series 3 finish

[Bluemilk262]

what finish for a series 3 sounds the best?

[singlereed]

I have a flat matte finish III alto that has an outstanding sound. My teacher used to work for one of the big on-line retailers, testing hundreds of new horns and he gave me the heads up that this one was outstanding. I am not sure I subscribe to the view that finish makes much difference, so it may be coincidental that this one is so good, but I have heard of several other very happy users of this model.

[Roger McWilliams]

The variation among different Serie III horns of the same finish is comparable to the variation among the finishes. Thus, people often disagree as to the significance. It has been my experience with the Serie III horns that the matte finish is not as bright as the standard gold lacquer, i.e. it is a bit more towards Lester Young's tone than David Sanborn's. The black lacquer causes the note to die away faster on release but a listener other than the player cannot tell this. I favor the matte finish for sound and appearance. However, I favor the best sounding horn over any of these details. To show my bias, I do have a matte III tenor but I play it with a Barone neck presently and have favored a Selmer aftermarket red brass neck previously.

[woodwindmaster06]

some people think it doesn't matter, I dont I think either the Silver or Matte finish is the best sounding finish.

[CodyW]

Woodwindmaster, what do you think is the best sounding finish and why?

[woodwindmaster06]

it could go either way the silver plating is much more free and bright, the matte is just a great sound that is becoming more and more popular.