New Sax for Music College

[David Blurton]

This seems to be the home of some knowledgable sax players, so i thought i'd see if i could get some advice.

I'm looking for a new Tenor for music college. I plan to study a jazz based course, but I am interested in playing classical aswell.

I've drawn up a short list of tenors along with approx prices (mostly ex vat as I can buy through my school) I tried the Mauriatt and the Rampone at sax.co.uk (sussex, UK) and the King at Howarths, London.

Here is my current shortlist:

King SilverSonic Super 20 (around £3000)
Selmer Mark VI (around £2700)
Rampone and Cazanni R1 Jazz Tenor, unlaquered, no high F# (£2000 inc case)
P Mauriatt PMXT-66R (£1350)

I was really impressed by the Mauriatt, and I know they seem to be going down well with the people on this forum, my only reservation was that it was a very charactered sound, and seem to want to force you to sound like leister young type era playing. The R1 had a more rounded warmer sound, closer to the selmer series II, although I vastly prefer it to that horn. I have been offered the Mark VI by a pro player who teaches at my school, who wants to sell it to buy a Bari, and its a good Mark VI. The King had wonderful projection and tone, although the action wasn't as good as on the new horns - I spose i could get this adjusted if necessary.

I'm trying not to think about the money as I want to invest in a good horn as I plan on playing it for a long time, and hopefully making a living with it!

I play a Yanigasawa Metal 7 Mouthpiece with La Voz reeds.

What would people recommend? I know people have said "Go with which one feels right for you" - the problem is they are all great horns, and I dont know how to narrow the choice down...

Thanks,

[Gandalfe]

Unfortunately, as is many times the case in life, there is no sax that will be all things to all people. Fortunately, assuming an instrument is functional, there are so many great choices.

If you can play the horn first, you might find that you don't pick any of those but end up with a killer version of a Keilwerth, Couf, Yani, Yamaha,... The list could go on and on. Enjoy the hunt and remember, no one can tell you over the internet what instrument is the perfect one for you.

[David Blurton]

Well I have tried Yani's, Yamaha's and Keilworths too, and didn't like them as much. Does anyone have any advice on how I should compare them? I'm starting to get to the point where I feel i can get something approaching what i consider "my sound" out of most saxes. The thing I want most out of a sax is (suprisingly) the tone, are there any exercises anyone can recommend to really put a sax through its paces, and hopefully make it easier to compare tones, for play testing?

[Martinman]

Try it them with your classical set up along with your jazz, one horn might sound killer with the yani piece, but terrible with your classical (I am assuming you are not using the yani metal for classical...).

[Carl H.]

I'm only familiar with the King and the Selmer.

If you intend to pursue classical, I wouldn't advise the king - the keywork isn't very friendly to technical stuff with the left pinky cluster, and the action is pretty noisy, even when well setup. Easy on the eyes and a great R&R horn.

MK VI - It's been there and done that, not a wrong choice. Excellent resale if it doesn't work out.

[David Blurton]

Do you think the the Mark VI has an over inflated price tag because of its popularity with famous players? Is it technically as good as some of the new Horns, or is it more the name? (not wanting to start to much of a heated debate!)

I haven't seen many Mark VI's for less than £3500 so I thought £2700 seemed a reasonable asking price. Thanks for bringing up the resale Carl, I hadn't considered that. I guess that kinda an insurance policy with the Mark VI, as it's value is unlikely to decrease much if I did want to change it.

Does anyone have experience of playing a Mauriatt and a Mark VI tenor?

[J.Max]

Contact the person from whom you will be taking lessons and as his/her advice. With classical saxophone in college, you need to know what kind of setup is expected. For example, if you were going to say, Fredonia, (Rascher school) you'll probably want to pick up a vintage Buescher. But, if you're going to Michigan (American school), you'll want a (Mark VI or newer) Selmer.

Any of these horns can be used in a jazz/big band/combo type environment, but you'll want maximum flexibility in college, and you'll want to get a horn that reflects that. (Assuming Bristish schools work the same way as their US counterparts!)

My personal recommendation would be the VI, because of the horns you've listed, it's the only one I've seen played in bith environments. That being said, you might also consider Keilwerth, Yamaha and Buffet (John Harle plays a Buffet S-1, and a lot of British classical players seem to be playing them.)

Oh, one more thing. You'll need a new mouthpiece for whatever horn you're going to buy, probably both a classical and jazz piece. The Yani is a fine mouthpiece, but there is no mouthpiece that works well with all horns, and you'll need a good classical piece too. Wait until you speak with the teacher to do any of this, though. Otherwise, you may be wasting your money.

[Swingtone]

I second most of the recommendations already made. A Selmer Mark VI could be the way to go--for resale just as much as performance. It's been a while since I've been in school, but if I remember anything about college, it's a time when you have little money and you want to be able to liquidate in case of an emergency--or even at graduation time, when you'll suddenly have a lot more expenses. For this reason, I would remove the Mauriatt from your list. I know that people on here sing their praises from the mountain tops, but they are Taiwanese-made and have not yet proven themselves to be solid in the resale dept. I hear they play great and all, but wait until you have a steady job after college until you buy one. It's too risky when you're still poor.

I also second the recommendation about the Buffet's--both a vintage SDA or an S1 can be used for both classical and jazz as long as you use the right mouthpiece. Some even think the S1 has better action than the Mark VI. And they will hold their value just like the Selmer--they might even appreciate.

For a modern horn, you can't go wrong with a pro Yanigisawa, which IMO are better than the new Yamahas in every way.

A Buescher is another solid, and economical, choice. A used 1960s Selmer-era 400 would have excellent intonation and would work for both styles of music. If I didn't have a lot to spend, I would go with one of these, since they can often be picked up on ebay (or some online sellers) for $700-$800, unlike the VI, which as you know, will set you back at least $4,000. That differential would be large to anyone--not just a college student!

Good luck!

[David Blurton]

Thanks for all your advice guys. I just bought a 1964 Mark VI and I'm very happy with it! I'll stick on the Yani mpc for the jazz auditions and talk to my teacher about maybe getting a Selmer Soloist mpc or similar for classical.

Thanks for the tip J. Max - I met the head sax professor or whatever he calls himself at Guildhall school of Music, London, and he said to go for a Mark VI, so that really confirmed my thinking. I'm glad I got something that will give me flexability, as I'd love to be a half decent classical player too.