Martin Magna

[BariMelt]

I was just browsing around here and found some stuff about the Martin Magna low A baris. I play one (sn# 312xxx) which I believe puts it about late 1960s. I was talking to Steve Goodson a few weeks ago and he said the Magnas with a low A are not that common. I didn't know that. Just wondering if any of you know exactly how common they are. He also said the value is fairly significant.
There seems to be a lot of Martin players in here which is great. I love the "ballsy" low register mine has. A buddy of mine has a The Martin tenor that I feel is better than any of the 3, yes three, Mark VIs he has.
I play on a metal Runyon Quantum with the spoiler removed, a 12, with a #2 Plasticover. I also really like the Berg mouthpieces, but the tip opening was getting to small, and Mr. Runyon lived right here in town so they were easy to tryout and he gave me a great price. I'd like to try other Berg too though, maybe a 110/0 or115/0 or something like that, the 105/0 I played awhile back was great. Sorry about the long message, just excited to see other Martin Magna bari players out there.

[Morry]

You should look up the profile for Bootman, and contact him. He has a Manga and seems to be fairly knowledgeable about them.

[Bootman]

Yes I have a Magna low A, rare is the word for these horns, Rocking Horse Teeth is another term that springs to mind. It tool me many of years of searching to track one down. It plays well with the biggest baddest bottom end of any Low A Bari I have ever played. It isn't my 12M Tranny but this is the closest horn I have ever had to the Conn.

I have been fooling with mpcs on this horn and the best to date is a modified long shallow baffle RPC. I have another lamberson arriving any day now for this mpc plus a Bronzite copy of my Refaced Quantum by JVW (RIP) from Ed Pillinger. This has a Berg style beak on it and a 130 tip opening. Most of the Quantums I have owned or played haven't been able to opened up large enough for me.

To get the most power out of your Magna Low A with good intonation and altissimo, try a large chamber with small baffle mpc. They are very temperamental on mpc selection.

A couple of other issues are to do with the Flex in the long rods which can make for a slightly less than ideal feel to the bell notes and cause a few mysterious leaks. I am working on a way to improve this with some strapping. The only other thing which bugs me about the horn is the lack of the Aux F# key, a key I always end up looking for.

[Randall]

Boot,
If the rod flex is a problem on your Magna, why not have your tech fabricate a rod bridge like the ones on the straight JK tenor? Would seem to be the answer....then maybe a double arm on those darned bell keys...
If you're going to keep it, I think it may be worth the investment.
BTW, heard from Stephan lately?

[Spencer]

I would think "Rockin Horse teeth"should to be enough to convince anyone but for mpc's the bigger better. 130 how about 140? 8)

[Bootman]

Randall,
It is rod flex, not key flex. The double arm is a nice idea but the problem is in middle of the rod. I will need to fix this because the tech who does this work is away for 6 months on holiday. It should be a bit of fun playing with brass, some very fine drills and files. The problem here is having the time to do it, there isn't enough hours in the day.

I have also had the low A key articulated on my Magna,it has made a huge difference to how playable the low range is.

[shortwhite]

I would think "Rockin Horse teeth"should to be enough to convince anyone but for mpc's the bigger better. 130 how about 140?

Spencer,

I'm close. I play an RPC on bari that just kicks butt. No markings on it but Ron told me it was a 130. Jey Clark measured it recently and it comes in at 138.
If you're interested I'll be playing this beast in San Antonio this Friday at Jewels.

[Randall]

Hi Boot,
Actually making that rod bridge is not so hard to do. I made one for my old straight Conn 10M (talk about rod flex!!!!). The only part I had trouble with was attaching it to the body of the horn with my lousy soldering :lol:
The horn was no beauty to start with, so it wasn't that bad. Still, I am NO repair tech!
I have ben wondering about your Magna...I figure you have quite a pile in it by now. I am going down that road too, with a Selmer SBA low Bb horn in silver plate....will probably have to sell one of my kids to you to finance that one!

[1saxman]

Barimelt; You're quite fortunate to have a low A Magna, but it may interest you to know that while most Magna baris were low A, the rarest Magna bari is the regular low Bb. The low A was not offered on the regular 'The Martin' bari, which is what I play. I've only seen one Magna low Bb bari, and that was on ebay. To me, the Martin 'The Martin Baritone (Magna)' with low A is pretty much the holy grail for players of vintage American baris. The regular 'The Martin Baritone' is awesome enough, particularly down low, but the Magna with the longer bell will really shake the rafters. Plus, it has the unique RH thumb key for the low A.
With your Runyom metal Quantum, do you notice a tendency for the high notes to be sharp? I did with mine, and I found a Berg HR 130/1 that really works well on the Martin. Berg Larsens seem to work well on baris in general. Generally, anything that relates to a regular 'The Martin' bari is the same for the Magna with or without low A. Except for the bell and extra note, they are the same horn, neck and all. In other words, if a regular 'The Martin' bari had come with low A, there would be no playing difference between it and the Magna low A. The Magna upgrades were mostly of little consequence. Some Magnas, however, were shipped with a Sterling silver neck. I've never seen one for a bari, but I sure would like to.

[BariMelt]

Saxman,
The upper register is a tad sharp on certain notes, but it doesn't really bother me. My band does mostly old R&B and we have 5 horns so I'm usually down there on the low end putting accents here and there. When I do need to use the upper register, I can cheat a little a lip or down where needed. For instance, the beginning of Otis Redding's Try a Little Tenderness has a horn intro and my high B is slightly sharp so I adjust to make it a little flater. If I doing jazz, which isn't often anyway, I put my Berg on there and the intonation is pretty good throughout the horn. The Berg is a 90/1, so I can't use it for too long (without using a stiffer reed) or it closes up on my during the course of a 4 hour gig. I would love to get another Berg, with a bigger opening, just can't justify 3 bari mouthpieces to my wife. I really like the Runyon, it gives such a full and rich sound on the low ends.
I didn't know all the history about the Magnas though, very interesting. I would love to see a sterling silver neck on one, I wonder if it made the sound a little brighter?
Later,
Alex

[Spencer]

I would think "Rockin Horse teeth"should to be enough to convince anyone but for mpc's the bigger better. 130 how about 140?

Spencer,

I'm close. I play an RPC on bari that just kicks butt. No markings on it but Ron told me it was a 130. Jey Clark measured it recently and it comes in at 138.
If you're interested I'll be playing this beast in San Antonio this Friday at Jewels.
Hey Shortwhite what street is this palce on. People keep tellin me to check you guys out. I just downloaded some stuff. Great sounding band you got there.

[shortwhite]

Spencer,

The address is on Babcock but it sits off the road a little.

Here's a map: http://www.jewelslounge.com/location.shtml

Let me know if you're gonna show up and I'll put you on the list.

[Spencer]

Yeah SW put me on the list. My real name is Jerry but I usually use aliases. I thought it was down the hill near Huebner, no wonder I couldn't find it.

[Bootman]

The silver would add a little extra something to the sound and if it was a Gloger neck then it woudl add more centre to each note too. I use a Gloger solid silver on a Martin tenor, the difference and centre to each note is exceptional.

[shortwhite]

Spencer,

I'll put you on the list as Jerry. Look forward to meeting you.

Now back to Magna bari's.......................