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For those who enjoy shootout type of COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE reviews, here's what I thought when I popped my head into Sam Ash in midtown yesterday after I got out of a rehearsal and tried a few horns. FWIW, quick impressions.
The Shadow black nickel plate was a very nice player, and though I don't believe the finish changes your sound, was a nice, dark sounding horn with a rich sound.
The Yamaha Z gold lacquer was fantastic. Great focus, vibrant sound throughout the range, easy altissimo up to G4, comfortable ergos and fast action. Well in tune.
The Yamaha EX gold lacquer was a good player with a sound more reminiscent of fatter sounding vintage American horns or like a Yanagisawa tenor. I found the tone to lack the same depth as the Z. The action was good. Altissimo and overtones were rougher for me.
Series III with a matte finish. This is James Carter's old Series III. The sound was great. Really similar to the Z, I thought, but a bit warmer. Good altissimo and overtones were easy. James obviously likes a big sound because the keys were opened WAY up, though it somehow still played in tune. I found the action fast but uncomfortable because of the key heights.
Final ranking of these specific horns:
Z, Series III, Shadow, EX. I thought the Z and the Selmer were head and shoulders above the other two, soundwise, but that's just personal preference.
The Shadow black nickel plate was a very nice player, and though I don't believe the finish changes your sound, was a nice, dark sounding horn with a rich sound.
The Yamaha Z gold lacquer was fantastic. Great focus, vibrant sound throughout the range, easy altissimo up to G4, comfortable ergos and fast action. Well in tune.
The Yamaha EX gold lacquer was a good player with a sound more reminiscent of fatter sounding vintage American horns or like a Yanagisawa tenor. I found the tone to lack the same depth as the Z. The action was good. Altissimo and overtones were rougher for me.
Series III with a matte finish. This is James Carter's old Series III. The sound was great. Really similar to the Z, I thought, but a bit warmer. Good altissimo and overtones were easy. James obviously likes a big sound because the keys were opened WAY up, though it somehow still played in tune. I found the action fast but uncomfortable because of the key heights.
Final ranking of these specific horns:
Z, Series III, Shadow, EX. I thought the Z and the Selmer were head and shoulders above the other two, soundwise, but that's just personal preference.