[foobalicious]

Hi all,

I only recently learned about the existence of P. Mauriat. I was surprised to read about how positive people write about these saxes. A lot of people write they sound great. Of course a big part of this is a matter of taste but since there seems to be consensus on the quality of the sound I'm tempted to believe that Mauriat saxes are very good saxes. And because they also look great (just admit it, one of the (many) reasons a lot of people start to play sax is because the instrument just looks so d*mn cool.. ) I'm considering switching from Selmer Series III to Mauriat.

But I'm in doubt wether this is a good path to travel. This week I'm going to try out some Mauriats but before that time I would like try and get some opinions from other sax-enthousiasts.

Would it be an option to consider or am I about to commit a dreadfull sin?

Thanks in advance....

Roel

 

[soulysax]

I am sure you can find plenty of players who will say you are making a mistake. The aurguement usually states Selmer- top name company with long standing reputation for quality and resale. Mauriat- new comer Taiwanese manufacturer with unknown future.

On the positive side the Mauriat has been holding value at 80-90% when sold used. Also, I found the tone, response, construction and keywork to be as good as anyone else. I agree with beneditbranca that the choices are great and I found the 60ns to meet my needs better than any other brand.

There are 2 things to watch for on the Mauriat. The fine finishing on the lacquer prep and plating is less than perfect. The lacquer can get acid bleed and I found the polishing prep for the plating to be a bit substandard.

The second is you definately want this setup by someone like Tim at Saxalley or Randy at Tenormadness. Having played a couple I know one of the reasons I like the horn so much is Tim's excellent setup. I played one at another shop and it was less than impressive.

I say give them a try. If you don't like it you still have a great horn in the Selmer.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Roel: Welcome to SOTW.

If you like the PM better than your Serie III, then it won't be a mistake. What IS a mistake is to conclude that ALL PM's (or whatever brand) will be better than all Serie III's (or whatever). DAVE

 

[Alex Nyman]

Hi Roel,
The Mauriat horns are based on the Super Action 80 (and not the MK VI as some would seem to believe) so they shouldn't feel too different ergonomically.
As for build quality in comparison to other manufacturers I guess you have to take that on a horn by horn basis. I trialed a Reference 54 brand new from the dealer about 2 years ago and it was pretty stuffy, I took it my repair guy in Wellington (Brad Teal at musicservices.co.nz excellent technician IMHO) and he put a leak light down the tube and it lit up from outside like a christmas tree. I played my 66R Mauriat Tenor for the first time and it resonated unlike any other horn I've played, I took it to Brad and sure he found a few leaks and commented that with those leaks it shouldn't have played as well as it did. After I had it set up (you have to get this done with any new horn it seems nowadays) it now blows without limit. It really is the most awesome horn. I sold my 1952 Super Balanced Action after I'd had the set up done as I knew I couldn't go back to it.
You're going to find some Mauriat horns that won't do it for you and you'll find some that will (I once tested 10 MK VI's at Emilio Lyons shop in Boston and couldn't find one that blew better than my King Silversonic I had at the time)
My personal preference is for the Rolled Tone Hole models. I think they have created a very fine horn with this style. I have raised the palm keys a little and changed the thumb rest on mine as well as having the action lightened significantly.
Of course as most other players on here will undoubtedly tell you, don't judge with your eyes, judge with your ears and if it sounds right and feels right then get it....regardless of manufacturer.
Good luck with your search.
Alex

 

[foobalicious]

All,

thanks a lot for your replies. I should have registered with SOTW years ago, not just for this question but also for all the other great info that can be found here.

As for the Mauriat: your answers took away the hesitation to go to the shop and try it fo rmyself. I hope to go there this Saturday. Too bad I don't live near Tim's shop (no where near it, I'm from the Netherlands) to get the setup done. But I have confidence in the shop I'm going to so...

The Selmer was my first tenor ever. I used to play (an $500 New York Symphonic) alto for +/- 12 years. I was one of the few people who could get an acceptable sound out of this thing. Not because I was such a good player, but just because it was the only thing I ever played. So when I finally saved enough money to buy the Series III was in heaven. And my band was relieved too. Finally the sound of the horn section (sax & trumpet) got some "body". It felt like a relief and it boosted my confidence at playing big time.

Probably the feeling will not be the same since there will be not a huge difference. But I do hope that I will get the same SORT of feeling, a feeling that there's a sound difference, in a positive way.

I will keep you posted on what my experience was.

Cheers,

Roel

 

[rispoli]

,

Probably the feeling will not be the same since there will be not a huge difference. But I do hope that I will get the same SORT of feeling, a feeling that there's a sound difference, in a positive way.

Quite the opposite, IMHO, if you are talking tenors I had both for a while and they feel, and foremost sound, extremely different. So much that I believe to pick your favorite can be quite easy depending on your tastes. I am not speculating which one you will pick, mostly that you'll have no hesitation for the two being too close to call one.

I bet if you do a blindfolded test you'll understand immediately which is which.

 

[Grumps]

On the positive side the Mauriat has been holding value at 80-90% when sold used.

Can you further substantiate this statement?

 

[soulysax]

Grumps,

I have posted this several times. Frankly, I am a little annoyed by those who speculate and say it doesn't hold value but provide no proof. So I understand your concern by asking for evidence that they do.

Here is GAS WYO comments from another thread and ebay sale (typically sells less on ebay than at your local dealer for $2,243):

I've sold both my PM's, but I'm still a fan. The resale value of a PM remains high also! I sold my 67R alto for 22% less than I paid for it...not too bad for one year. I sold my 66R tenor for 11% less than I paid...had it about 18 months.

http://cgi.ebay.com/P-Mauriat-66R-T...ryZ16234QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Its been sold but Tim at Saxalley had a used 66R tenor with an asking price of +/-$2,400.

Saxalley currently has a new 67R alto for $2,290 and a used for just $300 less at $1,990.

I often see quotes that you will only be able to sell a Mauriat at 50% of new price. Well maybe on ebay if is damaged like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190172470197&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009

These represent every recent sale I could document. I think each one demonstrates the Mauriat's holding value with the big guys.

 

[Grumps]

I've sold both my PM's, but I'm still a fan. The resale value of a PM remains high also! I sold my 67R alto for 22% less than I paid for it...not too bad for one year. I sold my 66R tenor for 11% less than I paid...had it about 18 months.

Assuming you bought them both new, that's not bad. I'd seen some sellers on Ebay who weren't as fortunate, but that was some time ago. I'm hoping one of the vendors might bring a couple to the Sax Symposium in January to try out. I'm not a fan of III altos, but I'd suspect it would be a tall order to compare favorably to a III tenor. Hope to find out though.

 

[tjontheroad]

I've tried out about 4-5 PM tenors. They all had something to offer. That said... No way I would trade my Series III for one.

 

[foobalicious]

All,

yesterday I went to the saxophone shop and spend some time playing the
Mauriat (PMXT66R). Unfortunately I only had a limitted amount of time so the impressionI got is also limitted. So for all it's worth, here's my experience. I'm planning on going back and spend some more time with this PM and other types, as well as my Serie III.

Somehow the sax felt lighter. Playing felt also very light and easy. It was very easy to play the lower registers and the tone of the middle e and d also sounded well.
But the lightness also gave a sense of fragility. A bit of a toy-like feeling as if the qualityof the sax was not very well. This is of course just a feeling and not based on any knowledge of the buildquality of the sax.

Even though I only played on the sax for a couple of minutes, I can say one thing: I'm not yet convinced that I should swap my Selmer for the Mauriat. In order or to be able to make that decision I need to play a lot more on it. It was a not a matter of being swept away by the sound.

I was offered about $3330 for my Selmer (which is about 10 years old).

I'll come back when I've played some more...thanks for all your help here !!!


Cheers,

Roel

 

[bradshawm]

Roel,

While I love my my PM Tenor, I guess a more pertinent question would be why your are considering a change. It sounds like from you post, what you are playing does what you need and that you and your band are happy with it. The reasons you state up front for considering the PM make it sound like deciding whether you need to go with the new fad, rather than having something very specific in terms of tone, playability, style, etc that you are looking for. Maybe you have alread thought through these and it just does not come out clear to me in this post, but if not, I would recommend not making a change until there is a greater purpose in mind.

Blessings, Marshall

 

[gary]

Something to consider regarding the above comments on resale value. Are those opinions/experiences based of former prices or current prices?
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=65118&highlight=mauriat+prices

 

[foobalicious]

Hi Marshall,

Thank you for your message. You're somewhat right with what you say about my considerations for switching to Mauriat. It's not about following the latest fad (assuming that means latest trend) but I was triggered by the website of a sax-shop here in the Netherlands. At first it was the look of the saxes that caught my intentions. I know looks should not matter but we all know that good looks are a nice bonus. When I started to do some searching I found a lot of good reviews about the sax and that, combined with the great prices (for a new sax) got my (maybe childish ;-) ) hearth pumping.

But now, that I my initial excitement has calmed down a bit I have thought things through some more. I need to spend some more time on the Mauriat in order to see if I prefer the sound beter than the Selmer's.

You're right about the greater purpose. The Selmer is a great sax and switching to another one should depend on the sound of the new sax.

So when I have more time I'm going to check it out. And I'll keep you posted on my experience(s)...

cheers...

Roel

 

[Yellowhorn]

And remember the Serie III is a bona finde French-made Selmer horn, whereas the PM is still a Taiwanese Selmer copy - albeit a good one.

And the PM is NOT cheaper than the Serie III, if I am not mistaken. As for resale value, recent sales of used PM's seemed to fare well, but let's see if it will remain so - as Selmer does.

 

[BariSaxzinger]

Hi all,

I only recently learned about the existence of P. Mauriat. I was surprised to read about how positive people write about these saxes. A lot of people write they sound great. Of course a big part of this is a matter of taste but since there seems to be consensus on the quality of the sound I'm tempted to believe that Mauriat saxes are very good saxes. And because they also look great (just admit it, one of the (many) reasons a lot of people start to play sax is because the instrument just looks so d*mn cool.. ) I'm considering switching from Selmer Series III to Mauriat.

But I'm in doubt wether this is a good path to travel. This week I'm going to try out some Mauriats but before that time I would like try and get some opinions from other sax-enthousiasts.

Would it be an option to consider or am I about to commit a dreadfull sin?

Thanks in advance....

Roel

The only thing I hesitated about trading in my EX for it is that I have no idea how long they last. Thats waht kept me from getting one.

Harry

 

[SassenachSax]

And the PM is NOT cheaper than the Serie III, if I am not mistaken. As for resale value, recent sales of used PM's seemed to fare well, but let's see if it will remain so - as Selmer does.

I think you are mistaken, as you're offering advice to someone from Europe. I don't know about prices in Indonesia but at sax.co.uk:

Cheapest Selmer Series III tenor : £2393.01 without a case
P.Mauriat PMXT66-R : £1799.00 in an (admittedly less than brilliant) case
PMXT66-RG (gold plated) : £1999.00 ditto
Black Pearl : £1899 ditto

Same goes for the altos.

Admittedly the solid silver, gold plated, PMST-300SLG is more expensive than the cheapest series III but it is cheaper than the solid silver series III if we're comparing apples to apples.

You can probably buy any of these somewhat cheaper elsewhere in Europe but sax.co.uk are the biggest retailer and usually reasonably competitive.

 

[foobalicious]

Ok....I did it. I exchanged my Serries III with a 66R. I had the oportunity to play on it a bit longer and I loved the fact that it played effortless. The intonation is also very good and it seemed as if the keywork is much easier to play (less force needed) Time will tell if I'll regret it I guess.
I bought it yesterday and had a change to use it on stage yesterday evening when a friend had a gig and I could join in for one song.There was no monitoring system and the rest of the band was playing really loud so it was hard to hear my own sound. The playing itself (besides the sound) was good though. Well...we have a gig of our own on the 29th so then I can really give it a spin on stage. In the mean time I can make some miles on it at home.

So far, after one day...no regrets here ;-)

Thanks for all your comments, suggestions and answers. !

Cheers,
Roel

 

[klankentapper]

Hi Roel,

Congratulations with your buying! Did you buy the 66R in Den Bosch? I went to Den Bosch two weeks ago to buy a 66R. I'm very happy with it, but my previous tenor was a 12 years old YTS-23. So it's a big step forwards!

Have fun with your PM!

Cheers,
Emile

 

[Al Stevens]

The aurguement usually states Selmer- top name company with long standing reputation for quality and resale. Mauriat- new comer Taiwanese manufacturer with unknown future.

Once you have the horn in your possession, the future of the company is irrelevant. The horn's future is in your control. Given that (we are told) all Taiwanese horns are made by the same factory complex, parts should never be a problem.