[A Greene]

I've been working a lot with the Reflector sheet and have also been recording a lot of sessions. At first it was a bit depressing. Bottom line, I may never sound like whatever I think it should sound like. What I can say that once I removed what I thought it "Should Sound Like" and tried to objectively listen to my playing I sort of liked it. There's always room for improvement and refinement but I'm going to work on accepting core sound and move forward. Turns out regardless of the equipment - I seem to always sound like Me. Again a good thing - now I need therapy to start to like myself.

 

[jgreiner]

Don't get too high.
Don't get too low.
I like myself and don't depend on others to like me.

Oh wait, you're talking saxophone. ;-)

 

[1saxman]

Everybody goes through that. I've finally gotten to where I like my sound on all the saxes. It almost is never what I think it should sound like but it is my 'default' sound - the sound that's locked in my head and can't be changed. Once you get to this point, then you can sort of be narcissistic and enjoy it.
Story time: putting my horns together for the gig Saturday night and trying a few reeds on the tenor. The guitar player comes over and starts looking my horn over. He said it has a good sound - I was just wondering what it was. Turns out he has played a little sax over the years. No, I did not admonish him about the fact that it was me that sounded good, not the horn.

 

[motteatoj]

I've been working a lot with the Reflector sheet and have also been recording a lot of sessions. At first it was a bit depressing. Bottom line, I may never sound like whatever I think it should sound like. What I can say that once I removed what I thought it "Should Sound Like" and tried to objectively listen to my playing I sort of liked it. There's always room for improvement and refinement but I'm going to work on accepting core sound and move forward. Turns out regardless of the equipment - I seem to always sound like Me. Again a good thing - now I need therapy to start to like myself.

Timely topic, as I have been struggling with the same thing and the last few days I thought..."Geez, I think I like my sound".
So I recorded myself playing along to some tunes, and, upon playback, for the first time ever....I didn't hate it!
In fact, I LIKED it, a lot.
I think, more than most instruments, sax players are way too critical about their sound.
Recently, i bought a bass (guitar) to learn how to play as a more 'fun' hobby, vs. sax.
And more fun it is!
Less expensive gear, repair, and wow, the sound comes out much easier!
Your sound on bass is your gear, and your technique is your hands. This is much less personal than your breath, your voicing, your oral cavity, your reed choice, your mpc choice, your sax choice, your strap choice, your reed tool choice, your reed case choice.......
Recently, i was thinking to start a post here that said..."Just PLAY".
On bass, I just PLAY, and LOVE it.
Maybe that has crept into my playing sax as well.
Playing sax is a lot like golf, there is a lot to criticize, and so we do.
Bass is very different, challenging for other reasons, but much less personal than sax (and no one cares what bass guitar strap you use).

 

[DarrellMass]

It's funny......I hadn't recorded myself for quite some time. And even when I was recording, it was weeks and sometimes months between recordings. There was always some improvement, on playback. I finally got my little 'studio' functioning, and my first recording with a condenser mic was a vast improvement over what I used to hear on my Edirol R-09, months ago.
Though my tone still has a long way to go, it's come a long way. Now, I just have to get into the habit of recording everything I play. In time, I might actually get my upper register to mellow out, a bit more!

 

[GCinCT]

It took a few years and thousands of hours of practice, but i have finally reached a point where I do like my tone. It's what I hear in my head and while maybe similar, it's not the same as the tones of my heroes. (Not comparing myself to them, just talking basic timbre here.) The tone is mine, just as it should be.

 

[JayeLID]

This is a great thread. and indeed, providing a player has managed to get their embouchure and breath support fundamentals down...so those aren't lacking or handicapped or compromised (which would have negative sonic results)....then just go with what you 'naturally' sound like.

'Default' is a good term...it is just intrinsically where your 'sound' is gonna go. And again, unless there is a 'bad habit' from a technical/blowing standpoint....you should just embrace what that sound is.

We can work on things like improving phrasing, theory, dexterity, all of that stuff and this will effect your sound (the term taken in its wider definition). But rather than spend time 'searching' for something, the sax is already a challenging instrument - why add additional layers to those challenges ? Note: I am not saying 'don't improve' nor 'do not bother to identify aspects which are lacking' or anything like this.

Simple proficiency in the basics of playing and musicality will 'naturally' result in your own sound. There's no need to 'hear it in your head' or necessarily define what it is you are seeking - then proceed on a (sometimes torturous and oftentimes digressive) journey to 'find' it. I find, in conversation with people who really, really have this 'gotta find my sound, man' concept in their head....they more often than not end up chasing a moving target, sometimes for years and years.

This seems counterproductive to me because it's actually already in there. IMHO.

 

[sandster]

I know this is simplistic, but...I've always thought "sound" was the most important element in music.

 

[Dave Pollack]

To me, sound is most important, and I think very few people are ever happy with their own sound. I know I've never ever been happy with mine, but I strive to make it better each time I play. It's a constant journey with no end, so try to enjoy the ride!

 

[JohnsonPowerSax]

I try to record myself every practice session at least once and send it to a friend. It's painful and embarrassing sometimes, but I find it definitely humbles me (mostly) and gives a realistic measure of where I am today.

If I have a better room, I'll use my good recorder to get a recording, but I do not often have the right space for it.

 

[MLucky]

It's interesting, and timely for me, to read this right now. I'm going through something similar to what the OP described. After a long period of constantly trying to adjust my sound, and always being dissatisfied, lately I've been a bit more willing to accept my sound as it is. It's not that I've finally been able to get exactly what I want--far from it. I still have so, so many shortcomings. But lately I've kind of felt like, "this is the player I am, and my sound is my sound, so let's just play."

Maybe I finally progressed to place where I can listen to myself on tape and think, "OK, that wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible." Or maybe it's just that, by now, I've tried so many different mouthpieces and reeds that I know the answer is not to get a new mouthpiece or a new brand of reed. Maybe I finally realized that it's kind of ridiculous for me, a weekend warrior type, to think I can sound like Chris Potter. (Kind of reminds me how some people play golf or tennis or basketball once every couple weeks, and they're swearing up a storm in disgust because they're not performing like their favorite world class athlete. Dude, get real: you're a 55 year old in terrible condition, and you're not going to look like Michael Jordan out there!)

I don't know why it's happening. But for some reason I just feel more like embracing my sound for what it is right now. Probably I'll have a major GAS attack next week and decide I need to change everything. But for the moment, it feels kind of good.

 

[motteatoj]

Does anyone like the sound of their recorded voice?
I cringe when I hear it.
I think a lot of that carries over to Sax.
Again, it’s very personal.

Of course sound is important, but if you spend so much energy stressing over it, you lose that energy to just simply get better.
That recent interview / article in The New Yorker (or the Times or NY Mag, forget which) with Pharoah Sanders talking about how he’s still not happy with his sound, still searching, made me sad that he can’t revel in what he has done with sound.

Again, JUST PLAY!

 

[ZootTheSim]

Does anyone like the sound of their recorded voice?
I cringe when I hear it.
I think a lot of that carries over to Sax.

I hate the sound of my own recorded voice, but like the recorded sound of my sax better than the live sound I hear from behind the horn.

 

[sandster]

I've been satisfied with my tenor sound. Sometimes, the clarinet sound. Still striving to get that clean and exciting, (to me) alto sound, a la that guy from LA who plays on the movie, "Sing". I LOVE it! I'm concentration on the soprano sound at present and making some inroads.
I will try to post some "sounds" so this isn't just a lame opinion. I rely on another to do this, so, no hurry.