HEllo folks,
I figured this might be a good place to post this, as I am guessing a lot of the techs on SOTW check in here! Ok, I have had a mark VI tenor 183,xxx since 1995--I bought it from a local tech who had saved the horn from a local school and overhauled it at that time. Anyhow, I still have all pads from that overhaul remaining. At the 10 year mark I started to think about having an overhaul done, but when the tech took a look he felt there was still life left in the pads and things were still looking and sealing quite well. I have played this horn most of my college and professional career since, it has been played a lot but is holding up remarkably well due to what I feel was my tech's great work on it in the first place. Anyhow, I have grown somewhat disillusioned with the sound of this particular horn over the last few years as my concept has grown and changed, but I have been reluctant to sell this horn for sentimental reasons I suppose. It is an aggressive, somewhat spread sounding horn and I would really like to get more clarity and centered-ness to the sound. I have investigated other necks, and I have a Boesken bare brass neck that I have been playing, but what I have found is it helps in some areas and subtracts in others. The original neck, while it has had some work done to it, still resonates with the horn the best albeit the newer neck adds some depth and complexity but is a little too dense. I am thinking now of perhaps having an overhaul done now; currently the horn has the nylon resonators and I am wondering if it is worthwhile to check out a different pad/resonator option. While I do not believe this will ultimately change the sound of the horn, I am hoping for a more direct response and resonance that maybe something like a metal resonator can give. Would this be a wise option, or should I bite the bullet and consider looking for a different horn entirely? I thought the new neck would solve my issues, but of course it only led to other issues in terms of what I hear and like/dislike. I wonder if messing with pads and resonators at this point would do the same, and at the end of the process I would be out $800 and potentially still not like the horn. Any thoughts would be appreciated...
I figured this might be a good place to post this, as I am guessing a lot of the techs on SOTW check in here! Ok, I have had a mark VI tenor 183,xxx since 1995--I bought it from a local tech who had saved the horn from a local school and overhauled it at that time. Anyhow, I still have all pads from that overhaul remaining. At the 10 year mark I started to think about having an overhaul done, but when the tech took a look he felt there was still life left in the pads and things were still looking and sealing quite well. I have played this horn most of my college and professional career since, it has been played a lot but is holding up remarkably well due to what I feel was my tech's great work on it in the first place. Anyhow, I have grown somewhat disillusioned with the sound of this particular horn over the last few years as my concept has grown and changed, but I have been reluctant to sell this horn for sentimental reasons I suppose. It is an aggressive, somewhat spread sounding horn and I would really like to get more clarity and centered-ness to the sound. I have investigated other necks, and I have a Boesken bare brass neck that I have been playing, but what I have found is it helps in some areas and subtracts in others. The original neck, while it has had some work done to it, still resonates with the horn the best albeit the newer neck adds some depth and complexity but is a little too dense. I am thinking now of perhaps having an overhaul done now; currently the horn has the nylon resonators and I am wondering if it is worthwhile to check out a different pad/resonator option. While I do not believe this will ultimately change the sound of the horn, I am hoping for a more direct response and resonance that maybe something like a metal resonator can give. Would this be a wise option, or should I bite the bullet and consider looking for a different horn entirely? I thought the new neck would solve my issues, but of course it only led to other issues in terms of what I hear and like/dislike. I wonder if messing with pads and resonators at this point would do the same, and at the end of the process I would be out $800 and potentially still not like the horn. Any thoughts would be appreciated...