mountainman
07-03-2006, 02:37 PM
Three weeks ago I traveled to Denver to attend a conference and climb a few mountains but, the first thing on my agenda was a visit to Tim at Sax Alley to test some saxes. His place is a good hour north of Denver. He is a fine gentleman and gave me 1 ½ hours of his time. The primary reason for my visit was to purchase a new soprano, but while there I just had to try a number of horns for future reference and to see if all the raves they have been getting are for real. THEY ARE!!!
SOPRANO: Tim had a used Yamaha which I tried first. Too bright for me . He also had a new Selmer in the shop which I found to be too bright. I then tried several of the vintage series P’s with the straight and curved neck. The curved neck was the closest to my desired sound, but too bright for my taste. I did feel however that the P was a BETTER built horn then the Selmer. I also tried the curved soprano. I just don’t like bright sopranos!
ALTO: The vintage P alto was very impressive. I was more impressed by it then I was by the tenor. It is built like a tank and is the closest to my B&S of any other horn. I would be my first choice were I in the market for another alto.
TENOR: The vintage tenor was a good horn but did not impress me as much as the alto. That said if price is a factor it is #1!!
BARI: The 300DK low A bari is a horn to die for. It is a monster and if I was playing a lot of bari like I did a decade ago I would buy one in a heartbeat. It is heavy and solidly built! I have never heard a better sounding bari. I may have to look for a bari gig!
Though I did not come away with a P I am a believer.
SOPRANO: Tim had a used Yamaha which I tried first. Too bright for me . He also had a new Selmer in the shop which I found to be too bright. I then tried several of the vintage series P’s with the straight and curved neck. The curved neck was the closest to my desired sound, but too bright for my taste. I did feel however that the P was a BETTER built horn then the Selmer. I also tried the curved soprano. I just don’t like bright sopranos!
ALTO: The vintage P alto was very impressive. I was more impressed by it then I was by the tenor. It is built like a tank and is the closest to my B&S of any other horn. I would be my first choice were I in the market for another alto.
TENOR: The vintage tenor was a good horn but did not impress me as much as the alto. That said if price is a factor it is #1!!
BARI: The 300DK low A bari is a horn to die for. It is a monster and if I was playing a lot of bari like I did a decade ago I would buy one in a heartbeat. It is heavy and solidly built! I have never heard a better sounding bari. I may have to look for a bari gig!
Though I did not come away with a P I am a believer.