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I didn't put this in the Piece Review thread cuz I was hopin' to chat about it. It all started at an open mic. This kid, half my age (or less 
) playin circles around me is getting this HUGE sound. Loud, but warm.....to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with his actual "tone", but the shape of it and the volume were intriguing. SO I axe him "what piece you blowin?" He say "Slant Sig Link"..... just got it.....blah blah....
So off to Ebay/SOTW I go to read up.....first off DAY-UM but them are pricey.....So I accidently stumble onto some GW threads....especially entertaining was the "iron spike through my brain" thread :mrgreen: Fast forward, I found one from a brutha here.....for the price, why not try it? I actually prepared myself thhat I'd hate it.
I'm currently playing a Sakshama Lost Wax FLa link on a Borgani Lovano. I like it a lot. It was noticeably quieter than the aforementioned kid.
So this piece is every bit the wonky "Picasso" of tip facings...the reed sits a bit funny. But the rails appear equally curved, the table is like glass...smooth inner throat. What's also interesting is the baffle area is kinda concave side to side....like you could lay the curved part of the read smoothly in the baffle. I noticed my Fla is flat side to side....just an interesting observation....for all I know that's common < shrug >
So I slap on La Voz medium & BANG I'M PLAYIN LOUD!!!!!. It really is 1/3 again the potential volume of the Fla. Its smooth all over the horn and especially in the altissimo....very friendly up there. Easy to play altissimo smoothly or double-tone it the way Brecker did (of course, I have to think about it & try 4 times unlike Mike). Its very warm but has a buzzy edge that all but disappears with the subtone, and increases on a nice even ratio with more push & volume. I especially like how it plays from G2 up without getting tubby or thin. The intonation seems pretty even....I'm never sure though cuz when I'm lookin at the tuner I think I'm inadvertantly cheating....I try to riff around & land & hold, then look at the tuner. Might be a hair sharp up in the palm keys....or maybe thats just me. It sounds very round & full....nothing thin about it. The low end speaks pretty easily.
I put my fla back on, felt compfy.....but I quickly returned to the GW. I'm pretty enamored with this piece. It really doesn't do it justice to say "for the price" because I like it better than many pieces I've paid much more for....might like it best actually.
I A/B recorded them and sure enough...the buzzy edge I thought I heard was really nice on the recording. I thought it might be a hair "brittle" below Eb, but when I played back the recording it sounded more than fine. I'd say the Fla Link is actually darker, but they have a very similar core...its actually kinda impressive that 2 "Link knockoffs" share such close tone qualities. I've never played a "real slant link", so I'm not gonna speculate there.
So I'm going with 3 thumbs up. Highly recommend this piece. I'd call it buzzy, warm, versatile and sure fits the budget.
) playin circles around me is getting this HUGE sound. Loud, but warm.....to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with his actual "tone", but the shape of it and the volume were intriguing. SO I axe him "what piece you blowin?" He say "Slant Sig Link"..... just got it.....blah blah....So off to Ebay/SOTW I go to read up.....first off DAY-UM but them are pricey.....So I accidently stumble onto some GW threads....especially entertaining was the "iron spike through my brain" thread :mrgreen: Fast forward, I found one from a brutha here.....for the price, why not try it? I actually prepared myself thhat I'd hate it.
I'm currently playing a Sakshama Lost Wax FLa link on a Borgani Lovano. I like it a lot. It was noticeably quieter than the aforementioned kid.
So this piece is every bit the wonky "Picasso" of tip facings...the reed sits a bit funny. But the rails appear equally curved, the table is like glass...smooth inner throat. What's also interesting is the baffle area is kinda concave side to side....like you could lay the curved part of the read smoothly in the baffle. I noticed my Fla is flat side to side....just an interesting observation....for all I know that's common < shrug >
So I slap on La Voz medium & BANG I'M PLAYIN LOUD!!!!!. It really is 1/3 again the potential volume of the Fla. Its smooth all over the horn and especially in the altissimo....very friendly up there. Easy to play altissimo smoothly or double-tone it the way Brecker did (of course, I have to think about it & try 4 times unlike Mike). Its very warm but has a buzzy edge that all but disappears with the subtone, and increases on a nice even ratio with more push & volume. I especially like how it plays from G2 up without getting tubby or thin. The intonation seems pretty even....I'm never sure though cuz when I'm lookin at the tuner I think I'm inadvertantly cheating....I try to riff around & land & hold, then look at the tuner. Might be a hair sharp up in the palm keys....or maybe thats just me. It sounds very round & full....nothing thin about it. The low end speaks pretty easily.
I put my fla back on, felt compfy.....but I quickly returned to the GW. I'm pretty enamored with this piece. It really doesn't do it justice to say "for the price" because I like it better than many pieces I've paid much more for....might like it best actually.
I A/B recorded them and sure enough...the buzzy edge I thought I heard was really nice on the recording. I thought it might be a hair "brittle" below Eb, but when I played back the recording it sounded more than fine. I'd say the Fla Link is actually darker, but they have a very similar core...its actually kinda impressive that 2 "Link knockoffs" share such close tone qualities. I've never played a "real slant link", so I'm not gonna speculate there.
So I'm going with 3 thumbs up. Highly recommend this piece. I'd call it buzzy, warm, versatile and sure fits the budget.
