[Jmceachern36]

I’m looking for a little guidance on horn recommendations. I have a King Zephyr right now. What I really like about it is it sounds punchy and loud. I do like the quality of the tone as well. It’s also fairly lightweight which is nice as I do march with it at times. It also wasn’t expensive as far as baris go. What I don’t like about it is there are some out of tune notes. In the low register there are flat notes and the upper register there are sharp ones. I am taking it to someone right now to see if there’s anything I can do about the tuning. Having said that I’m thinking of looking for a horn that may be more in tune but still have a good loud punchy sound. I’ll most likely hang onto the Zephyr for marching. Was thinking second hand and maybe under $3000? Any thoughts/ suggestions? I haven’t given up on the Zephyr yet or anything just gathering info. Thanks

 

[B Flat]

Conn 12M or The Martin committee III.
Some people have tuning issues with these as well, but both can be easily managed given some time to get acquainted and an appropriate mouthpiece.

 

[Jmceachern36]

Conn 12M or The Martin committee III.
Some people have tuning issues with these as well, but both can be easily managed given some time to get acquainted and an appropriate mouthpiece.

The 12m is certainly available and in a reasonable price range. Have heard good things about the Martins.....My friend just cam by and tried out my horn. The notes were even more out of tune for her. She thought that maybe key heights could be adjusted. My low E and F# are flat. Made an appointment for Monday.

 

[soybean]

Unison, if you can find one.

 

[BH9]

I'm looking for a little guidance on horn recommendations. I have a King Zephyr right now. What I really like about it is it sounds punchy and loud. I do like the quality of the tone as well. It's also fairly lightweight which is nice as I do march with it at times. It also wasn't expensive as far as baris go. What I don't like about it is there are some out of tune notes. In the low register there are flat notes and the upper register there are sharp ones. I am taking it to someone right now to see if there's anything I can do about the tuning. Having said that I'm thinking of looking for a horn that may be more in tune but still have a good loud punchy sound. I'll most likely hang onto the Zephyr for marching. Was thinking second hand and maybe under $3000? Any thoughts/ suggestions? I haven't given up on the Zephyr yet or anything just gathering info. Thanks

Every baritone has notes that need to be adjusted for tuning, even a new yanagisawa or Yamaha. Those Zephyrs are great, and in my opinion if you CAN play it in tune, play it. While you're at it, check out amazing baritone player Eden Baraket.

 

[Jmceachern36]

I have heard Eden Baraket. He seems to play in tune fine. It would certainly be easier fix to play mine in tune. I actually haven’t heard any complaints of me playing out of tune. It’s just when I’ve checked the notes on a tuner.

 

[BH9]

All saxophonists, and especially bari players in my opinion, need to work hard on intonation. Some people will say soprano is difficult to play in tune, but I don’t think so.

 

[KeithL]

The first thing to do is decide what you want to do with a second bari. If you want to pick up gigs playing funk and R&B I'd suggest looking at Low A models otherwise I don't know that you can do much better than what you already have.

 

[dzve]

I would look for a vito made in japan by yanagisawa.

 

[Jmceachern36]

I would look for a vito made in japan by yanagisawa.

One of these sold for $1200 on Craigslist a month ago and I missed it.

 

[Jmceachern36]

The first thing to do is decide what you want to do with a second bari. If you want to pick up gigs playing funk and R&B I'd suggest looking at Low A models otherwise I don't know that you can do much better than what you already have.

This is good to know.

 

[cymru97]

What mouthpiece are playing on it?

 

[Jmceachern36]

What mouthpiece are playing on it?

I have 3. Rico Metalite 7, Otto Link Metal and Otto link rubber with a baffle in it. Both 6*. The Metalite seems to play the closest to in tune.But I'm not positive about that.

 

[cymru97]

I have 3. Rico Metalite 7, Otto Link Metal and Otto link rubber with a baffle in it. Both 6*. The Metalite seems to play the closest to in tune.But I';m not positive about that.

Interesting, I would expect the Metalite to be the most difficult, but maybe not. Of the three, I'd expect the Link with no baffle to tune the best since it should have the largest interior volume. Is the baffle in the rubber Link fairly aggressive?

How 'out of tune' are the notes and is bari your main horn? How about your friend who tried it?

It's certainly worth ha ing key heights checked out.

 

[Jmceachern36]

Interesting, I would expect the Metalite to be the most difficult, but maybe not. Of the three, I'd expect the Link with no baffle to tune the best since it should have the largest interior volume. Is the baffle in the rubber Link fairly aggressive?

How 'out of tune' are the notes and is bari your main horn? How about your friend who tried it?

It's certainly worth ha ing key heights checked out.

Big baffle in the rubber link. I had it put in so I played it before without the baffle. No significant difference. My friend plays mostly clarinet and alto. She's got way more experience than me. The notes were way more out of tune for her. But the more she played it the better it got though. She didn't think it was a huge problem. She thought it could be adjusted a bit..... Like I said earlier, I haven't gotten any complaints about being out of tune. And I've asked. It's just when I'm practicing with a tuner.... Bari is my main horn. I own a conn 16m tenor. Just bought it from a guy here on the forum. It plays spot on with a tuner.... I'm actually a bass player. Started playing bari for fun a while back. I've only played in brass bands so far and we can, in theory, adjust to each other. I was just asked to come and play with a blues band that I occasionally play bass with and I don't want to be out of tune. The piano player isn't going to be able to adjust her tuning ��. Bottom line is I don't want to be "that guy".

 

[cymru97]

Honestly, I think a good check-up like you have scheduled and practice to dial it in with your preferred mouthpiece is the way to go. Much like your friend was doing on the fly.

It’s always fun to try different horns out when the opportunity presents itself. I would keep this list of baris handy, but keep working on your horn. They really are right at the top for power and energy. As mentioned by others there is no perfect bari, but they are so rewarding when you get them dialed in.

Please let us know what your tech has to say!

 

[Jmceachern36]

Honestly, I think a good check-up like you have scheduled and practice to dial it in with your preferred mouthpiece is the way to go. Much like your friend was doing on the fly.

It's always fun to try different horns out when the opportunity presents itself. I would keep this list of baris handy, but keep working on your horn. They really are right at the top for power and energy. As mentioned by others there is no perfect bari, but they are so rewarding when you get them dialed in.

Please let us know what your tech has to say!

Ok. Glad to be hearing that. My friend actually really likes the horn. The tone especially. As do I....Will definitely report on what the tech says.

 

[Jmceachern36]

I took my horn to a guy last week. He said there was nothing wrong with it and that I should practice. I certainly could use practice and I do but I decided to get a second opinion. Took it to Boston Sax repair and he immediately saw some key height issues and thought there could be leaks. Left it with him. Will know more next week.

 

[KeithL]

The key heights could give you some intonation issues but a couple very minor leaks that the first guy didn't bother with probably not so much.

One of the things that came to mind re-reading your initial post is that it takes a long time to warm a bari up and if the temperature in the room you're playing in is lower than the upper 60's it will never really warm up and the lower notes may stay flat.

My studio is in the basement of my town home and especially at this time of the year I get a lot of thermal gain from the windows on my upper two floors which face south and west. Since my heat doesn't run most of the day this means it can be 73-75 on my main level, 75-80 upstairs, but only 65-68 in the studio. I have a couple of space heaters and with the circulating fan on it takes 30-40 minutes to warm up. Until things warm up a bit intonation is sketchy especially on bari and my silver flutes which cool down very quickly if not being played.