Saxophones Which of three Bauhaus-WALSTEIN Soprano should I get?

[Two Voices]

In my introduction thread in The Doorbell entitled ‘Wannabe Sax Player from the Isle of Man’ I mentioned that my next sax was going to be a Yamaha YSS-475II Soprano Saxophone.

Tom recommended that I looked at the Bauhaus-WALSTEIN range. They all look very nice but…

… always a but eh

There are three to choose from. I want a straight sop for something a bit different.

The original Bauhaus-WALSTEIN SSS-P Straight Soprano Saxophone – Bronze is still available but it has been superseded by the Bauhaus-WALSTEIN SSS-PD DELUXE Straight Soprano Saxophone – Bronze. According to an email I’ve received from Woodwinds and Brass the newer model has the following improvements.

1. Shoulderless point screws which does two things a) allows any tolerances to be taken up by wear in the action where point screws exist and b) gives the action a more precise feel.

• Is that they custom fit the top stack on the newer model as well as some refinements to the keywork, mainly on the LH palm keys.

Do you think that this is worth an extra £100?

The other Sop I looked at is the Bauhaus-WALSTEIN M2-Ss Soprano Saxophone - Silver Plate 2 Crooks Gold Keywork. This has a High F# apposed to the ones I mentioned above that only have a High G#. It is also classed as a Pro model so should be a little bit in some areas. But does that warrant double the price?

The most important thing for me in deciding is getting a great Sop that will last me for several years.

Thanks in advance!

Note: I might not be able to reply to any comments until tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I have a straight bronze. Plus I have borrowed an M2 to try out. If you are going for the bronze, definitely recommend the deluxe AI version. They're quite different, I have some sound clips of each:

http://tamingthesaxophone.com/info-soundfiles.html (Take 1 is the M2)

But not a good comparison as I am using different mouthpieces on each. The M2 sounds much warmer and lighter on the clips. At the moment I'm not going to recommend one over the other, they are both great sopranos. Last week I preferred the M2 and was about to trade my bronze in for an M2, this week I prefer the bronze. What I will do while I still have both is some more sound clips using the same mouthpiece.

I feel the M2 has more of a consistent tone from top to bottom, the bronze seems a bit louder, which can give you the impression it's "better", but of course this is not necessarily the case.

Is the M2 worth the extra? Well it's still better value than any of the "big four" IMO, ie Selmer Yamaha etc, ie it's a better horn at much lower price.

 

[Stephen Howard]

The extra £100 for the improved keywork is well worth it. You could have such mods carried out on the basic model and it would probably cost you as much. If it's within your budget it makes sense - if not, the basic model will still give you the same sound.

The M2 is a very different beast - more contemporary in tone than the BW. I find it a freer-blowing horn, though with less warmth than the cheaper models.
The build quality is better, as are the pads and resonators.

Both models have their pros and cons, but in each case there's not much out there for the same price that can compete.

Regards,

 

[Ville K.]

Welcome on board, Paul! I'm likewise a newcomer here in the Cafe. It'll be interesting to hear how it goes for you with choosing the right soprano.

This thread has certainly raised my interest on the Bauhaus-Walstein sopranos, especially when they've been getting positive reviews from both Pete Thomas and Stephen Howard. I've been thinking for a long time about trying the soprano sax one day but... Like you said, there's always a but. It might just be the right time now that these Bauhaus-Walsteins have arrived at the market.

Unlike Paul I'm not very hopeful about Santa bringing me a soprano sax this christmas. I guess a I've been a naughty boy

 

[Two Voices]

Thanks for taking the time to reply guy’s

Having pondered I decided to opt for the M2. My reason is the better build quality, pads and resonators. So hopefully it should last me a good while. As it’s my first Soprano, that fact that it is free blowing is also a boon. A hunt for the right mouthpiece should hopefully give me the sound I want as I improve.

Ville, I’m sure you’re not on the naughty list

Nice to meet you all!

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Paul!

Sounds like an informed choice - I hope it really fits the bill! I'm at the stage where it is hard to buy something related to musical instruments (don't really want a Baritone Sax or Bass Trombone!) but have chosen an FL Ultimate Brass Ligature for Alto mouthpiece and some trumpet mutes as Xmas goodies - it gets harder, believe me!

Kind regards
Tom

 

[Ville K.]

Sounds like a good move you've made, Paul! Let us hear how it goes with the M2 sop when you've gotten into playing (or is it taming) it ;}


What I found to be strange was how minuscule the marketing on the M2 series soprano has been. The Bauhaus distributor says hardly anything about the M2 soprano on their web page and even on the Woodwind & Brasswind Ltd pages they're just mentioning the M2 alto and tenor and you have to do some browsing before the M2 soprano pops up on the list of soprano saxes. I wonder why such quietness with the M2 soprano?


I also wonder when we're going to see an M2 bari

 

[thomsax]

Bauhaus saxes seems to be good saxes. I'm sure the M2 sop will be good. I looked at thier website and the pdfs: Why did they put a non-centered (tonehole rim) pad in the catalogue?? The sax wasn't inspected after assembling and the people who where in charge for the catalogue didn't know how a correct key/pad should sit on a sax???? One other thing. What kind of brass did they use on the M2 models? American, French, Chinese ..... ? I think it's good saxes but why can't they just let the saxes speak for themselves!?!?!?!?

The Swedish distributor is just a 20 min carride from my place so I'll go there for a testplaying!!!

Thomas

 

[Two Voices]

Thanks for suggesting the Bauhaus-WALSTEIN Tom. I am still waiting to hear from Martin at Woodwind and Brass about my order. Hopefully tomorrow!

I think once I’ve got this Soprano I won’t be getting anymore instruments for a while and just try to master the ones I have Maybe a Sopranino in the future but I doubt I’ll get a Bari though. I didn’t like the Clarinet when I played one in the shop but I did like the flute though .

Apart from the above instruments I won’t be getting anything else unless I can afford a Baby Grand and have the space to keep one.

It’ll probably be on a Mouthpiece hunt for the three sax’s over the next couple of years.

 

[Two Voices]

Thanks Ville! Hopefully it last a good while I believe its ‘taming the sax’ lol

I’ll let you know how I get on with it once it comes – from a novice point of view of course!

 

[Two Voices]

Thanks Thomas! I just hope it comes before Christmas!!!

 

[Two Voices]

Just heard from Martin at Woodwind and Brass that my M2 will be set-up by their tech tomorrow and then shipped to me So hopefully I'll have it this week if the weather is kind!!!

Can anyone recommend a few tunes that are easily recognisable to non-sax players that suit the Sop that are easy to intermediate?

 

[rhysonsax]

Just heard from Martin at Woodwind and Brass that my M2 will be set-up by their tech tomorrow and then shipped to me So hopefully I'll have it this week if the weather is kind!!!

Can anyone recommend a few tunes that are easily recognisable to non-sax players that suit the Sop that are easy to intermediate?

Now don't go touching it until Christmas day. Nice present.

I recommend "Silent Night". I've got a lovely version being played by Jim Galloway and I've written out the tune somewhere. Send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you that.

I think that Jim Galloway is an expat Scot, now based in Canada. For a taste of his playing try this YouTube clip and others you can find from it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS-3nEPXZCc Nice old school soprano playing with Jim's solo from about 3:20.

Rhys

 

[Two Voices]

Thanks Rhys The temptation may just be too great to wait until the 25th! Good job I don't mind me opening it early

Silent Night sounds perfect - PM incoming!

Thanks for the youtube link!

 

[Two Voices]

Hopefully the new Sop will be here today - if the weather is kind! It took a while to sort out as Paypal sent the payment as an eCheque!

 

[daveysaxboy]

Hows the M2 soprano working out,are you still loving it.

 

[Two Voices]

Hi Dave,

I'm still loving the M2 Soprano! It's a beautiful instrument both to play and to look at. The Silver Plate is Lacquered to prevent tarnishing but it doesn't affect its tonal quality in the least.

I'm not an experienced Sop Player but I can keep it in tone top to bottom with ease. The only thing I didn't like was the small 4c Mouthpiece that came with it (its a great quality mouthpiece - just too small for my tastes). I've tried it with a Rico B7 which is okay but the Vandoren V16 S6 gives me more the sound that I want. However, I'm looking at getting a Brancher J15 in the near future.

If you can try before you buy then I would highly recommend it as what suits one may not suit another!

Good luck with choosing a Soprano!

Paul