweaking. Bari saxes will always feel as if you’re holding a melon! … well to me anyway as I have short stubby fingers that struggle to play low Bb.
Cost and Competition
Although the price has crept up over the last 18 months it is still excellent value for money, for a Low Bb Bari. I wanted the un-lacquered one but that is more expensive … I don’t get that! There’s little competition out there with only the P Mauriat PMB-302 being made and a few old Buescher True Tones and 400s, Conn Cross Bar and some Martins about. With the Mauriat being £5,500 and the Thomann at £3,200 ish, it remains an absolute bargain … for now.
Negatives
The only negatives I found were that the lyre socket is inaccessible in it’s position being paired with the tenon joint screw and that is a design fail. This matters to some. You can get to it but it takes some effort and, standard lyres will not work as the socket is behind rather than being on the front of the horn. It only has one neck strap ring so finding an alternate balance point might be tricky but, that’s a minor issue.
Objective
I’m not into stripping and testing tone hole levels etc., that’s for the techs, so fall back on Steven Howard’s views. I’ll just tell how it feels and sounds. It definitely feels solid and well built. Soundswise the intonation is good to my ears and after checking with a tuner. The horn is bright in the mid to upper tones, especially through my Dukoff Silverite D9 (Super Power Chamber) mouthpiece but, it retains the rich lower tones.
Sound
Resonance is mildly lacking and I put that down to the dense, harder or thicker brass but it projects reasonably well. I’m not saying it’s dull sounding, just that it’s quite tonally neutral compared to say, Yamaha or the vintage horns. A favoured mouthpiece pairing might well be the metal Otto Link Super Tone Master (STM) or a Berg Larsen metal piece with a big baffle.
I don’t have a Link bari piece, just a tenor 8* STM. Other pieces I have, include the stock one, a Yamaha 5C, the Brilhart designed Rico Graftonite 5B and Metalite M7, all of which struggle for volume on the bari. You could stick with ebonite or plastic mouthpieces and go the classical route with hard reeds … if you can handle them.
The problem with bari's is all that extra bell and the open tone holes means that less sound gets to microphones pointed at the bell. So in theory the Low Bb models should sound better and produce more volume; but it's difficult getting enough air through that big bore.
Mouthpieces
On that note I would always recommend you choose a wider tip opening on bari – you’ll thank me - and opt for a high baffle for brightness and more volume, especially if you’re a soloist. For example, if you play a 7 tip then go for a 9 on bari as they lack volume and, those long reeds play much softer. If you’re a marching bander or section player you can always rein the sound in but you can’t push a mouthpiece beyond its design limits.
Handling
Losing that extra bell length of the Low A models means that it swings around much easier and I like to use the neck strap despite owing a harness and it comes with a well padded strap. The key layout is okay; I tend to occasionally catch the side palm D, the front Auxilery (altissimo) and the side Bb keys, but I don’t play so much bari now after spending several years previously playing bari in a rock and roll band … that’s my short fingers again.
Appearance
The gold lacquer is a very nice colour by the way. Overall, it really is a nice horn and I have given it a work-out at some open mics. The case is the typical hard plastic one with four catches and wheels that the South-East Asian bari’s all seem to come in and they do the job.
Overall
Would I recommend this bari? Most certainly and I understand that others have given it a big thumbs up. It’s playing well out of the box. It doesn’t have the charm of the Buescher though, but what do you expect. If you need more information ask.
So, after reading Steven Howard’s review I finally bought a Thomann Low Jazz Baritone Sax.
Background
I owned an old silver Buescher True Tone Bari Sax in the 80s and loved its sound and light weight, the set-up and key layout. Regrettably, I sold that as it was very old and didn’t have the high E and F etc. and, played various Low A Baritones including the Yamaha YBS-32 and my Sakkusu Deluxe, which has served me well. Missing that distinctive Low Bb sound, I bought the Thomann fairly recently. I’ve never been happy with the Low A Baritones.
General
I’m not going to add to anything that Steven Howard covered in his review but, I’m really pleased with it. The horn is heavy at 5.3 kg but lighter than the other Low A’s I’ve played – my Sakkusu is 5.5 kg. It sounds good, is indeed well built and the intonation is well sorted. Typical of Bari saxes it’s a little cumbersome under the fingers and the action needs tweaking. Bari saxes will always feel as if you’re holding a melon! … well to me anyway as I have short stubby fingers that struggle to play low Bb.
Cost and Competition
Although the price has crept up over the last 18 months it is still excellent value for money, for a Low Bb Bari. I wanted the un-lacquered one but that is more expensive … I don’t get that! There’s little competition out there with only the P Mauriat PMB-302 being made and a few old Buescher True Tones and 400s, Conn Cross Bar and some Martins about. With the Mauriat being £5,500 and the Thomann at £3,200 ish, it remains an absolute bargain … for now.
Negatives
The only negatives I found were that the lyre socket is inaccessible in it’s position being paired with the tenon joint screw and that is a design fail. This matters to some. You can get to it but it takes some effort and, standard lyres will not work as the socket is behind rather than being on the front of the horn. It only has one neck strap ring so finding an alternate balance point might be tricky but, that’s a minor issue.
Objective
I’m not into stripping and testing tone hole levels etc., that’s for the techs, so fall back on Steven Howard’s views. I’ll just tell how it feels and sounds. It definitely feels solid and well built. Soundswise the intonation is good to my ears and after checking with a tuner. The horn is bright in the mid to upper tones, especially through my Dukoff Silverite D9 (Super Power Chamber) mouthpiece but, it retains the rich lower tones.
Sound
Resonance is mildly lacking and I put that down to the dense, harder or thicker brass but it projects reasonably well. I’m not saying it’s dull sounding, just that it’s quite tonally neutral compared to say, Yamaha or the vintage horns. A favoured mouthpiece pairing might well be the metal Otto Link Super Tone Master (STM) or a Berg Larsen metal piece with a big baffle.
I don’t have a Link bari piece, just a tenor 8* STM. Other pieces I have, include the stock one, a Yamaha 5C, the Brilhart designed Rico Graftonite 5B and Metalite M7, all of which struggle for volume on the bari. You could stick with ebonite or plastic mouthpieces and go the classical route with hard reeds … if you can handle them.
The problem with bari's is all that extra bell and the open tone holes means that less sound gets to microphones pointed at the bell. So in theory the Low Bb models should sound better and produce more volume; but it's difficult getting enough air through that big bore.
Mouthpieces
On that note I would always recommend you choose a wider tip opening on bari – you’ll thank me - and opt for a high baffle for brightness and more volume, especially if you’re a soloist. For example, if you play a 7 tip then go for a 9 on bari as they lack volume and, those long reeds play much softer. If you’re a marching bander or section player you can always rein the sound in but you can’t push a mouthpiece beyond its design limits.
Handling
Losing that extra bell length of the Low A models means that it swings around much easier and I like to use the neck strap despite owing a harness and it comes with a well padded strap. The key layout is okay; I tend to occasionally catch the side palm D, the front Auxilery (altissimo) and the side Bb keys, but I don’t play so much bari now after spending several years previously playing bari in a rock and roll band … that’s my short fingers again.
Appearance
The gold lacquer is a very nice colour by the way. Overall, it really is a nice horn and I have given it a work-out at some open mics. The case is the typical hard plastic one with four catches and wheels that the South-East Asian bari’s all seem to come in and they do the job.
Overall
Would I recommend this bari? Most certainly and I understand that others have given it a big thumbs up. It’s playing well out of the box. It doesn’t have the charm of the Buescher though, but what do you expect. If you need more information ask.
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