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Opinions needed on King Zephyr alto around 300k
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It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that King....
Hey, my name says it all...couldn't resist....
Check out some Cannonball Adderley discs if you want to hear what
it will sound like (with a Morgan 5M, or Barone vintage "Meyer Killer," of course). That Zephyr from memory would be from around '49 or '50, and very close to the vintage that Adderley was reputed to play, at least in the late 50's/early 60's.
The double-socket crook King's have a huge, warm sound that really has no equal in terms of fullness, save perhaps for the Conn Chu or possibly 10M. They also have a distinctive ring to their tone that few vintage saxes can claim, except for the Selmer Mark VI. Many people mistake this "King ring" for brightness--and in truth the King's may play brighter than some vintage horns--but my current 1956 King Zephyr actually has a rather dark, complex vintage tone, especially when compared to modern horns.
On top of that, if you have decent-sized hands, the key spread on the King's may feel just right to you, and may be the closest to the Selmer feel you can find with a vintage American horn. This may not be as big an issue with an alto, but it is with the tenor. The first time I picked up a Super 20, I remember thinking this really feels good in the hands.
Some people whine about the neck angle on the old King's but again this is more of an issue with tenor players. I personally find it to be ideal. Now the Conn 10M--there's a sax with a horrible neck angle, especially if you're 6'3'' like myself with a fairly long upper body (former high school swimmer here). But I guess people were shorter back then.
Oh BTW the type of resos on a horn make about as much difference to the overall sound as rolled tone holes do--that is, little to none. Volume perhaps, but not sound.
Well, hope that helps. Do you have any pics?
Hey, my name says it all...couldn't resist....
Check out some Cannonball Adderley discs if you want to hear what
it will sound like (with a Morgan 5M, or Barone vintage "Meyer Killer," of course). That Zephyr from memory would be from around '49 or '50, and very close to the vintage that Adderley was reputed to play, at least in the late 50's/early 60's.
The double-socket crook King's have a huge, warm sound that really has no equal in terms of fullness, save perhaps for the Conn Chu or possibly 10M. They also have a distinctive ring to their tone that few vintage saxes can claim, except for the Selmer Mark VI. Many people mistake this "King ring" for brightness--and in truth the King's may play brighter than some vintage horns--but my current 1956 King Zephyr actually has a rather dark, complex vintage tone, especially when compared to modern horns.
On top of that, if you have decent-sized hands, the key spread on the King's may feel just right to you, and may be the closest to the Selmer feel you can find with a vintage American horn. This may not be as big an issue with an alto, but it is with the tenor. The first time I picked up a Super 20, I remember thinking this really feels good in the hands.
Some people whine about the neck angle on the old King's but again this is more of an issue with tenor players. I personally find it to be ideal. Now the Conn 10M--there's a sax with a horrible neck angle, especially if you're 6'3'' like myself with a fairly long upper body (former high school swimmer here). But I guess people were shorter back then.
Oh BTW the type of resos on a horn make about as much difference to the overall sound as rolled tone holes do--that is, little to none. Volume perhaps, but not sound.
Well, hope that helps. Do you have any pics?
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Your description sounds intriguing, but I am still not sure if this is the voice for me. I don't have any pics yet.
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Hi,Swingtone said:
I am listening to some Cannonball now and one of the first adjectives that came to mind was "zing" (I guess that rhymes with ring
)It seems to be able to sound lush and and full and round and all that, with that little extra zing/ring or whatever, some sort of overtone thing. However, from listening to Cannonball it is a slightly more clear or simple kind of sound, vs. a thicker, more complex one. (big and thick are not the same! I would call Johnny Hodges thick.) That may be why my one friend said something along the lines of, "Cannonball is good but he just sounds like Cannonball." (meaning, it's sort of plain.)
So in that sense it could be seen as being "brighter" because it has sort of a lighter quality to it, and, it would be a unique alternative to, say, a Conn 6M, due to it's distinctive zing/ring and warmth that I am getting from these recordings.
I am not hearing any sort of nasally, French, Selmer type brightness at all in Cannonball's sound. It is a big, round, open, full sound with a bit of something extra (it has that zing!) I think.
(it's kind of hard to make any serious judgements from listening to Julian, as I ain't him!)
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