When did CB's go from bad to great?

[Jedi2427]

I just purchased a Big Bell Global series curved soprano from a SOTW member. I live in Salt Lake City where these horns are assembled/ajusted/trade secrets applied??? I must say a number of very very good sax players are using them here, and they had to pay for the horns too! My repairman who has always worked on my Yamaha tenors keeps telling me to give them a try because the CB's have improved , so I did. The curved sopranos to me played great, altos and tenors nice big fat, loud, sound... not enough "felt sense" quality to them to make me give up my 62II or 82Z. My question is I know I have heard and experienced that the older Cannonball line was inferior to the newer horns, but when did that take place? Is it if you bought any of the Big Bell Global series, your fine? Or were some of the Big Bells problematic also?
Thanks

[Jedi2427]

sorry for the double post...stupid internet

[Dr G]

sorry for the double post...stupid internet

Nah, the internet is your friend. To prove it, do a search using www.google.com or similar to find the Cannonball website. They discuss the changes in material and design and tell you themselves when the horn was improved.

[shmuelyosef]

For some time in years past, my son worked at a music store that was (claimed) the first in California to sell the CBs. He was always bugging me to try them...he parlayed good employee discounts for a tenor for himself ('1998' in gold lacquer) and an alto for my daughter ('Excalibur' in Silver/Gold plate). Both were nice horns, but not (IMHO) 'pro' level. My son ended up falling in love with a King S20 of mine (which I gave to him for Xmas a couple years ago and sold off his CB tenor). Daughter still has the alto.

My opinion is that these horns were overpriced and overhyped until the Global Big Bell series. These are actually pro level horns...they speak well, have excellent ergonomics; they have a voice of their own and don't really compare with other pro horns. They are great rock and roll horns as they are very bright with exceptional projection. I don't find them as versatile as Selmers or Keilwerths (my personal favorites), but I do own a CB curved soprano that is an excellent horn. I have worked on a couple of Global BBs (including my soprano) and have found that the factory setup on these is pretty sloppy, but cleaning up (filing burrs and smoothing/dressing contact surfaces and a regulation with new cork/felt/suede/teflon makes these horns very satisfying. They are still overpriced...a CB BB tenor sells for more than a Yamaha 62-II and isn't as good until you pay $200-300 for a thorough setup.

[stevesklar]

I unfortunately have to double what shmuelyosef has said. I bought a CB BB tenor a couple months ago, brand new just received. Great horn when I test played it. A couple pesky burrs here and there which my fingers ran into which were easily corrected.

Sound was different, etc. Ergonomics was greatly improved over a couple years ago on the BB. I love the keywork on it. Though after some time with the horn it started (and not to get flamed on this but IMHO) to feel cheap under my hands. A Keilwerth, Selmer or Yamaha it is not IMHO.

The special formula only appears to be their internal "roughing" in the neck. Also is you inspect the main body tube really closely you can see the machining rolling on it and imperfections (waves) in the metal (unless it's the lacquer itself).

But overall it is a very nice horn, but a bit overpriced.

[shmuelyosef]

The good news is that lots of young students bought these horns and have now had their 2-4 year experiment with the saxophone; the resale on these horns is lousy, so you can pick up BBs for $800-$1200 on eBay, SATB...this is (IMHO) one of the better deals in a modern saxophone.

[altopro]

DO NOT BUY THE CANNONBALL SAX OFF EBAY. part of the reason people say they suck is that they bought them off ebay. the first series of cannonball had small problems but they were fixed in the later version of the big bell series, so now they are fine. BUT DO NOT EVER BY THEM OFF EBAY. what cannonball does with the horns they make is they have a supreme pro play them before they get shipped to dealers, if there is an intonation problem with them they go to dealers on ebay and they might have a leak on a pad or maybe not, but they are called 2nd done horns. get the cannonballs from a cannonball dealler or sraight from the factory not from ebay.

[thehighend]

Just questioning some of the points raised.
part of the reason people say they suck is that they bought them off ebay.
I have heard quite a lot of healthy debate even amongst those people who have tried CB horns in a retail store (as I have).

the first series of cannonball had small problems but they were fixed in the later version of the big bell series, so now they are fine.
This is useful information, if we had a bit more detail regarding the source, and approx. what is the serial # range of the affected horns.

what cannonball does with the horns they make is they have a supreme pro play them before they get shipped to dealers,
It's hard to believe that they could enlight the services of this "supreme pro" given their global distribution and volume of horns. Source?

if there is an intonation problem with them they go to dealers on ebay and they might have a leak on a pad or maybe not, but they are called 2nd done horns.
It's also hard to believe that Cannonball would follow a policy of labelling some horns as "2nd done" and sending such horns to eBay-focused distribution channels. Source?

I have nothing against Cannonball saxophones, but I don't think the company is well served by misrepresentation, so if you can support some of these statements, that would be helpful.

[GAS_Wyo]

Thanks highend...I couldn't have questioned this information better myself!

Another question...are the CB's now considered "great"?