[Jazz House]

Are Keilwerths any good? How is their intonation, build quality, tone, quality compared to makes like Yamaha and Yanagisawa.

WHich is the best model. I have never played any of them so I am curious about everything about them.

 

[Hurling Frootmig]

Well there's a reason the big four are Selmer, Yamaha, Keilwerth, and Yanagisawa.

Keilwerth has made saxophones a long time. Personally I'm partial to the horns just before the SX-90's. Other people like the early SX-90's. Still others love the new shadow models and current SX-90's.

Build quality is on par with the horns from Buescher, Conn, or Martin. They use a post design rather than ribs.

I'd recommend that you read the posts in this section and you will find all of the information that you need. I also recommend that you search some out and play them in order to form your own opinion.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Bob M]

Are Keilwerths any good? How is their intonation, build quality, tone, quality compared to makes like Yamaha and Yanagisawa.

Yes.

I have three Keilwerth tenors-- a new Keilwerth SX-90R, a 1980 Couf Superba 1 and a Bundy Special from about 1964. I also have a 1945 silverplated Conn 10M. As Hurling Frootmig notes, do a search, as there is plenty of information.

Tone Quaility -- Keilwerths are more along the lines of a Conn, i.e. a "Vintage American" sound, rather than a "French", i.e. Selmer sound. Yamaha's and I gather Yanis tend to fall more into the brighter, focused Selmer-type sound, rather than the darker, spread sound that typifies the "American Vintage" type of sound.

Build quality -- I have found the build quality to be excellent. Although there has been a fair amount of criticism of the levelness of the tone rings on the "R" models, I have not found this to be a particular problem (nor have Doc Tenney or Randy Jones, who helped me pick out my SX-90R). I have also found Keilwerths to be very rugged, solid horns. As a result, they are a bit heavier than Selmer or Selmer clone saxes.

Intonation -- The intonation on my SX-90R is flat out the best of any horn that I have ever played.

There are a number of top players who use Keilwerths, such as Ernie Watts, Sax Gordon Beadle (Couf S1), Mike Tucker, Ron Holloway, etc. Ultimately, however, it is a personal choice that you have to decide for yourself by trying the horn.

 

[heath]

For me the SX90 actually feels quite a bit lighter than any of my Selmers. The Ref and III series still have mini ribs, but the SX90 has posts directly soldered to the body. A JK will literally shake in your hand from vibration, especially on the low notes.

Build quality is very good. And I'll agree that that JK's have a fat sound as opposed to the more tightly focused Selmers.

As far as ergonomics the right hand stack is a little more spread and takes time to adjust to. I like the fact that the spring tension can be backed off and the action is still very fast.

Intonation is very good. The right mouthpiece with a bit more baffle seems to help focus these horn.

Basically the JK is one of the few modern horns that come close to the American sound. The bow on the JK is massive compared to the Selmer and Yani. Also the bore starting from the neck tenon down is quite a bit larger than a Selmer.

 

[sycc]

Out of the big 4,Yamaha,Yani,Selmer and Keilwerth,Keilwerths are the most unique. They are big bore saxes w/ a full dark sound.