Blenot Paris Serie Artiste by Beaugnier

[chitownjazz]

Anyone ever heard of it? One for sale, an alto, with a number of photos at Wichita Band (http://www.wichitaband.com/used.html#alto%20saxophone) (click on the Alto Saxophones link).

[Pinnman]

Yes, but only because it has been on sale at Wichita Band for at least five years! Why not e-mail and ask?

A Google search did not come up with anything, other than a suggestion that it may have been put up for sale on eBay at some point.

There was a French aircraft maker of this name nearly a century ago ... could have been a high flying sax!

[chitownjazz]

Yes, but only because it has been on sale at Wichita Band for at least five years! Why not e-mail and ask? ...

I did contact them. I was seeking any additional information from a less interested party if possible.

[chitownjazz]

I went ahead and initiated a trial of this horn and played it a bit today. Here are some thoughts.

Unfortunately Wichita Band didn't put any anti-tarnish strips in the case, so over the lengthy time period they've had it (according to Pinnman's post) the thing has started to tarnish a bit, except for the neck which must have been wrapped up in the tissue paper it shipped in. It's a shame - as you can see from the pics, it is a really great-looking horn. It has a very solid feel to it and the construction, to my uneducated eye, looks and feels really good. There are a couple of oddities though. There's no lip on the bell, just what appears to be a very narrow variant of the "resonator ring" that the Buescher TH&C horns have under their bells. This give the bell a cheap and fragile look, and indeed the horn has sustained some small knocks that have pushed the edge of the bell a little out of round. The neck has a very strange trait. If you reach your finger into the fat end the opening narrows a little gradually, then steps out at about where the neck meets the top of the horn when inserted in playing position. I've never come across this before, and am curious whether any other vintage horns have this and what the purpose might be. The neck brace is a neat-looking and effective design - no neck push-downs on this baby.

The keywork feels very comfortable to me coming from a Buescher New Aristocrat. In fact, it feels pretty similar, with a couple of differences. The right hand stack lays under my fingers much more comfortably than on the NA. Even more striking are the right-hand palm keys - they are big and raised high up off the horn, making them very comfortably accessible. Unfortunately, like stock NAs, the G# is not articulated.

How does the thing blow? I started out with my medium chamber Caravan that I've grown so happy with on my NA. Not a good idea - this mouthpiece sounded like a was playing while encased in soggy noodles inside a heavy burlap bag, really nasal and dull. Next up, a vintage Selmer short shank Soloist. A little better, but still not much to write home about. Then, a vintage Hite that happened to be laying out. Much better, some guts to the sound finally. As with all three mouthpieces, the scale was nice and even.

I'll try to experiment some more tomorrow. Don't know yet whether I'll be keeping it.

[stefank]

Those pictures are interesting - there doesn't seem to be that much of a resemblance to any of the Beaugnier models to be seen on Saxpics.

Stefan

[chitownjazz]

Those pictures are interesting - there doesn't seem to be that much of a resemblance to any of the Beaugnier models to be seen on Saxpics.

Stefan
The only aspect I see that looks similar to some of the Beaugniers are the right hand palm keys.

Did some more experimenting today. I have an old King mouthpiece that I like for a jazz sound and it was the best of the mouthpieces I played on the Blenot. The thing definitely has its own character. It's a fairly softly-textured sound, and I find I can't really push it too hard. Still no luck finding anything that even begins to work as a classical mouthpiece. The medium or large-chambered pieces I like on the Buescher sound really bad on this thing. I'm thinking maybe I'll give my Teal or Hawkins/Sinta mouthpiece a try. Too late for tonight though, baby's already in bad. Cool horn though.

[chitownjazz]

Hahaha, I knew my vintage "slant sig" Bundy would come in useful someday. It's the best classical-sounding mouthpiece I've tried on it so far. Didn't like the Teal, haven't tried the Hawkins/Sinta yet but come to think of it the chamber on that's a little like the Bundy so I have to try it.

Now I'm having a hard time deciding whether to keep this horn. I like the horn, but if Wichita Band hasn't been able to sell it how the heck am I ever going to sell it?

[chitownjazz]

FWIW, I sent the Blenot back. I liked the horn and I liked the idea of having an unusual horn like that in the stable, but in the end it just didn't measure up to my New Aristocrat in playability.

In fact, the upshot of this trial has mainly been an even greater respect for my NA. It doesn't look like much, but I was really impressed that with virtually any mouthpiece I tried on the NA I got a respectable sound out of the horn. Maybe not exactly what I was looking for, but a useable saxophone tone. Not so on the Blenot - in fact pretty much the opposite, most did not sound that great and only a few mouthpieces sounded well on the horn.

I have to admit my "comeback" after 25 years away from the horn has been a much bigger hill to climb than I ever expected. Between building up an embouchure that never really existed before, changing tone concept and equipment to align with it, and dealing with very limited practice time it's been frustrating at times. Both in terms of tone production and fingering I'm only just starting to feel really at home on the NA. But it's also been exciting and downright fun, and this forum has really made the journey a much better experience than it ever could have been otherwise.

So, onward and upward on the shoulders of the humble in appearance but mighty in sound Buescher New Aristocrat!

[Pinnman]

I have tried a number of saxes in the last few years and, in my view, it is worthwhile in the sense that I appreciate my own saxes all the more. In fact, I have been able to build up a vey nice set of SATB through this activity. Reading other people's experimeces of trial and error is also very interesting.

I still wonder, though, and of course the answer is unlikely to be available, who made the Blenot.

[SAXISMYAXE]

I'm glad you sent it back Chitownjazz, it was apparent from your writings that you weren't "in love" with the horn. When one can pick and choose, I never advocate hanging on to an instrument unless there is something special about it that makes one want to pick it up time and time again (even if that means being a bit "unfaithful" to one's main axe from time to time as a result!).

As far as the cosmetic condition of your NA, some of my best playing horns are far from mint, perhaps because they were/are such great players. I'm perfectly all right with that personally, as a good horn deserves to be played not displayed.

[chitownjazz]

FWIW, according to their website Wichita Band sold this in October.