Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins
Forum Rules and Guidelines

Any saxomophonists out there in ES?

MassSkinsFan

By MassSkinsFan
in The Tailgate

Recommended Posts

MassSkinsFan

MassSkinsFan

Posted
Posted

Although I am a multi-instrumentalist (bad at SO many things...), my main ax is sax.

I have 7 horns now (in order of acquisition):

1940 Conn Naked Lady Tenor

1922 Conn New Wonder Tenor

1924 Conn New Wonder C-Melody (straight neck, micro-tuner)

1921 Conn Wonder C-Melody (crook neck)

1922 Conn New Wonder Alto

1921 Conn Wonder Bari

1937 King Zephyr Bari

The C-Melodies and Alto are in pieces in my basement (my home repair shop was disrupted last year and still not back in action). Everything else is playable, though some with "work-arounds."

Anyone else out there?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MassSkinsFan

MassSkinsFan

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Very nice. I'm actually in the market for an Alto. I played Tenor more in my day but love the Alto.

Are you a brand-guy (like me - a Conn Man hahaha) or is it just a feel/tone preference, or do you have no brand preference?

I like Alto, but it's hard to avoid the screechiness that creeps into the upper register.

My straight-neck C sounds like an alto without that part. It's a great horn and fun to play. Have you considered a C-Melody? Here's a link to one just like my 1924 on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/CG-Conn-C-Melody-Sax-S-61xxx-Silver-Plate-rolled-holes_W0QQitemZ350320961160QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5190c1a688

They can generally be had for low cost because they seem to be exotic and are not typical Bb or Eb horns. The upside is they're C, so same as guitar or keys.

Anyway, let me know what you decide to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ned Flanders

Ned Flanders

Posted
Posted

Alto and Bari guy here myself........

I own an Armstrong Alto, and was recently looking for a Selmer......I want that puppy to be tarnished out the ass! I was quite a serious player when I was younger, and want to pick it back up again.

**EDIT** You have got some SICK horns! Nice collection

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MassSkinsFan

MassSkinsFan

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Alto and Bari guy here myself........

I own an Armstrong Alto, and was recently looking for a Selmer......I want that puppy to be tarnished out the ass! I was quite a serious player when I was younger, and want to pick it back up again.

**EDIT** You have got some SICK horns! Nice collection

Thanks - I was a very low-paid pro for a while (original music is cool, but not lucrative ha ha), so I had serious tools.

Selmers are a breed of their own and big $!!! They also have a very distinctive sound that I call the SNL screamer sound. You can tell right away when you hear a Selmer.

I agree with the tarnished comment. The best instruments have been played to death IMHO. I want to post pics of my horns and show some of the truly biohazardous spots I developed over the years. :evilg:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
#98QBKiller

#98QBKiller

Posted
Posted

That's awesome. I've actually just been getting into jazz and I've looked at sax's online just to get an idea of what one costs. Someone recommended that I rent one and try it out first to see if it's something that I'd really be interested in investing in. I like a wide range of music and played guitar for many years but this is kind of my first step into the world of jazz and the sax as an all-around instrument.

This might sound funny, but what actually sparked my interest was a street musician I heard outside of a metro on the way home from work. He was out there just tearing it up along with some beats that he had playing through a small speaker. I gave him $1 and will always be sure to drop him some money whenever I see him again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MassSkinsFan

MassSkinsFan

Posted
  • Author
Posted
That's awesome. I've actually just been getting into jazz and I've looked at sax's online just to get an idea of what one costs. Someone recommended that I rent one and try it out first to see if it's something that I'd really be interested in investing in. I like a wide range of music and played guitar for many years but this is kind of my first step into the world of jazz and the sax as an all-around instrument.

This might sound funny, but what actually sparked my interest was a street musician I heard outside of a metro on the way home from work. He was out there just tearing it up along with some beats that he had playing through a small speaker. I gave him $1 and will always be sure to drop him some money whenever I see him again.

#99QBK,

I can completely understand the inspiration. I encourage you to explore the idea.

That said, when it comes to wind instruments (woodwind and brass) it can be difficult to generate the sound.

Have you tried just picking up a sax and making noise yet? If not, I'd recommend it. Either rent one for a week or ask a friend who has one if you could try it out. For most beginners the toughest part is making the noise at all. Once you get past that, fingering is pretty straightforward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
#98QBKiller

#98QBKiller

Posted
Posted
#99QBK,

I can completely understand the inspiration. I encourage you to explore the idea.

That said, when it comes to wind instruments (woodwind and brass) it can be difficult to generate the sound.

Have you tried just picking up a sax and making noise yet? If not, I'd recommend it. Either rent one for a week or ask a friend who has one if you could try it out. For most beginners the toughest part is making the noise at all. Once you get past that, fingering is pretty straightforward.

I haven't had a chance to try making noise on one yet. I am definitely up for renting one for a week or so just to make sure it's an investment that I'm truly interested in. I do love listening to people play the sax though, it's definitely a beautiful instrument.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Isifhan

Isifhan

Posted
Posted
Those are some serious horns there. Wow. Is the Buffet comparable in feel/action/sound to the Selmer?

Well I adjust my action to be pretty loose, I think it makes my fingers faster :P I would say the Buffet is a little tighter but that's just because I've had more custom work done on my tenor than the alto. I use the alto primarily for classical, and the Buffet seems to have a darker sound which I like a lot for classical.

My tenor I've put plastic cone resonator pads in, adjusted the action a bit, was thinking about de-lacquering it at one point but decided against it since I wasn't 100% sure of what it'd do to the sound, so it's a bit brighter sounding even with the original lacquer.

Anyway to answer your question it's hard to do a side by side comparison because one is an alto and one is a tenor but I think the buffet holds up to a selmer as far as I'm concerned for classical. Probably not the best jazz or pop horn you could get though, but really I think that's a preference thing more so than a quality of the horn thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MassSkinsFan

MassSkinsFan

Posted
  • Author
Posted
My tenor I've put plastic cone resonator pads in, adjusted the action a bit, was thinking about de-lacquering it at one point but decided against it since I wasn't 100% sure of what it'd do to the sound, so it's a bit brighter sounding even with the original lacquer.

I have heard that finish and/or material of construction does not affect the sound, but I find it hard to believe. It doesn't seem to make sense, but people with a much better understanding of physics and audio than me say it does.

I had a POS tenor that I stripped, and I could have sworn it was darker, but it was probably placebo effect.

Did the switch to resonator pads make a noticeable difference?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Forehead

Forehead

Posted
Posted
my main ax is sax.

I have 7 horns now (in order of acquisition):

1940 Conn Naked Lady Tenor

1922 Conn New Wonder Tenor

1924 Conn New Wonder C-Melody (straight neck, micro-tuner)

1921 Conn Wonder C-Melody (crook neck)

1922 Conn New Wonder Alto

1921 Conn Wonder Bari

1937 King Zephyr Bari

Ah hah, I knew you'd slip up one day. Your main "ax" huh? I don't buy it, those aren't horns you've listed, they're code names for your many swords and suits of armor.:silly:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MassSkinsFan

MassSkinsFan

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Ah hah, I knew you'd slip up one day. Your main "ax" huh? I don't buy it, those aren't horns you've listed, they're code names for your many swords and suits of armor.:silly:[/left]

M_SF was a howl wasn't he?

My '22 Conn tenor is silver-plated, so I guess that serves as a suit or armor when I'm playing it!

Here's me with my '40 Naked Lady tenor - the naked lady engraving is inside the pentagon shape on the bell.

darrell.jpg

I used this one on a Europe tour and also a few East Coast US tours before I demoted it for my '22. It actually got run over by a 15-passenger van once, but the case somehow protected it.

Here's me with my "new" '37 bari (purchased 9 months ago). Dig the extra large bell flare on this bari. On trombone third from left is friend and fan Mayor of Boston Tom "Mumbles" Menino.

3698908418_60517ef34f.jpg

He can't play trombone, and judging from what happened in subsequent photos, he can't play drums either. He's a nice guy but nearly impossible to understand even for those who are used to hardcore New England accents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Isifhan

Isifhan

Posted
Posted
I have heard that finish and/or material of construction does not affect the sound, but I find it hard to believe. It doesn't seem to make sense, but people with a much better understanding of physics and audio than me say it does.

I had a POS tenor that I stripped, and I could have sworn it was darker, but it was probably placebo effect.

Did the switch to resonator pads make a noticeable difference?

I've heard both that stripping it makes it brighter and makes it darker, though I don't understand how removing a coating on something would darken the sound when you are inherently making it lighter but I have heard it does both which is why I eventually didn't do it.

Switching the resonator pads makes the sound pop a good bit more. There's cone resonators but if you really want a bright sound they also have those metallic resonator pads you can put in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 months later...
MassSkinsFan

MassSkinsFan

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Bumping this thread because I saw a great horn here, at a reasonable price:

http://www.saxquest.com/productDetails.asp?ProductCode=13149GraftonAlt#photos

Anyone interested in a piece of history might like this - a plastic Grafton alto sax. It is not a toy. It's a real sax, made famous by Charlie Parker. Anyway you don't see them for sale everyday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
Maxito

Maxito

Posted
Posted

ah man, I tried playing the sax when I was in middle school. Never learned how to play it, and the only note I was able to play was the D note.

When I was waiting for my train in New York going to DC, I saw a person playing the songs from our era with his sax. It sounded good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...