Keilwerth saxes (S/A/T), Selmer clarinets (S/B), Altus Azumi flute
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Here's my review of the current SX90 sopranos. I've tried to write it objectively and to include as many details as possible (while keeping it concise) to be of use to potential purchasers.
Please let me know if you think I've left anything out. I'll post a sample recording (or two) to this thread within the next few days.
Intonation:
Tone
Mechanism & Ergonomics
Setup
I know that Matthew's went over the horn (e.g., removed cork wedges, checked for leaks, etc.) before shipping it out, but I'm not sure how much setup they did. In any event, the details belowlikely include elements of the setup done by both Keilwerth and Matthew's.
Value
Now for the main question: is the horn worth the price?
This is a difficult question to answer definitively because everyone's threshold is different.
Personally, it's the best soprano that I've ever played, but it's also quite expensive. I have it insured, and I can say that if something happened to it and a copy was available locally (or in stock online) at the price I paid for it, I wouldn't hesitate to replace it.
However, if I knew that I had to deal with 11 months or more of hassle and repeated delays again (as detailed in this thread), I would probably try to make do with a different horn.
Please let me know if you think I've left anything out. I'll post a sample recording (or two) to this thread within the next few days.
Intonation:
- Intonation and tonal consistency is generally excellent throughout the range of the horn, with the exception of E2 which is a bit sharp, and C3, which is a bit flat. Overall, compared with my Antigua, it takes me much less effort to play this horn smoothly and in tune.
- Compared with my Antigua and with other horns I've tried, the intonation on the SX90 is a bit less "locked-in" and more flexible (think fretted vs. fretless bass). Personally, I prefer this. It makes it somewhat easier to bend and smear notes when you want to and, more generally, to play expressively. However, it could be a problem for new or infrequent soprano players, and it might make this horn less than ideal for classical players.
Tone
- The tone is on the dark side of the spectrum. In trying out a bunch of horns last summer, I found that my Antigua, like the Yanagisawa 901 & 991s on which it is modeled, tends to be dark relative to other horns, and especially compared to modern Selmers and Yamaha 875s, which sound quite bright to me.
- Compared with my Antigua, the sound of this horn is not obviously brighter or darker, but it sounds somewhat "thicker" or "richer", as if there are more overtones present.
Mechanism & Ergonomics
- The keywork feels smooth, crisp, and solid. It is here that the quality difference with my Antigua is largest and most obvious.
- Unlike the original version of the (one-piece) SX90, the top octave pip is mounted in the front. I think that this is a better design as it keeps the speaker hole from getting blocked by condensation. It's also the easiest way to visually distinguish the newer Leibman-influenced horns from the older horns with the same model number.
- In contrast to many of the sopranos that I've played and playtested in the past, the left- and right-hand key stacks on the SX90 are offset exactly as they tend to be modern altos and tenors. The effect of this configuration on soprano feels larger to me than it does on the bigger horns. It changes the overall balance of the horn, and I'm still getting accustomed to it. Overall, I can't say whether this configuration is better or worse than the inline configuration. However, one good effect of the offset is that it tends to rotate the hands so as to move the the palms closer to the palm keys.
- The left hand thumbrest and the neckstrap ring are also in slightly different positions from those found on most sopranos, with the thumbrest offset slightly counterclockwise (right) of center, and the neckstrap ring offset slightly in the clockwise (leftward) direction.
I think that this setup aids helps better balance the horn, but it also makes it such that the neckstrap, when used, must pass under your left thumb. I usually play with a neckstrap (for stability), and I found that my normal strap didn't work very well and tended to interfere with my use of the octave key. However, this problem was ameliorated by using the Balam strap that I normally use to play tenor. It's overkill for the soprano, but it works. - The placement of the right-hand side keys is perfect. I have relatively big hands and, as a result, I've never played any horn on which I didn't feel it necessary to build up these side keys (sopranos tend to be especially problematic) but on this horn, they fall right under my right palm. This is ideal for me, but it means that these side keys may be a bit too high for players with smaller hands.
- As on all SX90s, the left hand palm keys are adjustable, so these also work very well for me. However, the F palm key sits a bit to close to the LH key stack and I found it really easy to accidentally hit it. My solution was to remove the jam nut and lower the touchpiece as far as possible into its receiver. The friction should be enough to keep it in place without the jam nut, but I added some clear nail polish on the threads for good measure.
- With this setup I can easily hit the palm and side keys without removing my fingers from the key pearls or otherwise contorting my hands.
- The left hand spatula is flatter and closer to the saxophone body than on other horns, while the right-hand (Eb/C) spatula is considerably deeper (more concave) than on most other horns. I think both of these designs work very well.
- The pearls on the stack keys are concave, while the bis key pearl is convex and very thick. As a result, I found that I would frequently let the B key leak when fingering bis Bb on rapid passages. My solution was to modify the bis pearl (by filing, sanding, and polishing) so that its upper edge better matches the edge thickness of the B key pearl.
Setup
I know that Matthew's went over the horn (e.g., removed cork wedges, checked for leaks, etc.) before shipping it out, but I'm not sure how much setup they did. In any event, the details belowlikely include elements of the setup done by both Keilwerth and Matthew's.
- I individually checked each key for lateral and torsional play and only found one (the auxilary C#2 key near the top of the left-hand stack) that had any discernable movement. In my experience, this is very good for a new horn.
- The tension on the stack key springs was very even and perfectly set.
- The LH palm keys, however were under far too much tension, as were left-hand spatula B key and the the right hand spatula Eb key.
- There was a minor timing leak in the right-hand stack; one that wasn't noticeable until I got the leak light out. I suspect it resulted from expansion of pad felts and/or timing corks over the wait between when Matthew's checked the horn and when I recieved it. I noticed that, as with most new horns, the pads were set up to have pretty deep seats, so this was bound to happen over time.
Value
Now for the main question: is the horn worth the price?
This is a difficult question to answer definitively because everyone's threshold is different.
Personally, it's the best soprano that I've ever played, but it's also quite expensive. I have it insured, and I can say that if something happened to it and a copy was available locally (or in stock online) at the price I paid for it, I wouldn't hesitate to replace it.
However, if I knew that I had to deal with 11 months or more of hassle and repeated delays again (as detailed in this thread), I would probably try to make do with a different horn.