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Sax on the Web Forum Archive / Baritone Saxophone / Do I NEED a Lo A.....!?

Back 20 Messages

Cashsax
User ID: 9014973 May 4th 7:21 PM
AAAAAHHHHHH.....The question of the ages..? Several Broken windows and numerous arrests, have proved to me once and for all the POWER (and necessity) of the infamous Low A, the crowd went absolutely freakin' BERSERK..I had to RUN for my life....! (it was THAT good last nite..)

Bootman
User ID: 1676554 May 11th 5:30 PM
Low Bb on a Conn is twice as loud as a Low A on a Selmer.With minor gymnastics you can play a low A on the Conn Bari any time it is realy needed. Having a low A is cool but at the expense of the power and projection of the rest of the horn, I think not. I will stay with the Bb.

Cashsax
User ID: 9014973 May 12th 9:12 PM
Dammit Boot how we gonna prove it..we need a ONE note shoot-out..I'll try in the A dept, You may be surprised..I'd use my Series II..I don't think my Asian Bari has a chance...but I can rattle windows with my Selmer. How do we do it ..? :?}

Cashsax
User ID: 9014973 May 12th 9:17 PM
Screech I neglected to answer your Q..Things had been heating up all nite and to be Honest I can't remember the exact tune when all hell broke loose. But I had been pumpin' the A all nite and this particular Blues was the right key for the A to be MAX effective..I went into an overdrive sustained line..the rest..well, you had to be there..LOL

Wes
User ID: 8053963 May 13th 1:28 AM
Through no intention of my own, I use a low Eb bass clarinet with an extension (which someone gave me )to low D that can be put on. It's useful to a very minor extent as the low Eb is no longer useable.

Screech
User ID: 9753653 May 13th 8:18 AM
Wes, details on a bari sax extension along the lines you talking about can be found on the "Low A with foot?" thread in this area.

Cash: Were you on the Selmer or the BU6 that night?

Boot: I'll try lipping/voicing down from Bb to A and report back. Its such a powerful tone it seems like it would be hard to manipulate it, but I'll give it a good try.

Cashsax
User ID: 9014973 May 13th 1:49 PM
Would ya believe the BU6/JJQ#12 (it's the truth..)

Bootman
User ID: 1676554 May 13th 5:59 PM
Screech,
To get the low A, just stick half of your leg over the bell and voila, low A. Great trick for stage too. I use this trick when I really need a low A, very infrequently usually but it cause great mirth amongst the other band members and the audience. Think of it as Sax callisthenics.

Cashsax
User ID: 9014973 May 14th 4:18 AM
Tried that on Tenor the other nite standing onstage & almost fell on my A** (it was those damn Cha-Cha Boots)The audience loved it!! I used to use the trick a lot when sitting down, but never on Bari..Bootman has those long flexible Aussie Legs..! PS: Boot what yr is yer Conn Bb Bari??

Screech
User ID: 9753653 May 14th 11:15 AM
Wow Cash. JJQ#12 on bari. For some reason I only think of JJ as having alto and tenor mpcs. I bet its a fantastic mpc.! So Cash its still thumbs up on the BU6, eh?

Cashsax
User ID: 9014973 May 22nd 5:19 AM
I re-iterate.. life is better WITH a Low A, after all I play Bari to play LOOOWWW. Yeah screech the BU6 is a great horn for what it is. And my Selmer Bari is appreciating the time off.

Bootman
User ID: 1676554 May 22nd 5:22 AM
Not at all, life is better with a Bass. A Quantum on a Conn Bass creates Seizmic disturbances. Refaced Quantum by JVW and tweaked, started life as a #12 and then got bigger. The low Bb is something to behold indeed.

Dave Spiegelthal
User ID: 0645514 May 22nd 9:13 AM
Bootman is correct in that Lower is Better, thus Bass is better than Baritone. To PLAY, that is. Unfortunately in the real world we must transport these beasts, and bass saxes tend to be somewhat large and heavy, if you know what I mean. They are too large to fit in some automobiles, and increase the risk of hernia or ligament damage to the poor player who must carry them around. On the other hand, our art IS more credible if we suffer a bit for it.............

Dr G
User ID: 0916684 May 22nd 3:23 PM
Cash, I recall the French police using subsonic frequencies for crowd control. Low enough and loud enough, it starts coupling with the body and can actually cause one to feel it in the bowels. Very uncomfortable, I would imagine. (I don't care for tear gas either.) They used a system that was tuned to 15 Hz.

My point, if I have one at all, is "Be careful with that thang."

RS
User ID: 2003384 May 22nd 3:52 PM
To paraphrase Sun Ra: Bass is the place.

Cashsax
User ID: 9014973 May 23rd 2:34 AM
OK DAMMIT I'll get one..

Dave Spiegelthal
User ID: 0645514 May 23rd 10:07 AM
Me too. But not this week --- no money.......

Screech
User ID: 9753653 Jun 6th 8:21 AM
Report on "lipping" down from Bb to A: Best I could do with any reliability is about 40 cents flat. This was on a low A horn with low Bb fingering. Oddly though I could get the low A down about 60 cents flat, so probably going from Bb down lower on a Bb horn one could get about that much. I still like the idea of a low A insert on a low Bb horn though.

Cashsax
User ID: 9014973 Jun 6th 6:10 PM
Saw a gorgeous Bb VI in the music store today..made me wanna cry..I need both.

Screech
User ID: 9753653 Jun 7th 12:56 PM
Wow, Cash.

Dr. G I heard that the low Hz causes loss of bowel control. Kinda like, hey folks I wanna go home now.

Back 20 Messages

Cashsax User ID: 9014973	May 4th 7:21 PM AAAAAHHHHHH.....The question of the ages..? Several Broken windows and numerous arrests, have proved to me once and for all the POWER (and necessity) of the infamous Low A, the crowd went absolutely freakin' BERSERK..I had to RUN for my life....! (it was THAT good last nite..)
Bootman User ID: 1676554	May 11th 5:30 PM Low Bb on a Conn is twice as loud as a Low A on a Selmer.With minor gymnastics you can play a low A on the Conn Bari any time it is realy needed. Having a low A is cool but at the expense of the power and projection of the rest of the horn, I think not. I will stay with the Bb.
Cashsax User ID: 9014973	May 12th 9:12 PM Dammit Boot how we gonna prove it..we need a ONE note shoot-out..I'll try in the A dept, You may be surprised..I'd use my Series II..I don't think my Asian Bari has a chance...but I can rattle windows with my Selmer. How do we do it ..? :?}
Cashsax User ID: 9014973	May 12th 9:17 PM Screech I neglected to answer your Q..Things had been heating up all nite and to be Honest I can't remember the exact tune when all hell broke loose. But I had been pumpin' the A all nite and this particular Blues was the right key for the A to be MAX effective..I went into an overdrive sustained line..the rest..well, you had to be there..LOL
Wes User ID: 8053963	May 13th 1:28 AM Through no intention of my own, I use a low Eb bass clarinet with an extension (which someone gave me )to low D that can be put on. It's useful to a very minor extent as the low Eb is no longer useable.
Screech User ID: 9753653	May 13th 8:18 AM Wes, details on a bari sax extension along the lines you talking about can be found on the "Low A with foot?" thread in this area. Cash: Were you on the Selmer or the BU6 that night? Boot: I'll try lipping/voicing down from Bb to A and report back. Its such a powerful tone it seems like it would be hard to manipulate it, but I'll give it a good try.
Cashsax User ID: 9014973	May 13th 1:49 PM Would ya believe the BU6/JJQ#12 (it's the truth..)
Bootman User ID: 1676554	May 13th 5:59 PM Screech, To get the low A, just stick half of your leg over the bell and voila, low A. Great trick for stage too. I use this trick when I really need a low A, very infrequently usually but it cause great mirth amongst the other band members and the audience. Think of it as Sax callisthenics.
Cashsax User ID: 9014973	May 14th 4:18 AM Tried that on Tenor the other nite standing onstage & almost fell on my A** (it was those damn Cha-Cha Boots)The audience loved it!! I used to use the trick a lot when sitting down, but never on Bari..Bootman has those long flexible Aussie Legs..! PS: Boot what yr is yer Conn Bb Bari??
Screech User ID: 9753653	May 14th 11:15 AM Wow Cash. JJQ#12 on bari. For some reason I only think of JJ as having alto and tenor mpcs. I bet its a fantastic mpc.! So Cash its still thumbs up on the BU6, eh?
Cashsax User ID: 9014973	May 22nd 5:19 AM I re-iterate.. life is better WITH a Low A, after all I play Bari to play LOOOWWW. Yeah screech the BU6 is a great horn for what it is. And my Selmer Bari is appreciating the time off.
Bootman User ID: 1676554	May 22nd 5:22 AM Not at all, life is better with a Bass. A Quantum on a Conn Bass creates Seizmic disturbances. Refaced Quantum by JVW and tweaked, started life as a #12 and then got bigger. The low Bb is something to behold indeed.
Dave Spiegelthal User ID: 0645514	May 22nd 9:13 AM Bootman is correct in that Lower is Better, thus Bass is better than Baritone. To PLAY, that is. Unfortunately in the real world we must transport these beasts, and bass saxes tend to be somewhat large and heavy, if you know what I mean. They are too large to fit in some automobiles, and increase the risk of hernia or ligament damage to the poor player who must carry them around. On the other hand, our art IS more credible if we suffer a bit for it.............
Dr G User ID: 0916684	May 22nd 3:23 PM Cash, I recall the French police using subsonic frequencies for crowd control. Low enough and loud enough, it starts coupling with the body and can actually cause one to feel it in the bowels. Very uncomfortable, I would imagine. (I don't care for tear gas either.) They used a system that was tuned to 15 Hz. My point, if I have one at all, is "Be careful with that thang."
RS User ID: 2003384	May 22nd 3:52 PM To paraphrase Sun Ra: Bass is the place.
Cashsax User ID: 9014973	May 23rd 2:34 AM OK DAMMIT I'll get one..
Dave Spiegelthal User ID: 0645514	May 23rd 10:07 AM Me too. But not this week --- no money.......
Screech User ID: 9753653	Jun 6th 8:21 AM Report on "lipping" down from Bb to A: Best I could do with any reliability is about 40 cents flat. This was on a low A horn with low Bb fingering. Oddly though I could get the low A down about 60 cents flat, so probably going from Bb down lower on a Bb horn one could get about that much. I still like the idea of a low A insert on a low Bb horn though.
Cashsax User ID: 9014973	Jun 6th 6:10 PM Saw a gorgeous Bb VI in the music store today..made me wanna cry..I need both.
Screech User ID: 9753653	Jun 7th 12:56 PM Wow, Cash. Dr. G I heard that the low Hz causes loss of bowel control. Kinda like, hey folks I wanna go home now.