American Vintage.

Its still a bit difficult to understand what your looking for...for instance, are you looking for a vintage sound with a buzzy link like tone, something dark, something resonant?

My first gut reaction is to go for a large chamber mouthpiece. If that isnt working look into different necks. The Barone necks are a bigger bore (Im sure Phil will tell me if Im wrong). Regardless, they create a more spread tone and less refined (frenchy) tone than the Selmer necks. I have a Ref 54 and a 58 The Martin. The Barone neck tends to create a bit of a bridge between the Selmer tone and the Vintage American sound. It still isnt as spread but its moreso than orignial.

I hope that helps a little.

I really like the Tone of the Martin for Jazz, however since getting a new Tenor is really not an option, so I like the idea of Getting a Barone neck. If it helps, I like the dark rich tone.

~Carbs

How much money are you willing to spend on a mouthpiece, because that, and the right kind of practicing, is your answer.

gary said:

How much money are you willing to spend on a mouthpiece, because that, and the right kind of practicing, is your answer.

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For the whole works, maybe two -four hundred at the end of the summer. That includes chaning the neck, mouthpiece, and ligature. As for Hard Rubber, and Metal I really don't have a preferance.

I always have to smile and wonder when Americans think about US horns as "vintage". Didn't the Europeans invent the sax and manufactured them decades before it started here in the US? How can Selmer horns sound "modern" when they took over Adolpho Sax's factory and continued his legacy and tradition? Isn't it the player that makes most of the sound anyawy? Bird (and many other great players) always sounded like "them", no matter what horn they used. Maybe you are confusing "vintage sounding" with dark sounding? Did you ever try a P Mauriat 66R (which is not vintage by any standard)? By the way: in Europe, vintage is >100 years old; what most people in the US refer to as vintage simply means "old" (>10 years).

What's the "The American Sound" anyway? I think this is bologna!
I'm not trying to pick a fight here ... just thought it needed to be said once.

Giganova said:

I always have to smile and wonder when Americans think about US horns as "vintage". Didn't the Europeans invent the sax and manufactured them decades before it started here in the US? How can Selmer horns sound "modern" when they took over Adolpho Sax's factory and continued his legacy and tradition? Isn't it the player that makes most of the sound anyawy? Bird (and many other great players) always sounded like "them", no matter what horn they used. Maybe you are confusing "vintage sounding" with dark sounding? Did you ever try a P Mauriat 66R (which is not vintage by any standard)? By the way: in Europe, vintage is >100 years old; what most people in the US refer to as vintage simply means "old" (>10 years).

What's the "The American Sound" anyway? I think this is bologna!
I'm not trying to pick a fight here ... just thought it needed to be said once.

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Vintage to me is Conn Chu, Martin Handcraft the OLD horns. The horns the great played on. Like I said I picked up a Martin Handcraft and love the tone. I want to immulate that on Tenor. I don't want to go out and buy a new Tenor, I don't have the money for that. I know alot of it depends on the player. And I have been using my S80 C** with some success for some time now. However, the sound I am getting espicially up high is not what I want, and I have changed the way I play in the high register. But it is still not it. So I may need to change some equipment. I know that the Sax started in Europe, and as stated before love my Selmer horn.

This is pretty much what I am thinking as of now. A Barone Tenor neck, but I have no idea what mouthpiece to go for.

~Carbs

Did you consider a Barone Jazz mpc? This could get you closer to "the great" players, most of who had Links, I guess.

Giganova said:

Did you consider a Barone Jazz mpc? This could get you closer to "the great" players, most of who had Links, I guess.

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No I have not considered one of his mouthpieces. I probably will though.

If you like the sound of vintage Ben Webster you may want to check out an Otto Link four star (the one with **** on it). That would be pretty classic old school.

Well theres your problem. It's the c** its just not gonna work. You should try and get a vintage link or some other large chamber piece.

That's why I suggested the Barone Jazz. It's like a vintage Link with a large chamber, just better

sopranosaxman said:

Well theres your problem. It's the c** its just not gonna work. You should try and get a vintage link or some other large chamber piece.

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I just can't afford a vintage link. Don't those run about $600?

Hurling Frootmig said:

If you like the sound of vintage Ben Webster you may want to check out an Otto Link four star (the one with **** on it). That would be pretty classic old school.

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I like Coltranes sound on ballads. I thought he had a darker richer tone. However, on the faster songs I would like to do a more serious of a cross between the two.
:? :? :? :?

The four stars can be found for the price range you mention. It's the Florida links and slants that go for crazy prices.

A cheaper alternative would be to use a modern hard rubber link or clone.

With the above suggestions to get the desired tone, of old school jazz, would I need to change Necks too?

If you are on a tight budget you could simply get a "regular" modern Link NY. They are actually rather good (quality issues set aside).

Of course you could simply do a research, pick a player you like and buy his equipment. But keep in mind: the sound is made by YOU and it's all in your head!

Giganova said:

If you are on a tight budget you could simply get a "regular" modern Link NY. They are actually rather good (quality issues set aside).

Of course you could simply do a research, pick a player you like and buy his equipment. But keep in mind: the sound is made by YOU and it's all in your head!

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Thanks, I will deffantily keep that in mind. I am deffiantly on a budget, a rather strict one.

Would the Selmer Metal mouthpieces do it also?

If so, then I have narrowed it down to around 2 model mouthpieces.

Be careful with modern links as the quality control is a bit iffy
Dave

The biggest thing is to go try them out. We can only assume how you will sound on a certain piece, and whether or not this is how you want to sound. Although some of these mentioned can't easily be tried (4**** Link, Barone Jazz), the more common ones, such as Link STM NY's and Link TM's, are extremely common, and if you find one you like, it'd be a heck of alot cheaper than most of the vintage or designer pieces.

A good NY Link is pretty close to some vintage mpc sounds. I still think the vintage market is over hyped. I think the NY model is a little more consistent than STM links.

Im confused. If Trane in his ballads is what your after you dont need to be moving towards and American Vintage horn/sound or necessarly a different neck. A selmer with a good link...and perhaps a small removable baffle will do the trick. Of course you wont sound like Coltrane but you can fine tune your sound to be in the general range of some of those textures.

I agree with the other posts. I didnt notice your setup when I initially answered. Your first problem is your chosen mouthpiece. For the sounds your seeking your going to have to swap that out regardless. It makes sense to address the mouthpiece issue before more expensive and technical items such as necks. Consider my suggestion in my first post null and void at this juncture.