P. Mauriat PMXT-66R Tenor in hand...

[portofino]

First of all, great looking horn. It oozes quality. Like the difference in fit and finish from a BMW to a Chevy. The action is silky smooth, and quiet. The notes pop out, and the low end is as lush as others described in reviews here. I did a side by side comparison from my Cannonball Mad Meg unlaq.; which is a nice horn, but not enough to keep it. It will be on E-BAY next week. If anyone would like, I can put a couple of 30 second clips up here (if someone can explain how to do it on this site) or e-mail me and I will send them to you when finished this weekend.
I am using a Jody Jazz Hard Rubber 9 with med soft fibracell. Only negative........crappy case. Bought from Sax Alley...I was a little shocked they didn't wrap it in bubble pack, then place it in the peanuts and then the box...I was worried. But no problems...

[Morry]

First of all, great looking horn. It oozes quality. Like the difference in fit and finish from a BMW to a Chevy. The action is silky smooth, and quiet. The notes pop out, and the low end is as lush as others described in reviews here. I did a side by side comparison from my Cannonball Mad Meg unlaq.; which is a nice horn, but not enough to keep it. It will be on E-BAY next week. If anyone would like, I can put a couple of 30 second clips up here (if someone can explain how to do it on this site) or e-mail me and I will send them to you when finished this weekend.
I am using a Jody Jazz Hard Rubber 9 with med soft fibracell. Only negative........crappy case. Bought from Sax Alley...I was a little shocked they didn't wrap it in bubble pack, then place it in the peanuts and then the box...I was worried. But no problems...

I had the same comment. Only drawback is the lousy case. I wouldn't trust it for carrying the horn to a gig.

[Daktion]

very cool. that low end is absolutely gorgeous isnt it? hehe I'm still so much in love with that sound. After playing Yamahas for so long, the Mauriat's sound is just darker, louder and full of character (well at least imo hehe).

I'm glad you liked the horn and that the reviews on this forum also aided your decision making.

Have fun with your horn

Tim

[BigZ]

I'm glad you like it (those of us who have them knew you would). Congratulations and enjoy. Maybe we all can bulk order cases.

[OOlufoks]

The folks at Sax Alley do an excellent job at setting horns up. I had my conn soprano sent there for sale after buying it on ebay because I thought it was an unplayable horn. I decided to get it back after going through many sopranos and being unsatisfied, and I have never been happier with a horn. It came back great, with very good intonation and action.
I think I'll give the P. Mauriat Tenor a try before the price continues to climb.

[Keith Ridenhour]

BigDaddy brought his 66R tenor to compare to my 66 tenor this weekend and we really had a blast. Joel is a hell of a good player and with his Rass piece and 66R at times I thought I was listening to a new york guy on a SBA horn. Really fat and deep. I wanted a more compact tone and Tim at Sax Alley correctly guessed that the 66 would be better RnB match for me. I agree. Joels horn also played beatifully since he has tim to use as his tech whenever he needs him. I think if I get a backup tenor I'll send my 66 back to tim to get it to play like Joels. Anyway, very cool time. K

[boman]

Everone who owns a Mauriat seems to be pretty positive about it. BUT....

Are you positive because of the price? So it's a good sounding and well build horn considering the price you paid? OR is it comparable in quality/sound with any other horn, no matter what price...???

Are there any comments from techs who really had a close look at the horn and maybe disassembled one?

I did some testing of the 4 major brands and wasn't really impressed. And after hearing you all rave about Mauriat I would like to try one. except ... in the Netherlands there's no dealer for Mauriat and I really don't like ordering a horn without playing first.

thnx
Boman

[Saxydude]

Boman,
I've said many times in various threads in the forums how much I love my Mauriat 67R alto. I've compared it to just about every model available from the Big 4, with the exception of a Hummingbird Ref. 54, a Millenium Series III, and a Inderbinden (please correct my spelling). The Mauriat blew them all away, hands down. Sure, there are some advantages that other horns have over the Mauriat. However, the Mauriat is the best "overall" horn I've played in a long while. There is a MINT condition Buescher 400 TH&C alto on the SaxAlley site that I traded for this Mauriat. . .it's that impressive. My tech has completely disassembled my horn (to adjust spring tensions and clean) and he was blown away by how well the horn was made. . . .he even said that Selmer should take some lessons from the guys that build these. And then when I told him the price, he really flipped. I'm pretty sure both SaxAlley and Junkdude Music will ship to you and offer you a trial. But I have a feeling that once you get one of these babies in your hands, it's not coming back to the States. Best wishes!

[Daktion]

:line2: Bowmen,

I totally understand where you are coming from by wanting to play it before you buy, afterall it is still quite expensive. The 67R is the first sax that I bought online that I haven't even tried at least the model / series/ Brand before. However, I took the gamble and thought the only thing I would lose out on is the shipping. I would rather lose the shipping costs then have bought a big 4 sax and would always be wondering "what if the P. had the sound I've always wanted". Then later on trade it probably at a loss for something else.

The sound I'm getting from my P. is deep and full. Also, comparing to my previous saxes and the ones I've tried is that the sound has depth to it... especially the lower range. It is definately less focused than the 82z I was playing... which was actually something I liked. The yamaha is too controlled throughout the range..... great for band playing... not too good if you want to relax, jam, and just blast the heck out of the horn. It has this lush tone which made the music sound more fluid. Moneywise, it's a decent deal. Sure it's a lot cheaper than a selmer but it is also alot more expensive than say a house brand (Kessler) or antigua.

Buying a big 4 will definately be a good idea if you think you'll be bouncing from one sax to another. But it seems to me from your post that you arent too satisfied with them already. Maybe you can give http://www.godlyd.no/default.asp?page=61&product=92&p92_v=1 a try. They are in Norway which is closer to home. Or like Saxydude has mentioned, try Junkdude or Sax alley. Dave from junkdude told me his record was a 4 day ship to Spain... not bad.

[rispoli]

try Junkdude or Sax alley. Dave from junkdude told me his record was a 4 day ship to Spain... not bad.

And, important detail, you may want to consider that Junkdude is quite cheaper than Saxalley, but Alabama Music Center in Birmingham (AL) is even cheaper. Saxalley is the most expensive and won't go down of a penny, in my experience.

[Daktion]

hey rispoli do they have a website?
thanks

[Jbroad572]

And, important detail, you may want to consider that Junkdude is quite cheaper than Saxalley, but Alabama Music Center in Birmingham (AL) is even cheaper. Saxalley is the most expensive and won't go down of a penny, in my experience.
In his defense, I'm guessing it is because of the new horn setup. I think it's worth it. Especially if you don't have any good techs locally, like myself. I did try to get him to budge on the price when I placed my order, but he didn't budge at all. He simply stated the price that was on the website... I was like :| I tried.
When I called Alabama music center the price for the 67r was the same as Junkdude. Maybe it's gone down, but they extra $140 may be worth it for the setup. Just depends on your situation, I suppose.

[boman]

so now all I have to decide is which one.... :)

66 or 66R or 60NS or 300SL...

There should be a dealer in Germany as well. I'll have to check with Mauriat.

Thanks for your replies

BoMan

[chitownjazz]

... There is a MINT condition Buescher 400 TH&C alto on the SaxAlley site that I traded for this Mauriat. . .
There is? I'm not seeing it.

[Saxydude]

There is? I'm not seeing it.

Heh, must've sold it already :twisted: . I knew it wouldn't stick around. . .it was a beauty. So beautiful I thought of it more as an investment than a horn to play regularly and I have enough investments already! In any case, the point remains the same---I got rid of a ridiculously beautiful and lovely playing horn for a P. Mauriat 67R and I couldn't be happier. I still love it as much today as I did 3 months ago. Now if I could just get Mr. Dumars to engrave it. . . .

[rispoli]

In his defense, I'm guessing it is because of the new horn setup. I think it's worth it. Especially if you don't have any good techs locally, like myself. I did try to get him to budge on the price when I placed my order, but he didn't budge at all. He simply stated the price that was on the website... I was like :| I tried.
When I called Alabama music center the price for the 67r was the same as Junkdude. Maybe it's gone down, but they extra $140 may be worth it for the setup. Just depends on your situation, I suppose.


I read here posts with satisfied buyers from both the other shops. I believe they won't just load an unopened box on the truck! In particular Junkdude is highly regarded here on SOTW. Alabama Music Center is not quite known because they don't have a web site.

[Jbroad572]

I know for a fact that Junkdude goes over the horns, but doesn't do all of this like Tim:
Sax Alley "New Horn Set-up" (Disassembly, overnight pad treatment for stickyness and longevity, reassembly, complete adjustment, pitch adjust as necessary, spring tension adjustment to owners specifications.)
I'm new to the buying new scene. So, whether that setup has much of an affect or not, I'm not sure, but it is much more work than others, I'm assuming.

[deblcooper]

66 or 66R or 60NS or 300SL...

There should be a dealer in Germany as well. I'll have to check with Mauriat.



P.Mauriat sends all their European request to us. We've shipped all over, including a professor at Musik- u. Kunstschule gGmbH.

Yes, the saxs do need final adjustments to fit your personal tastes but none has come back, even after shipping.

So when you're ready, we're here. (and their hard to keep in stock!)

deb

[boman]

deblcooper, I've send you an email
I hope you can help me :)

BoMan

[deblcooper]

I'll do my best. Answer coming as soon as I get into the office.

deb

[BigDaddyJ]

I spent Sunday 11/27? with Keith Ridenhour just playing and talking sax. Keith's a cool guy and a damn good player to boot. Keith has a great sense of melody and always "finishes his sentences" in his solos. I had a lot of fun trading ideas, listening to different music, and eating great mexican food. It was very cool to try out his Mauriat 66 tenor after playing on my 66R for quite a while now. Keith's sax is very free-blowing, with a more centered/focused sound than my 66R. A touch more prescence in the midrange, yet it retained the fatness I now expect from all Mauriat tenors. I could easily live with Keiths's horn for the rest of my life.

Just for fun, I went to a local music shop that carries a few nice saxes, and compared my 66R.

- Started out with a Yani 902. Nice horn. Smooth sounding tenor from soft to medium loud; great tone. When using a lot of air though, the horn lost that smoothness and got rather nasty. Not all that great of a buy considering the !!!!!!!!!$5400!!!!!!!! price tag.

- Next up to bat was some Cannonball tenor with a strange blue-ish, gunmetal kind of finish. This sax surprised me. The Cannonballs I had tried in the past were pretty bright sounding with a pretty raspy sound. This horn was fairly dark sounding. When really pushed, this tenor started to get that raspy sound that older Cannonballs annoyed me with, but is was just a touch. All in all though I was really impressed with this horn. I like it more than the Yani. I have no idea what this store was asking for the Cannonball.

- I finished up the comparison with a Selmer Ref 54 in plain lacquer instead of the vintage finish. This 54 smoked all the other Ref 54's I've ever tried. Huge dark sound and a great response. This horn has the smoothest transition from C-C#-D that I've ever tried. The Mauriat came a very close second, but MAN the 54 was about as even as it gets over the whole sax. I would easily pick this particular 54 over any Mark VI I've ever tried. That said, my Mauriat smoked this horn. After my session with the 54, the annoying salesman came in again and tried for the third time to try to convince me to re-try all the horns with a Meyer 7 "because ALL the pros are using them". I went ahead and gave him basically the same assesment I wrote above to him. He proceeded to give me a small lecture on on tip size (implying my Rast J 118 was too large) and how the chamber size of the Meyer was optimal for achieving a great sound from the horns I'd tried. I had even talked with him about my custom made mpc..........Oh well..... At least the playing of the saxes was a fun thing.

So, indirectly in response to boman, I would still pick this horn over any other tenor I've tried, regardless of price.

I would also buy from Tim at Sax Alley every time. His work on my saxes is top-notch, and the set-up on my horns RULES! I'm glad Keith got to try my horn just so he could see how great the set-up was on my 66R.

later

Joel

[Jbroad572]

sounds like alot of fun. I know you guys didn't forget about your fellow SOTW members and forget to record a little something.

[boman]

bigdaddyj: thanks for the comparison :)

so it seems there is no better sax than Mauriat......

I got a lot of questions answered by godlyd.no
I'll have to figure out how much import tax I'll have to pay when importing from Norway

boman

[boman]

bigdaddyj: why was the yani so expensive?????

I can buy them in holland for 2500,- euro

boman

[BigDaddyJ]

boman, your sound and how a your sax plays is such a personal thing. It's the best sax for ME, but someone else could completely disagree with me. Take one facet of my horn; the sound. It is a dark horn with a pretty spread sound; it's basically why I bought it. My 66R reminded me of my '48 The Martin tenor but with modern ergonomics. I know there would be plenty of people that wouldn't buy my horn for exactly the reason I love it so much (the sound). Keith loved the action/set-up of my horn, but he much prefered the the more focused sound of his Mauriat.

$5400 for a 902. I know......crazy. I didn't even ask about the price of the Ref 54.

later

Joel

[BigDaddyJ]

Yo jbroad, Keith recorded the whole embarassing playing session and gave me a copy, but I don't have a way to post it at the moment. I'm kidding about the embarassing, but the session for me was more informative than providing inspiration for others.

later

Joel

[Keith Ridenhour]

I have the whole thing recorded but both of us have fairly big sounds and frankly we overblew the mik at the level I had it set at. But I needed that to catch our talking which was almost as important as the playing. Really , Joel has one of the fattest "jazz" tones I've heard and the recording loses all the warmth and presence of his tone. Joel lent me a Chris Potter Cd (traveling mercenaries) and I just love it. It reminds me of how blown away I was by hearing the Brecker Brothers Out of the Loop. Chris's time if amazing and ability to improvise almost profound?? That being said, after listening to Joel I really felt that Chris is going for the small, centerd Selmer tone which is fine but Joel has alot of what I call "throat" where you can hear small inflections in his playing that I missed with Potter. I guess with a big, spread tone you can "bend" it more?? Anyway, a great time and wish I could get together with better players more often. Also, I havn't gigged for over 2 months and it shows so nobody's gonna hear this Cd from my end. (deal Joel?? ) So, Tim P is right. Get together with someone good and Practice. K