[Guest]

I've been looking around for my first sax (alto) and I think I have decided the Kessler Custom is the one for me. Except one problem. Which one? I've been getting lessons 3 days a week for the past 2-3 months and I have decided to buy my own instead of renting out my teacher's awesome Yanagisawa. I want a saxophone that will have a mellower sound. So should I get the red copper or is it just not worth it?

 

[Dave Dolson]

I doubt that it will matter - much. The arguments go on and on about finishes and body-material, but . . .

I have a lacquered brass KC tenor and bought my grandson an antiqued KC alto. Both play very nicely - and they sound like saxophones. DAVE

 

[Canadiain]

If you want "mellow" the mouthpiece is going to make a lot more difference than the horn.

 

[Tryptykon]

I'll admit I'm suddenly curious about those redbrass sopranos ..

 

[ratracer]

I'm not familiar with the altos but I do have the custom deluxe tenor, brass lacquered. Very nice horn. I whole heartedly agree with Dave and Canadiain! The mouthpiece selection will change the character of the sound very nicely in my experience. The effect of finish and materials on the sound have been beaten mercilessly in other threads so I'll not go there. Suffice it to say, even with the 50 OL7 I can change the character from a nice mellow one (that my wife likes) to one with a bit more edge (jazzy, r&r, r&b, etc...) with change in airspeed and in reed hardness.

You've seemed settled on a good horn selection and very respectable dealer. And it wouldn't hurt to call Kesslers. Very straight shooters, either Dave or Chuck. Going to have to to place an order anyway. Might as well introduce yourself and develop a rapport!

 

[52Conn10r]

if you've got the extra cash get the red brass - even if they don't sound any better than the rest of the kc's they sure are sweet looking horns.

 

[bradshawm]

My son has the lacquered brass Kessler Custom and it has been a great horn for him this past two years. I agree with all previous recommendations on the mouthpiece making the biggest difference. That, and in time, skill will allow you to produce many different sound qualities from your horn. I highly recommend the Vandoran Optimum AL4 if you want an excellent quality mouthpiece that is great for someone at your level. It is by no means a beginners mouthpiece, but works great as one. My son was playing on a C* when a band director recommended the AL4. It was a great improvement - very smooth sounding without being to bright and yet he can also make it wail (in his own ten year old sort of way).

The other thing to remember is that as your playing and control improves, your ear will also improve, and your taste in sound will probably change. The most important thing right now is a horn that plays well, and a mouthpiece that allows you to develop well and enjoy your horn without getting in the way. Many beginning players go looking for the mouthpiece holy grail long before their embrochure is built up and they can play well enough to test a mouthpiece right and know what they are looking for. Don't get caught in that trap

Good luck!

 

[ratracer]

they sure are sweet looking horns.

Dittos to that! Kessler didn't offer this horn back in January when I purchased mine otherwise I would have been highly tempted had it been. Got a ways to go before I outgrow the lacquered Custom Deluxe though. It'll be experimenting with reeds and mouthpieces long before I change horns.

 

[Tryptykon]

I emailed Dave a few weeks ago and got no response re: these horns.:?

Part of my question was :

"I'm wondering how your house brand [in red brass] compares to the Yani Bronze in both tone,
design and build quality ?

The Red brass alto and soprano are the models I'm interested in.

Also, is the redbrass soprano available as a one piece design ?
That would be my ultimate preference, if a custom order were available from the manufacturer.."

 

[DaveKessler]

I emailed Dave a few weeks ago and got no response re: these horns.:?

Part of my question was :

"I'm wondering how your house brand [in red brass] compares to the Yani Bronze in both tone,
design and build quality ?

The Red brass alto and soprano are the models I'm interested in.

Also, is the redbrass soprano available as a one piece design ?
That would be my ultimate preference, if a custom order were available from the manufacturer.."

Never got that e-mail... SPAM filters are set to "high" and unfortunately, some customer ones get caught and never delivered. Sorry!

Compared to the Yani... sorry, no comparison... its a Yanagisawa! The RedBrass models have quite a warm rich tone color to them, similar to the Yanagisawas... but they are not the same level. Thats like wanting a Toyota to perform like a Ferrari. If you can afford the Yanagisawa, then there is no question, get the Yani.

No, our soprano is not available in RedBrass in the 1 piece design. This is for a few reasons. 1, simplicity. I offer 10 models of soprano now. Frankly, I will be scaling that back down to 8 soon (will only offer the model 1 in lacquer).

The other reason is that there is a design difference in the model 1 and 2 other then just the neck. The model 2 is a ribbed body horn. So putting the model 1 in RedBrass would simply bring it to the tonality of a normal model 2 in regular brass. So it would be a duplicate.

 

[Tryptykon]

Makes sense Dave; thanks for that .