Saxophones What have I gone and done now (v2)

[jonf]

About a year and a half ago, I started a thread with this title, having just bought a Grafton. It was at a very good price, came with some nice mouthpieces and was a player. Still got it, still play it.

Well, now I've gone and done it again, and bought another silly sax. This time it's a Vibrato polycarbonate sax. Price was low, and I was just curious. Expectations aren't high, but it might be a bit of a laugh. I'll probably end up selling it on, but at the price, curiosity got the better of me. We'll see in a few days when it arrives. I'm actually quite looking forward to it, and seeing how it compares to my Yanagisawa and battered, cheapo Vito/Yamaha, as well as the Grafton. I know the Yanagisawa will be miles better, as will the Vito, which plays great for such a cheap sax. But Grafton vs Vibrato? What do people think? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen.

 

[jazzdoh]

I have only tried one once in sax.co.uk quite a few years ago, i thought because i have a back problem it could be a good move for practise, my thoughts were that it felt more of a toy than an instrument, it just didn't feel robust so didn't buy it.

 

[Tonehole]

Interested in what you think.
I considered buying one as a show sax. S put led lights in it and light it up on the dance floor when playing DJ sax. I stepped back from investing in one, I understand the newer models are better players with better pads and mechanics.
I also considered having flames come out of a saxophone at one time. I sobered up.

 

[Grumps]

I played an alto at a Symposium some years ago and if my wife had four hundred bucks on her at the time, I would have bought it. I actually really, really enjoyed playing it and was able to get it above the keyed range as with any horn. In fact, I almost bit on a tenor when I was with a brass band playing mostly soprano, as I could have easily slung the tenor around my back to play when needed. And that's the first thing you will notice about the horn; how incredibly light it is in the hands. Which brings up another issue some have with the horn. I have rather large hands with a gorilla grip, so it wasn't a problem to get the pads held down when I played it. Not all have experienced such ease in this regard.

 

[PigSquealer]

Alto or tenor ?
These are actually well made. They play decent for what they are. It’s going to be a bit of a learning curve on feel. Big oddball in the hands. The action is good, but the feel under the fingers is squishy. The bell rim comes off for storage in the case. I have no clue if the mouthpiece is any good.
At the NAMM show the Wrecking Crew listened to a couple players bashing away on a A & T. I’ll let @skeller047 & @lig comment on sound quality.
Regardless, no reason not to have a little fun on one. Looking forward to your full review 😎

 

[Dr G]

Naw. That would be a Really Bad Idea for me. I wouldn’t see it, step on it, and then find out that it wasn’t recyclable and be really annoyed.

Thank you, no.

 

[lig]

IMO it sounds better than I had expected. Better players than I sound very good on it.

I have some issues with the palm key notes - they don't sound great to me and need extra attention for playing in tune.

For me at least it's purely a novelty item or a boat/cabin kind of thing unless I decide to go nuts and festoon it with LEDs which may happen at some point down the road. 😀

 

[Dr G]

IMO it sounds better than I had expected. Better players than I sound very good on it.

I have some issues with the palm key notes - they don't sound great to me and need extra attention for playing in tune.

For me at least it's purely a novelty item or a boat/cabin kind of thing unless I decide to go nuts and festoon it with LEDs which may happen at some point down the road. 😀

Yeah, ya gotta be careful with reckless festooning.

 

[PigSquealer]

unless I decide to go nuts and festoon it with LEDs which may happen at some point down the road. 😀

I refuse to install Disco lights on these. Don’t send it here

 

[Greg Strange]

At 19 mins 40 sec is Terry Edwards playing a Vibrato alto sax...?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek5enAKRe6A&list=RDEk5enAKRe6A&start_radio=1


Greg S.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Nice altissimo. However... 🙉

 

[Grumps]

At 19 mins 40 sec is Terry Edwards playing a Vibrato alto sax...?

Just to confirm for others, these horns can play actual notes too...

 

[Zasterz]

Joe McPhee plays one

View: https://youtu.be/n2-wsoWtHsM?si=Ic6MHTrOj5nqUr6V

 

[PigSquealer]

At 19 mins 40 sec is Terry Edwards playing a Vibrato alto sax...?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek5enAKRe6A&list=RDEk5enAKRe6A&start_radio=1


Greg S.

Yes he is. That was ten years ago. The A & T have both had revisions since then.

 

[Dr G]

At 19 mins 40 sec is Terry Edwards playing a Vibrato alto sax...?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek5enAKRe6A&list=RDEk5enAKRe6A&start_radio=1


Greg S.

Why?

 

[skeller047]

Why?

This was my question at NAMM this year. I’d want one with the color shifting LEDs installed, preferably a different color on each pad….

I picked one up to hold, but I don’t think I blew into it. If I did I have forgotten about it (a distinct possiblity…) It did not feel comfortable to me. If they were $100 I might buy one as a toy, but for more I’d rather get yet another mouthpiece.

 

[jonf]

If they were $100 I might buy one as a toy, but for more I’d rather get yet another mouthpiece.

I didn't pay a huge amount more than that for the one I bought, hence the purchase, just for curiosity sake. It's here now, I haven't had much of a chance to do more than open it. I will give it a quick play soon, and report back once I've done so.

The postman who delivered it knows me well, and as he handed the parcel to my wife said 'it can't be another saxophone, it's too light'

 

[jonf]

Well, I've given it a quick play. By objective saxophone standards, it is a pretty terrible sax. Compared to my cheapest sax, a Yamaha/Vito, it is lousy. In fact, compared to a cheap Chinese made sax like a Gear4Music, it's still pretty terrible. However, it does play, and it sounds like a sax (I used my normal Yanagisawa 7 metal mouthpiece). It was also pretty good fun, as it was so odd.

So, why make the comments above? Partly the design and build of the sax, partly condition. The action is sloppy and imprecise, there was flex in the rods and the lower stack E key has the pad retaining button right in the middle of the touchpiece. The octave mechanism has a lot of slop in it. The pads were not very clean, and it looked like the sax had been played a lot, then left unplayed for a long time. Pads were sticking, especially the G key. The palm E and F pads clipped each other, which stopped the E closing properly.

A few tweaks and cleaning of sticky pads and it was possible to play a tune. The more I played it, the better (less bad) it got, I presume as the flexible pads moulded back to the shape of the tone holes.

So, it was cheap, it's not as good to play as a student Chinese-built sax, so what are the positives? Well, it is incredibly light. I did use a sling, but I really didn't need one. It also sounded just like a saxophone, and it played down to bottom Eb. It looks very distinctive, in white with blue pads. At what I paid for it, there's enough fun to be had to justify the purchase.

I think the next thing is to give it a proper clean. Given how it's built, I am giving serious consideration to totally immersing it in some lightly soapy water, followed by total immersion in cold fresh water, then leave it to air dry.

Tomorrow I plan to do a three way test, Yamaha Vito YAS 23 vs Grafton vs Vibrato. If that throws up anything interesting I'll post an update.