Opinions on B&S

[EricB]

Anyone have experience with these horns? How versatile do you think their sound is? I've heard they use to make the guardala line but have no idea how similiar they are. Thanks

[Randall]

Eric there are lots of threads concerning these horns further down the menu list.
And yes, B&S DOES make the Guardala in addition to the first run of Codera horns, and the Allora horns sold by WW&BW, not to mention the Chicago series sold by LA Sax.

[EricB]

Interesting how one company makes all those horns and just stamps different company logos on them. I would imagine from a production standpoint that these horns have a lot of similiarities. Good info-thanks

[Morry]

That is a common practice among sax manufacturers. It is called a "stencil". Most every brand has done it at one time or another.

[The Martin]

I played a 1000 tenor once...
Didn't like it..

It's funny playing a horn that keeps it's sound inside (at least that was the feeling it gave me).
Maybe it was the horn, but it was sold by one of the best shops in Holland so I guess it was probably well setup.

[Randall]

Martin, The 1000 B&S is not their pro level horn.
I haven't met too many people who had much good to say about the 1000 except inthe baritone model.
The 2001 and the Medusa...now you're talkin!

[bystander]

Randall,

Where are these B&S medusa's?

I've emailed Roland Ekle asking about their availability but have had no response for several weeks and I can find little or nothing else on the web when searching for them.

Is it a contest for phantom sax of the year between the B&S and the SG Unison? Just wondering . . . Real people need horns they can buy.

Thanks for any info you may have.

Bystander

[MB-913]

I would like to know which B&S horn is same with DAVE GUARDALA'S Black Nickel tenor model (DG-501BN, DG-500BN) ?

[The Martin]

Randall:
You make me want to play a medusa :shock:

[Randall]

I'd like to know where they are too!!!
Actually, outside of Germany, the Marigaux company is distributing these horns for B&S and they evidently aren't doing their job.
I had one on order from the Saxofoonwinkel and they used Marigaux to order through. My horn order was sent through to Marigaux around April 8th....as of last week, B&S has STILL not gotten the order for my horn!!!!
I got in contact with B&S directly and found out that Marigaux had not sent the order through to B&S and then I told the Saxofoonwinkel about it. They (the 'winkel) were of course, fit to be tied, and have since cancelled all orders for B&S horns through Marigaux.
It would seem that dealing directly with a German dealer or with B&S themselves may be the only way to go.
Now here is the good news:
Stephan Boesken is going to sell these horns soon (I think primarily at my insistence :roll: ) and you should be able to order through him with confidence as I know he has direct contact with the B&S factory and has visited them too.
I am going to re-order through him and would recommend him highly.
The horns are fantastic...really they are.

[Morry]

Randall, I was considering that Allora bari from WW&BW, so I called the B&S importer in Chicago to ask him what he knew about them. He said that they are based on the 1000 series baritones. Kind of what we expected at that price, but I wanted to make sure.

[Randall]

Thanks for the info Morry,
I looked at the catalogue and I could see a few keywork differences in the Medusa line and the other line bari sax....it seemed that the only visible difference was that on the Medusathe low C,B,Bb, and A keys had double struts from the post to the key cup and the other model didn't.
I imagine, though I am not sure, that the other specs are virtually the same.
Maybe you should give them a call on the Allora again?

[Morry]

I wish VMI showed an email address on the website, so I wasn't having to talk to a middleman. The WW&BW site shows double struts on everything from C down. I'm thinking that horn might be worth a try, especially for hobbyist doublers like myself.

http://www.wwbw.com/Item/?itemno=70972