Looks like this thread has died, but should anyone stumble upon it I thought I'd liven it up with some fresh info for one of my first posts. As an LA Sax Artist Endorser I can say that LA Sax is alive and well. I endorse the current Big Lip models, very similar in appearance and design to Cannonball's Big Bell Stone Series, minus the 'gems/stones' of course. All of the modern LA Saxes have hand engraving on the bells and key touches as well, rather than the laser engraving on the cannonballs big bells (you have to get the vintage model to get engraving on most cannonballs). I'm not dissing Cannonball by anymeans, but my LA Saxes do play just as well and for a fraction of the cost. They're both made in Taiwan and are very similar side by side. I play the 'Warrior' (unlacquered) models which look just like the 'Brute' cannonball, but with a big bell and hand engraving, for $1495 new (alto) and $1595 (tenor). Not trying to sell anything, just updating the info. They also make some nice sopranos, curved, 2 necks and one piece. They only make one single piece straight soprano at the moment, the Satin Doll. This is the model I endorse, and it plays just as good as my Yanagisawa!!! Great tone and feel. These are constantly on back order, I have an extra one currently on ebay at the moment. Even the new ones sell for $1095, free shipping with a 30 trial period. My cannonball dealer couldn't believe how great it played and when I told him how much they sell for he about fell out of his chair shaking his head in disbelief.
To stay true to the thread let me shed some light on the Series 1 VS. Big Lip.....both horns are quite affordable, the Big Lip costs only slightly more than the Series I. I've played both and chose the Big Lip for a few reasons.....I tried a Series 1 Antique Matte Tenor and a Big Lip Warrior Tenor side by side. Initial impression of the antique matt finish on the series 1....it actually looks greenish grey in person, the engraving is very nice though. 1) Both play great, intonation was there except the high end on the series 1 (i'll get to that in a second) as was projection, but I preferred the Big Lip's overall tone and response. The Altissimo popped out more with ease and the bottom end was fat sounding, overall I found the Big Lip to be more full in tone. 2) Quality Construction...the Big Lip felt very solid, where as the Series I has the high G key (High F# key is essentially split in half and the top half is a G) this adds an extra rod spanning the entire length of the horn and an extra tone hole at the top, above F#, naturally. For some reason having this extra rod sticking out felt cumbersome, also the rods on the series I seemed like they were made out of a thinner metal and felt very bendable and as a gigging musian I wasn't confident it would hold up on the road. 3) Having the High G key caused intonation problems for me in the upper register and the G didn't even play as in tune as my altissimo fingering does. What's more, adding the extra tone hole for the high G made the horn slightly longer than my other tenors. It wasn't noticeable until I tried to fit the horn in my pro tec case and various other tenor sax cases....it was nearly an inch longer than my other tenor! Only fit the case it came in.
Big Lip....loved the Warrior/Unlaq finish, just like the Brute Cannonball, however the Big Lip series horns have a different design than the series 1 altogether. Big Lip = Bigger Bore and Big Bell. It also has double post arms on the lower stack much like the 'Vintage' series Phil Barones and the Big Bell Cannonballs. Since all of those brands are Taiwanese based it's no surprise the design is similar. Anyway, I chose the Big Lip series because of 1) the sound was amazing, on par with my Selmer SA80, dark core, but very flexible to mouthpiece changes, and it projected way better than my selmer. FREE Blowing and easy altissimo! I'm used to the resistance of a selmer so I was surprised how free blowing the Big Lip series was. Great horns, I play the warrior alto and tenor and the one piece straight soprano (Satin Doll)
Anyway, to sum it up I'd say Series 1 = student/intermediate. Big Lip Series even a Pro gigging player can be plenty happy with, yet at student horn prices! Hope that helps someone out there!
