anything new on thesae horns?

[davidanthony411]

i have been all over the net and am still having trouble finding anything bad about these horns...so, any new news about the P. Mauriat?...I did find that junkdude has the best prices and will be getting the 66r very soon...
-i think i want this horn!
David:treble:

[Morry]

I doubt that junkdude can beat my dealer friend's price on the 66R. I think one SOTW member has bought from him already, and another has something in the works.

Give him a call.

Alabama Music Center
205-879-9191

[Sigmund451]

Toss Dave/junkdude the price...I cant speak for him but I bet he will try. You may be surprised.

[ToddMartin]

Their 2006 catalog is up at http://www.monteverdemusic.com/pmauriat/catalog.html.

Some new models, engraving, and particularly a new, optional "Jazz VI neck-pipe".

[BigZ]

Alabama Music Center is the best. George is a great guy. I bought a flute and a sax from him. His prices are just a bonus. Dealing with him has been a pleasure.

[Morry]

Alabama Music Center is the best. George is a great guy. I bought a flute and a sax from him. His prices are just a bonus. Dealing with him has been a pleasure.

You from the area?

[Morry]

Their 2006 catalog is up at http://www.monteverdemusic.com/pmauriat/catalog.html.

Some new models, engraving, and particularly a new, optional "Jazz VI neck-pipe".

I see they're making a low Bb model bari. Are they the only ones now?

[BigDaddyJ]

I bought my 66R tenor from Sax Alley for below $2k, but it was the very first RTH model that Tim got. Tim's set-up is top notch.

David, nothing new to add here after 6 months of pretty consistent playing time. I don't have any issues with the finish. No leaks have developed yet. And it is still..........the most BADASS!!!!!! sounding/playing tenor I've tried yet in my 18 year search for THE tenor.

later

Joel

[BigZ]

No, Pittsburgh. Everything has been done via phone and mail. I'm getting back into the game after a 20 year hiatus. Now I have the nickel-silver tenor ordered. Thanks for recommending George. ( I got the # from one of your posts.)

[Morry]

No, Pittsburgh. Everything has been done via phone and mail. I'm getting back into the game after a 20 year hiatus. Now I have the nickel-silver tenor ordered. Thanks for recommending George. ( I got the # from one of your posts.)

Oh, cool. That's one I didn't know about.

You're right about him. He's a great old guy who has stories about Santy and lots of old timers to share. Man, you should hear the great, fat, subtone he gets. I guess that's from 70 years of real playing and practicing, instead of 30 years of farting around like I've done.

[davidanthony411]

will this horn cut enough for a rock/r&b gig? With this last question from me I may be ordering today!

David:treble:

[baribassdan]

Anybody try the bari?

[GHawk]

How about the alto?

[Keith Ridenhour]

Yes, David. Check out my webpage http://kride.net/music/ProudMary.mp3
This is a cut using my P and Rovner Deep V piece. I was having back problems so I couldn't use a stiffer reed and get up into the alt like I like but I was plenty loud enough for this situation. You are hearing a minidisk recording that was a couple of feet from me behind the mains. So, you're hearing me bouncing off the plexiglass and the moniters of the singer. But I guarentee , lots of guts with this horn. It isn't as loud as the YTS 62 Mk 2 that preceeded it but the core of the tone was so much better the Yamaha was on ebay the day after Tim sent me the P> K

[Randall]

I should be able to add my comments to the fray in 2~3 weeks. Jason told me he would try to finish up my PM tenor and get it to me within a fairly short time.

Getting excited....

and to think, saxpics was agaisnt having a Mauriat thread!;)

[Morry]

When you get ready to buy that Inderbinen, I'll take the Mauriat back off your hands....

[Randall]

:D :D :D :D :D

[Randall]

:D :D :D :D :D

[davidanthony411]

what a treat to play this horn...phat bottom..screamming highs...and fast...i will have to catch up to this horn...and a great price..the case may need to be switched out...but its the horn...the horn i say...and it cuts great for funk and is very smooth for jazz (not smooth jazz-straight ahead)...solid construction..cool finish, and it raised the eyes of my repair tech who only likes selmers...i could see the confusion on his face as he played it...how could this sound so good-and not be a selmer...
thanks to all in all of the forums for all of the info..
David:treble:

[saxamaphonegirl]

They look good for the money. :) But we all know how that can turn out. ;)

[hangman]

I went and Tried the Mauriat Horns and they are an OKoverpriced mid range horn. Find a Yamaha 475 for the money. I was suprised that the tenor was as good as it was. Props to the tenors. Overall a good player.

The Mauriat Sopranos were well made, looked classy and felt very sturdy and they will be a player in the intermediate market - they are not a pro horn. The palm keys played fair, like most other soprano's. The only thing that turned me off was they were somewhat sharp on the bottom end of the horn from low D to low Bb. I think the Cannonballs were much more in tune top to bottom, but I worry about the long range on the Taiwan horns, so I will not be buying either of them.

But in the last 4 months of looking around for a reasonably priced Soprano:
I played 3 older model Yanagisawa 901 sopranos that didn't play well and one 991 curved that played well but the sound was right in my face, a new Jupiter Silver which was very thin sounding, a Selmer Serie III which was good but needed some adjustment but played well, Yamaha 475 which was good overall but I would much prefer the bent neck, a new 875 - it was fantastic and one of the very best I played, a used Yamaha 875 that needed work - very stuffy D key low and High and airy - a tech probably could have fixed it. 4 used Cannonballs - 1 CB was sticking all over and the G# would not even open and just bad overall sound, 1 CB terribly out of adjustment and needed a lot of work and 2 other used ones that were fantastic. I also tried the new stone series and they played just like the old series and played very well (I can hear no difference in sound with the Stones on the Soprano).
One old Buescher - good tone, horrible ergonomics, an old Conn - OK sound bad ergonomics, One old Antigua - terrible.

The search Continues. I would like to still try the following: Rampone and Cazzani R1 Jazz, Yamaha 62R, Keilwerth SX90II, a New Antigua 586 and a Yanagisawa 991 or 992 straight. The search Continues, maybe I need to fly to Vegas.

Since this is a Mauriat forum and all the SOTW:ers here the hype and not someone actually playing the horns and giving honest oppinions - I liked the PM Tenor. Didn't like the Soprano. Play before you buy.

[xuanvu]

I'm playing the R&C R1 Jazz curved soprano and it's the best sop. that I've personally played... Before that, I've tried the Cannonball, Series III, Antigua, P. Mauriat, Yamaha... If you have a chance, try it! I'm also playing a Borgani jubilee straight sop. and it's almost as good.

Kenny.

[hangman]

I played some P. Mauriats and I really like the Tenors which had a great sound pitch tone altisimo and they look cool and are well build.

The Sopranos on th eother hand are an OK intermediate Horn but they were very sharp from low D to Low Bb. I think they are overpriced. You would be better off with a used Yamaha 475 for an intermediate horn and pay a lot less and it would hold its value. My $0.02.

[hangman]

I looked and didn't see the previous post and didn't want to write an essay.

[BigDaddyJ]

I was at Sax Alley today to try tenor mouthpieces. You can read my mouthpiece reviews here:

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=16304


I tried out the newer P. Mauriat tenor models against my 66R. For the duration of the test I was using my new Fred Rast mpc, a Rico Select Jazz 3M Unfiled, and a Rovner Eddie Daniels ligature.

After warming up on my 66R with the mpc comparison I had been doing, I asked Tim for the P. Mauriat Nickel Silver #PMST-60NS. I've read on this site that this horn was brighter than the 66R. Holy cow!!!!! This tenor is WAY brighter than my 66R. It did vibrate in my hands, but I just couldn't get past the sound. Big HUGE sound, but the upper overtones were very present. Just not my cup of tea.

Next up to bat, the P. Mauriat Burnished Bronze #PMST-70C. This is one unique looking horn. You can see it here in this thread:

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=28371

I don't know how the burnishing is done, but this horn really stands out of the crowd. Now about the sound....pretty damn nice. Not as dark as my 66R, but nearly as bright as the 60NS. I liked this horn. Again, the characteristic HUGE P. Mauriat sound, but a more focused sound. Tim commented that local pro Darren Rahn uses a 66R to record with, but uses the 70C to play live with, something about the 70C cutting through the electric intruments better. The 70C IS harder to blow, though. Tim explained that the bore of the horn is rather large. The 70C also FELT different. More of a Mark VI feel as opposed to the Super Action 80 feel. I would say the 70C would be better for people with smaller hands. I went back to my 66R........Ahhhhhhhh, butter. Big FAT, huge, dark, room filling sound. After trying over 15 different P. Mauriats, it's good to know I actually picked out a BADASS Mauriat!

I am more and more impressed with this company after trying the different variations of the tenor. What ever sound you are looking for you can find it with this company at a great price.

later

Joel

[BigDaddyJ]

I forgot to mention one thing. P. Mauriat is coming out with a saxello style soprano that Tim says SMOKES!!! He was very excited about this soprano, and basically said it was the best soprano that P. Mauriat has come out with yet. Tim mentioned "better intonation" and "very free-blowing".

later

[Chris S]

How about the alto?

Yes, this is currently the only alto that I play (both lead in a very loud big band and for classical). It's sturdy, and I haven't had to have any leaks or anything fixed, and I've had it a year in early Janurary. I talked to Tim at saxalley, and he said that the only problem that's come up was something with the neck assembly (it was too tight or something like that), and he only had it happen on two or three horns.... and my best guesstiamate would be that he's sold about 50 or 60 of these in the last year.

So, they're holding up well... they give me the sound that I'm looking for (vintage sound with modern keywork), and I haven't had a problem with it yet. First, and only horn where 6 months after I bought I wasn't thinking, "Why the heck did I pay this much for this horn, it had this constant leak, the A is out of tune, and I can't seem to get a fat enough sound in the high end," but instead I'm simply saying, "Why didn't I pay more for this horn?"

I don't have the RTH version, I got mine before those came out, and only paid about $1600 for minew, if I remember correctly.

Also please note that Tim told me that the prices of ALL of the PM line are probably going to go up in January (Tim said somewhere around the neighborhood of $200) because the price of brass has skyrocketed, and because the PM's have been so popular, their supply is GONE.

I've tried and tried to find something that I don't like about this horn, and all I can come up with is.... the case (I got a BAM-style case with mine).... which is still nice, but I like my Protech better.

Best,
Chris S

[1saxman]

Where do these 'Mauriats' come from. Are they from Taiwan? Germany? Anybody know?

[EZ]

They are Taiwan made - supposedly of French-made materials (ooh-la-la...)

[rispoli]

Also please note that Tim told me that the prices of ALL of the PM line are probably going to go up in January (Tim said somewhere around the neighborhood of $200) because the price of brass has skyrocketed, and because the PM's have been so popular, their supply is GONE.



I'd take only the latter reason as the real cause of this further increase.
I got unconfirmed voices of how much it cost to produce a single P.Mauriat sax and you'd be surprised by how low it is supposed to be (I won't post the amount here because, as I said, I have no tools to validate those numbers). So an increase in prime material cost, in this case brass, no matter what they say would justify a much, much, much smaller increase than that 10% raise.

I believe Monteverde has a cash cow and it milks as much as the market bears. They are not the first and surely not the last.

But these justifications they provide us (and dealers) such as "brass skyrocketing prices" are IMHO just b/s :x

[EZ]

I'm sure that the Mauriat horns will be surrounded by the same controversy as Cannonballs for some time to come. Admittedly prejudiced, I'll probably never give Taiwan made horns a chance - more on the principle of biased trade practices rather than any quality measure. My loss, I suppose, right? I'd rather "overpay" for a German made Keilwerth that's "just as good". :)

[1saxman]

One thing that grabbed my attention is the availability of tenors without high F#. Still, considering I can find a good used Series III tenor most anytime for the same price, the Mauriat would have to be equal to a Selmer before I would consider it. I just don't believe the build quality is up to French standards on Taiwan horns. Now, don't take me for a Taiwan basher. I play a Taiwan soprano, and we have a bari in our band. Both have proven to be decent, tough horns that can take it in the real gig world. At the price of a P.Mauriat, however, they are competing with used Selmer Paris horns, and they will not win that battle.

[Randall]

Rispoli is absolutely right. Market forces, and cash cows....

I would like to chime in on the whole Taiwan vs used Selmer thing....

For me, the sound of the horn is #1.
Granted, I don't want a great sounding horn that will fall apart.

But it has been my personal experience with an early Cannonball (98) model that has shaped my views on the importance of quality of Taiwanese horns vs. Selmer or other major manufacturers.

The 98 that I own has had it's problems. I had a couple of post screws come loose, and the table key was a little too wobbly for my tastes.
I had my tech fix the table key and he also got me some better post screws and that has remedied the problems very well.

The horn wails.....it is almost as good as the Yani 9937 soundwise, and it is my main gigging alto and has been for almost 5 years.
The totally incredible sound of it far outweighs the minor mechanical issues I had with it.

My tech hates the horn. He says it is "rough" and he showed me the meaning...he compared it to a Selmer. Indeed the milling of the keys is not as smooth and near perfect as a Selmer. But the difference in the milling was nothing that I would have even considered as a player.
I also think he hates it because it was cheap, I love it so much, and since he corrected the two issues, I rarely bring it in for any repair.

I sometimes think he resents that I would play a CB over the 3 altos he has sold me ( a Ref 54, A Millennium, a JK SX90 straight) ;)

I recently brought in a couple of stone series horns for him to look at...he was stunned by the difference in quality, fit and finish. He was very impressed.

Obviously Cannonball is ramping things up a bit.

Similarly, I believe the bar has been raised so that the P. Mauriat horns are going to no doubt get better too.

Still haven't gotten my PM back from Jason, but when I do, I will give my full report.

[Morry]

The Mauriat is a fine horn, but I hope they don't shoot themselves in the foot by continuing to raise the prices. They've had one increase so far, and I hear another is on the way in January or so. In the sub $2k price range, these are bargains. If the prices get up into the mid $2000s or higher, then they have much more competition. You can always count on the marketing and bean counting folks to screw up a good thing.

[Chris S]

I'm only going to say.... don't knock it until you've tried it. I bet people were saying the same thing when the Mk VI came out (note: I'm NOT comparing a P to a VI, except metaphorically). People were probably saying, "Oh, they're just hype, no way I'm getting rid of my cigar cutter/10M/Aristocrat/etc. etc. etc."

Sure, there are a lot of really awful Tawain horns out there, but why can't there be a good one? I'm sure the French make some really bad horns too, but they also make some good ones. I've played a few German horns that I wouldn't want to ever come near again.

If you have a chance, give it a shot, you might be surprised. You might not, but at least you can tell us *why* you don't like them instead of making general statements based on horns that aren't manufactured by anyone remotely associated with the company in question.

Best,
Chris S

[rispoli]

If you have a chance, give it a shot, you might be surprised. You might not, but at least you can tell us *why* you don't like them instead of making general statements based on horns that aren't manufactured by anyone remotely associated with the company in question.



There wasn't criticism on my post and others concerning the quality of the P.Mauriat saxophones.

The criticism focuses on the business side of the P. Mauriat picture. The initial posts on the Maurait section where praising the great sound of those saxes at reasonable prices. But at that time a tenor was going for 1800$ at Saxalley, now 2300 and according to your post soon enough to 2500. At this price point my perception is that we cannot talk anymore of bargains.
They will be in the same range of a Keilwerth SX when their manufacturing cost is not even comparable.
So, maybe you have a different vision of this, but it is my impression that the winner of this picture (assuming that you rate Keilwerth and Mauriat as very comparable) are the distributors (Monteverde) and possibly the retailers. Not the buyer, who does not rip any benefit from the far lower manufacturing cost of his purchased instrument.

Another discussion might be started on the ethical side of the picture, if we could compare the working/living conditions of the workers of the 2 brands.
I have no tools to compare those, so I am not going to start any rant like that without having verifiable information.
But let me tell you, if you heard how much it costs to produce a single P. Mauriat sax you would probably start thinking like me to possible labor exploitation practices similar to the well-known ones of Nike, The Gap, Wal-Mart and so on...
Or, alternatively, you couldn't care less as long as you get a good deal... But the once available good deals on those saxes looks like on the extinction path....

[EZ]

Some people won't eat meat.

I won't play a Taiwan/Chinese saxophone.

I know... my loss...

[davidanthony411]

this forum has taken...first let me sat that i just love my new 66r tenor-everything i want in a horn...now on to the topic of exploitation of the workers who make these horns (this must be the reason they are so cheap??)
-look at your everyday life before going there, as we all use products that were made by those who may be exploited...only the most pure can ever use this as an argument...did you have a salad latley? Ill bet you didn't stoop in the sun for hours just to bring this to your table..what kind of shoes do you wear? Ever shopped at wal-mart?-are you getting my point...maybe we need a forum just for this topic on all saxophones and accesories..
D :treble:

[rispoli]

As I said you can decide that you simply don't care.

But your tenor going soon for 2500$ won't be that cheap anymore. Will remain still cheap to produce though...

[Chris S]

rispoli,

Sorry if I offended, my comments weren't directed at you, sorry if you took them to be that way.

I'm not defending the price increase by any means, I'm glad that I got mine before all the stuff hit the fan.

I haven't played any of the P tenors, but I think I'd have a hard time trading in my SX90R for one. Maybe I would, who knows.... but I love the huge sound that I get from the 90R. I'm content for the moment, and won't tempt fate by playing one anytime soon. I am *very* happy with my alto though.

Like I said, no offense meant, wasn't directed at you. Was more directed at the "Oh, Taiwanese, I'll overpay for my blah blah blah" comments, in general.

I must admit I *am* curious though, would you mind PMing me or emailing me what your 'guess' (you say that you know, but don't have numbers to validate, so I'd also be interested to see how you come up with the number) of the production cost for one of these is?

Best,
Chris S

[rispoli]

rispoli,

Sorry if I offended, my comments weren't directed at you, sorry if you took them to be that way.

Chris, no offence taken, don't worry.
The only thing I find offensive is the excuse given by the distributors to hide their real aim to boost profits. That's something they have all the freedom to do, no discussion about that, I'd just like that they don't try to tease me and other prospective buyers with those excuses....

I sent you a PM as you asked.