Cannonball Big Bell Tenor- Unlacquered Beast!

[Saxaholic]

Anyone have any of these horns?? I'm going to be purchasing one soon, just wanted to hear any feedback from players who have them or have played them.

[davidanthony411]

i, too am going to be getting, (or at least trying) the big bell horns...anyone have an opinion...i think i want the "Raven" or the Mad Meg for finishes...any info would be appreciated
Thx
David

[Mike W]

I tried a Cannonball Mad Meg and a Cannonball silver tenor a while back. I liked the Mad Meg more than the silver, but neither tempted me enough to switch from my S20. They were both very nice horns though.

[Dr G]

Try the search function for "Mad Meg" or go to the Cannonball section. The short answer is "Yes".

[Bill08690]

There is a Cannonball forum on Yahoo Clubs. I have tried the big bell tenor and found it to have a lot of character compared to other current offerings such as the "Y" horns. Good luck......

[shmoesmith]

I looked into buying one about a month ago...the long and short of it is that they play great, they sound fabulous HOWEVER their keys are made of some really soft material and they are the most common sax in our local shop due to having to get their keys bent back to the correct positions. IF you arent really hard on your keys and are careful with it, then it is one of the best sounding horns you can get for your money.

[Dr G]

See the Cannonball site regarding the soft key issue. Apparently they noticed an issue with that and switched brass some time ago. The more current models that I've played (Big Bell) did not seen any more soft than most other horns on the market. I don't understand how or why one should bend keys in normal use. Don't pick the horn up by any part that includes the keys!

[TJS]

I play a Yani 880 and am looking for a back up horn. Ideally a real old, cheap but good horn that may need some work. Anyway, I played the Cannonball unlacquered while looking at the music store just out of curiosity. They are pretty reasonable. I was not impressed. It felt a little dead if that makes sense. My Yani is much more alive and responsive. However, ergonomically I liked the Cannonball a lot. Hope that helps.