[Obelix]

One of the best Soprano sounds I ever heard. I listened to his other youtube jazz numbers, and he is nowhere near the sound quality of that setup.

I'll be on a lookout for that mouthpiece now. Was it Bari Esprit model?

 

[saxshooter]

according to BARI ads that ran in Downbeat magazine back then, he played the hard rubber with metal shank band 64 and an article said he played Hemke 4 or stiffer reeds.

 

[smoothjazztenor]

I can confirm that. In a conversation (years ago while I was a student at Berklee) Emilio told me that he set-up Branford with the Mark VI soprano in question. It had been modified with an aftermarket bend in the "neck"... It was not a one-off or experiment by Selmer. A previous owner had this job done - it required having the octave mechanism modified and re-soldered... The horn had found it's way back to Rayburn music, and was for-sale. Emilio said he "gave" it to Branford b/c he liked him, and thought he would make good use of it. Guess Emilio was right!?!?!? I love Branford's soprano playing...

Hi Adam,
So you meant that Emilio did the bending?
This is interesting. I sent an email to Rayburn Musica few months ago asking if Emilion can do a similar thing to my VI sop.
The manager (and whoever thast was) replied to me that Emilio canNOT bend the neck and that Branford's VI sop neck wasn't bent by him.

 

[Adam Niewood]

Hi Adam,
So you meant that Emilio did the bending?
This is interesting. I sent an email to Rayburn Musica few months ago asking if Emilion can do a similar thing to my VI sop.
The manager (and whoever thast was) replied to me that Emilio canNOT bend the neck and that Branford's VI sop neck wasn't bent by him.

I don't know who bent/modified the neck? Emilio told me Branford got the Soprano from him. Guess you should ask Branford ???

 

[MeekG]

Just to sum it up for the BM fanatics (like me)....
According to my little research Branford went from a regular straight neck Mark VI which he claimed was bought new in 1977 over the mail with Bari HR 64. This setup was used in Wynton's CDs as well as early Sting collaborations (Bring on The Night, Nothing like The Sun period).
Around 1987 he seems to have started using the "modified" silver Mark VI with Bari MPC. He seemed to have switched to the Branford Marsalis Guardala MPC around 1991 till I guess 2002 (Footsteps of our fathers), then switched to Selmer S80 D.
For the past few years he seems to be playing mainly on a Yamaha 82Z Custom (on which he recorded the latest album "Four MF's playin' tunes") or a 82ZR Custom (I guess when he has bend neck nostalgia), still with the Selmer S80 D and Vandoren clarinet reeds.
Having said that... I think he would sound great on whatever setup he uses.

 

[keyplyr]

I have both a Yamaha YSS-62 and the bent neck YSS-62R. The 62Rs were indeed factory production models. You can buy a nice 62 for about USD 2,000+, but the 62Rs are now selling well in excess of USD 3,000. They sound the same to me, but having the bent neck is a real positive because you can put some weight on the neck strap and the angle is more comfortable for play. Other than the bent neck and a slight change in the octave mechanism to accomodate the bent neck, the horns are identical and sound the same to me.

As I final note, these are stunningly good horns in terms of intonation, ergos and speed. All notes speak easily and the dynamic range is fabulous. I highly recommend either of these models.

I have an early serial # yss-62 and agree that the intonation is next to perfect, compared to other sopranos. Took me a while to tune my chops, but the horn is absolutely the best.

 

[Dave Bass]

Are these pictures you posted of your sax, or of Branford's?
Could you post them again in bigger resolution?
Thanks

 

[Dr G]

Are these pictures you posted of your sax, or of Branford's?
Could you post them again in bigger resolution?
Thanks

Dave,

Cball1's last post was two years before you joined in 2010.