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Saxophones Walstein & stephanhouser saxes

C_Claudemonster

C_Claudemonster

Formerly saxgirl22
Messages
399
Location
England, UK
Yesterday I heard a few sound clips of a walstein tenor being played. I have to say that (bearing in mind it was a sound clip) I was not bowled over by these - I would like to point out that the player was of a very good standard. Does anyone else share my opinion on this? They seem to be mentioned an awful lot and upon checking some websites the prices were going up above £1k for the gold plated versions. To me I feel that these saxes don't have very much depth to their tone for a price above 1k.
Does anyone also know what became of the stephanhouser saxes? They used to sell them over here but I can't find anywhere that does now and they don't really seem to have much of a following.
:) just a general lunchtime natter from me!
 
Do you realise what you have just said, I should run away and hide in a barn FORGIVE HER FOR SHE KNOWS NOT WHAT SHE SAYS you'll have the Walstien appreciation society after you before you know it(just a general lunch time natter MY GOODNESS):))):))):)))
 
saxgirl22 said:
Yesterday I heard a few sound clips of a walstein tenor being played. I have to say that (bearing in mind it was a sound clip) I was not bowled over by these - I would like to point out that the player was of a very good standard. Does anyone else share my opinion on this? They seem to be mentioned an awful lot and upon checking some websites the prices were going up above £1k for the gold plated versions. To me I feel that these saxes don't have very much depth to their tone for a price above 1k.
Does anyone also know what became of the stephanhouser saxes? They used to sell them over here but I can't find anywhere that does now and they don't really seem to have much of a following.
:) just a general lunchtime natter from me!
Click to expand...

Hello saxgirl22,

I've not played a Walstein so I can't comment on their 'in house' tone as it were, but reading your comments made me think. I can remember taking my sax to Stephen Howard for a service and he likes to give it a good play once he's done all his tweaking just to show that everything is as it should be. He effortlessly went through the hole range of the instrument with a jazzy improvisation and I was left thinking, "wow, so that is what it is capable of!"

The person who's sound clip you listened to, have you heard any other sound clips from them on different saxes? Different mouthpieces?

I've dabbled with recording and would say I've yet to achieve what I hear when I play in a recording, I'm still learning, but the person who recorded the sound clip you heard may have been a seasoned pro. I'd hate for anyone to listen to my recordings and assume that's what a Yamaha sounds like!

Also, was there any post processing involved? A bit of EQ and reverb can easily manipulate the saxes tone.

See if you can track down Pete's tenor shoot out, he's got all the usual suspects in there including a Walstein if memory proves me right.

All the best,

Chris
 
Hi Saxgirl,

Are you looking for a tenorsax suitable for a big band? A used Selmer, Yamaha, Yanagisawa or Jupiter XO would be my choice. I saw a Selmer SA80II tenor the other day for 14 000 s e k (c 1170.00) including a Berg Larsen HR 120/2 SMS mouthpiece. Looks great. If you take good care of a horn like that you will have your money back the day your're going to sell it.

Thomas
 
I think sax sound is a highly personal thing. Last week I went through all of Steve Neff's mouthpiece reviews, listening to the sound cip from each one. While I was able to say that there were some I really liked, there were many highly regarded mouthpieces that I shuddered to listen to. Plus the player colours the sound a lot, so something that Steve got a great sound out of may not work for me - or you. And similarly something I thought sounded terrible with Steve playing it may work well for me or you.

Although there are big differences in the sounds of different saxes, mouthpiece will have a big effect on what you're hearing. Would be worth trying one yourself. And trying a few mouthpieces. And trying other saxes - you may prefer something else. Or not....

And there's another school of thought - doesn't matter what you play, you'll play it in such a way that you still sound the same, after a while.... And I seem to be doing that as I experiment with different mouthpieces. I'll get a sound in my head, play that way, be happy with it, then try another mouthpiece. Maybe I don't lie the sound at first... But after a week or two, it's shifting to the way I sounded on the old mouthpiece.
 
Nick Wyver said:
You can tell practically nothing about the sound of a particular make of saxophone from a recording of it.
Click to expand...

Intriqued!

It's obvious, only use your eyes.

Grade eight, whether jazz or classical, will be judged with 'Instrument Marks', to be awarded by the extreme positions achieved during the exam without dropping the instrument and 'Style 'Marks' to be awarded for non conformity with normal clothing. During the examination no sound should emanate from the instrument or examinee.
 
I obviously have to explain...

In a recording there are far too many variables to be able to ascribe any aspect of the sound to the particular type of sax being played. I'll list a few: reed, mouthpiece, microphone(s), recording room, all the rest of the recording equipment, sound processing stuff (compressors, equalizers, etc.), your own playback gear, etc., etc. And of course there's the player - a horn can sound quite different depending who's playing it. And the biggest variable of all - the ligature, because, as we all know, a judicious choice of ligature can make an enormous difference to the sound. If you can sort that lot out and say it's the sax that's giving a particular nuance to the sound then you're cleverer than I am.
If you want to compare the sounds of different saxes listen to them yourself with no intervening processing gear, and with one mouthpiece, one reed and one player. Oh, nearly forgot, one ligature too.
 
"temperature, humidity, air quality" - I would think contribute little to the tone quality of a sax. "eigentones" - covered under recording room. ;}

But I've probably forgotten a few other things.

See what I mean.
 
Nick Wyver said:
But I've probably forgotten a few other things.
Click to expand...

Before OG really gets going:

resonators, pad types, rolled/straight tone holes, sax material, laquer/plated/bare brass, neck material, mouthpiece material, bore perturbations, bore finish, room dynamics....

And in OG's case, denture material and fit, whether the neck strap ring holds the sax away from his zimmer frame or not and whether the handle on his lorgnette allows him to play and read music at the same time or not... >:)
 
kevgermany said:
Before OG really gets going:

resonators, pad types, rolled/straight tone holes, sax material, laquer/plated/bare brass, neck material, mouthpiece material, bore perturbations, bore finish, room dynamics....

And in OG's case, denture material and fit, whether the neck strap ring holds the sax away from his zimmer frame or not and whether the handle on his lorgnette allows him to play and read music at the same time or not... >:)
Click to expand...

You looking to start WWlll? >:)

However this gentleman is telling me that my direct cut, valve only pathway discs are a waste of money. If you cannot trust a recording of a saxophone, then it follows that any recording, of what ever instrument or group of instruments, sounds false. Surely that makes all recording engineers, twisters and scammers.

I am only drawing the logical conclusion, send your comments to Nick.
 
lol!!! I'm so sorry if I caused offence here! not my intention and yes. Please forgive me for opening a lunchtime debate on this! I only listened to one recording so I guess this is another thing I need to lern about before I comment. Maybe if I can I will try BW sax for myself before I pass a statement/question like my opening post :)
Interesting tho! They look pretty smart so I guess it's a case of trying one and seeing if it's what I am looking for.
 

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