i got one !

[drewdavies]

WAAHEEYY

I got my 66r today - i'm waiting till tomorrow to try it out - and I'll post a big review

[boman]

where did you get it from?
did you buy it untested?
waiting for your review :)

BoMan

[drewdavies]

yes i bought it without trying first, and i've only been trying it out for two hours so i can't give a complete review yet..... BUT... one thing is sure since they've been making the 66r they've changed the neck from a standard p mauriat neck, to what they call the super jazz neck, super jazz?.. super awful i'd say!... within five minutes i ditched the neck.. it makes a great horn sound cheap and much more importantly, the angle that the neck rises up is at least 5 maybe 7 degrees higher, this gives the impression that your playing a bass clarinet, and all those years of hard work to get the right sound are out the window... because the position of the mouthpeice is totally different...
straight away i put my mk7 neck on it (fits perfectly btw) and yeah.. now i know why they say it's a great sax, my first impressions are that its like a mk6 with a little more volume, but not as agressive as a mk7... i will post a longer review after a couple of days of playing...

but honestly.. in my opinion the neck is just wrong

[saxman01]

Awesome!
I hope you enjoy the new sax. Are you sure that the neck was undamaged? It dosen't make much sense that the neck that comes with a sax would make that sax sound horrible IMHO.

[drewdavies]

well perhaps it isn't that the neck makes the sound horrible moreover that it does'nt sound as good as a mk7 neck for me,in any case when i play it with the neck it sounds like acheap sax, but the position is way out in comparison to what i'm used to

[SaxyAcoustician]

Have you tried different strength reeds with the new neck? More likely than not, your mouthpiece and reed setup is optimized for your Mk 7 neck.

[drewdavies]

well i went and bought other reeds this afternoon, which do change the sound but it still has that closed up kind of sound as if the sound was straining to get thru, I don't have many mpc's so i could'nt really try out many, i have a link stm 7* and an old weird metal mouthpeice and my brancher it was the brancher that sounded best, i would however like to try out several other classic mpc's just to see and i imagine i got get a good sound out of the neck, but it moreover the position that bothers me..

i'll keep up to date with how this go tomorrow

[rispoli]

Drew,
I don't understand if your 66R came just with the super VI neck or if you are comparing it unfavorably to the stock neck.
I have a 66R with both of these and, while I also noticed immediately the different angle, I found it much freer blowing and generally easier to play than the stock one (which is darker and more resistant on the upper register).
Perhaps there is something wrong with the super VI unit you got?

However with both necks I find the upper register much more resistant than any Selmer or Yamaha I tried (I also have a Jupiter Artist which is much easier to play there than the 66R, not as full down low though).
It seems to me that the exceptional low end this model provide comes at the expense of the upper register. This can be a big turn off for several players.

[drewdavies]

i did'nt get the stock neck, my 66r was delivered with the SJ... and I think that the mk7 neck works out pretty nicely.. the sax has a big low end and the mk7 neck has cleaner high notes so overall it's become a good horn,

so you would say that the stock neck has less of an angle right?

[rispoli]

i did'nt get the stock neck, my 66r was delivered with the SJ...

so you would say that the stock neck has less of an angle right?

Yes, the stock neck has an angle which I believe would not catch your attention. With that the sax sounds more spread and even fuller down low, but you lose in the upper end. Overall I find my 66R more balanced with the super VI neck.

You are lucky, on the other side, that your mark VII neck fits: I haven't been able to fit any other neck I have (quite a few..), since the diameter of the 66R seems smaller than any other sax I own/owned at the same time.

[drewdavies]

UPDATE:

so the mauriat after 2 gigs and a jam session....

i've ordered a standard neck from mauriat, but i think that i'll be probably sticking with the mk7 neck

1: the sound is definetly more controlled than than the mk7, that's to say it has as much power and is as almost as open as the mk7 but there are'nt those "certain notes" that are kind of unbalanced or too agressive like on the mk7

2: the action of the mechanics is too tight, if it does'nt loosen up it's going to take a trip to the tech

3: the sound is darker than the mk7, which gives the impression that it has less volume, but in reality it is louder than the mk7

4: the high end is much more smooth than the mk7 in terms of sound quality

5: when i push it for a r'n'b sound it stays reasonable, not like the mk7 which becomes too bright and and (once again) agressive

6: it's going to need a trip to the tech's anyway this mauriat did not come from a shop where they set up the saxes before they sell them, and the factory set up definetly needs tweaking

that's all for now, when i get a bit more into it i'll record some stuff

[OOlufoks]

The 66R is a very good horn, and a keeper for me. I use the stock neck on mine. I had to have the action loosened to make it more. It retains it core most of the time, with mouthpieces which tend to send my Yani T991 to an overly vibrant "bright" mode. I am taming the Yani by using a Reference 36 neck on it. I love them both

[GAS_Wyo]

SJVI neck for me, thank you. It opens it up in the high end as long as I remember not to thin the sound with my embrouchure. The mouthpiece that sounds the best for me is the Otto Link STM 7 NY. I can still sound smokey in the low end or push it and get a punch. Mid to high end this mouthpiece makes the horn sing. I'm using ZZ 3 reeds. However, I'm starting to think I may need to drop back to a 2.5 as I'm having trouble finding 2 in 5 out of the box of 3's that really gives me what I need when playing softly.

Congrats on the new horn. I love mine.

[rispoli]

The mouthpiece that sounds the best for me is the Otto Link STM 7 NY. I can still sound smokey in the low end or push it and get a punch. Mid to high end this mouthpiece makes the horn sing. I'm using ZZ 3 reeds. However, I'm starting to think I may need to drop back to a 2.5 as I'm having trouble finding 2 in 5 out of the box of 3's that really gives me what I need when playing softly.

Or else, if I may suggest, try Alexander DC #3. My 2 Links (a NY6* and a Tenney STM 7*) never sounded better and I can play softly without problems.

[drewdavies]

ok so a BIG visit to sax machine in paris yesterday, those guys are so cool they let me try every mpc/neck/reed, in the shop and sorted out a few problems for me

they adjusted the neck to the perfect postion, loosened the action and sorted a few little leaks

(ps. sax machine paris may become a dealer for mauriat in france)

so i bought a guardala superking r'n'b with the dark sound of the mauriat the guardala opens it right up and makes it sing or should i say !SHOUT!
I'm still experimenting with reeds around the 2 and a half strength
the guardala is the loudest thing i've ever heard

this configuration seems to be excellent but a little hard to control...
i think i need to wear ear plugs to play it