[dwarrier]

Hi,

I recently bought a Reference 54 tenor and I'm happy with it. However, recently I've been looking over it and it seems dents and scratches have appeared where they (seemingly) weren't before- I have been taking pretty good care of the horn and I'm not sure whether I just didn't notice until I took a closer look or if it's natural for minor scratches to build up that fast . Have any of you had experiences with this?

A related question: For those in high school bands, how likely are you to take a pro level horn to school every other day for band practice? I lost the use of the school tenor when I bought my Selmer and I'm wondering whether I should have just kept silent about the purchase [rolleyes]

 

[Freehugs]

If you sit down and play a lot with concert bands, you might get scratches just from regular wear. I brought my ppro horn everyday, but I went to a performing arts hig school, so it's a little different. When I used to march, I played trumpet, and I never use my nice one, just the junker school horns. I'm sure you take very god care of your sax, but it's all the other people I wouldn't trust. My trumpet got stepped on and the whole bell got smushed

 

[Enviroguy]

Reference 54 plus concert band equals okay. Reference 54 plus marching band equals loss of value.

In most cases, you can take good care of your tenor while in concert band. But marching band can be a little hard on a sax. You might want to pick up a good cheap tenor to use while marching. I recommend the Selmer Bundy Model 1 with left-hand bell keys. These can be very loud, are fairly tough and often have great tone. Add a Rico Metalite mouthpiece and Fibracell reed and you can overpower many of the brass players if you have large lungs. :bluewink:

 

[dwarrier]

My trumpet got stepped on and the whole bell got smushed

Ouch... good thing it was just a trumpet eh?

 

[dwarrier]

Thanks for the input guys! I guess I'll just have to accept normal wear and tear as part of the package. I'm not planning on marching at all and will probably just do jazz band, which is much smaller at my school, so hopefully all goes well.

 

[Dr G]

Are the scratches along the side of the lower body tube, bow and bell?

Be aware of how you sit in those nasty folding metal chairs. If you sit up and forward in the chair (just good posture), you'll have better air support and your horn won't be bouncing, rubbing, and scraping against the chair.

I don't know of many school situations where you can just opt out of marching band. My solution was to play drums in marching band - junior high through college.

Enjoy the horn!

 

[dwarrier]

Dr. G- Unfortunately the scratches are all over the place, but yes, the bow of the sax does seem to collect them faster than other areas. I never got the hang of sitting down to practice or play; maybe that's something I should start doing properly for both my health and my sax's peace of mind

Do you sit down for the whole session while practicing?

 

[Freehugs]

Try playing with the tenor between your legs, that's how i usually do it, it makes you sit up

 

[Dr G]

Dr. G- Unfortunately the scratches are all over the place, but yes, the bow of the sax does seem to collect them faster than other areas. I never got the hang of sitting down to practice or play; maybe that's something I should start doing properly for both my health and my sax's peace of mind

Do you have Stuff in your case that just bounces around?

Do you sit down for the whole session while practicing?

I tend to practice music as I will play it - classical quartet tends to be sitting, big band also sitting. When practicing improvisation, jazz vocabulary, and tone work, I tend to stand.

 

[dwarrier]

Do you have Stuff in your case that just bounces around?

No, not really. I use the Selmer BAM- type case so it has a "hidden compartment" for accessories sealed away from the rest of the case.

Freehugs- thanks for the tip- I'll try that out!