Sonora alto
I fancied an alto to go with my tenor and sop so I went to eBay and found a Sonora alto for auction. These ex East German horns attract mixed opinions but I only wanted it to play around with at home and for the vary rare gigs I get on alto so if I could get it for a good price it'd do for what I wanted. I put in my best price which none of the other 20 bids bettered and I won it for £113.
I didn't have great expectations for my purchase but what arrived was a pleasant surprise. The case looks kind of old fashioned but I reckon you could jump up and down on it without doing it harm and it's actually quite nicely finished in a brown mock leather fabric. The sax, serial number 69295, isn't a bad looker with its brass body and chromed steel rods and touch pieces, but the bell brace is awful, whoever thought that up should have been consigned to the gulag. It uses full point screws, so adjustment is available, and steel resonators but apart from the neck there's no cork anywhere. All the spacers and silencers are black rubber. It looks and feels really solid, built to last. I don't know what the average alto sax weighs, but at 2.4Kg, this is one hefty sax and I'll be interested to compare it's weight with other altos in my concert band. It was crying out for some TLC so I gave it a good lube job, a new neck cork, fixed a couple of leaks, lightly doped the pads which were very dry from lack of use, and after a few minutes with a cleaning cloth it was ready for a mouthpiece.
It came with a Weltklang 170 mouthpiece, but while I was waiting for it I managed to pick up a Selmer S80 C* locally so I put a Vandoren 2½ on it to have my first blow on the horn. The tone is quite dark which must be something to do with its weight I guess, since the metal must be quite a bit thicker than average to make it so heavy. Tuning is exceptionally good, with middle C spot high C is also spot on and low C is just -5 Cents. The action is quite heavy which may be something to do with the use of rubber instead of cork, but on the upside it's the quietest sax I think I've ever played, so maybe I'll live with the rubber. The action is very positive though and the pads close with a reassuring plop. I've just got to find a good reed for it/me now and it'll be good old reliable Gonzalez I think, the same as I use on tenor.
So all in all, for an alto sax that cost me a darn sight less than my tenor mouthpiece I'm pretty pleased with it. I think this Sonora is a cut above student quality and may even justifiably be described as an intermediate quality horn.
PS: If anyone can help with a year of manufacture from the serial number I'd be very grateful - I can't find any references.
I fancied an alto to go with my tenor and sop so I went to eBay and found a Sonora alto for auction. These ex East German horns attract mixed opinions but I only wanted it to play around with at home and for the vary rare gigs I get on alto so if I could get it for a good price it'd do for what I wanted. I put in my best price which none of the other 20 bids bettered and I won it for £113.
I didn't have great expectations for my purchase but what arrived was a pleasant surprise. The case looks kind of old fashioned but I reckon you could jump up and down on it without doing it harm and it's actually quite nicely finished in a brown mock leather fabric. The sax, serial number 69295, isn't a bad looker with its brass body and chromed steel rods and touch pieces, but the bell brace is awful, whoever thought that up should have been consigned to the gulag. It uses full point screws, so adjustment is available, and steel resonators but apart from the neck there's no cork anywhere. All the spacers and silencers are black rubber. It looks and feels really solid, built to last. I don't know what the average alto sax weighs, but at 2.4Kg, this is one hefty sax and I'll be interested to compare it's weight with other altos in my concert band. It was crying out for some TLC so I gave it a good lube job, a new neck cork, fixed a couple of leaks, lightly doped the pads which were very dry from lack of use, and after a few minutes with a cleaning cloth it was ready for a mouthpiece.
It came with a Weltklang 170 mouthpiece, but while I was waiting for it I managed to pick up a Selmer S80 C* locally so I put a Vandoren 2½ on it to have my first blow on the horn. The tone is quite dark which must be something to do with its weight I guess, since the metal must be quite a bit thicker than average to make it so heavy. Tuning is exceptionally good, with middle C spot high C is also spot on and low C is just -5 Cents. The action is quite heavy which may be something to do with the use of rubber instead of cork, but on the upside it's the quietest sax I think I've ever played, so maybe I'll live with the rubber. The action is very positive though and the pads close with a reassuring plop. I've just got to find a good reed for it/me now and it'll be good old reliable Gonzalez I think, the same as I use on tenor.
So all in all, for an alto sax that cost me a darn sight less than my tenor mouthpiece I'm pretty pleased with it. I think this Sonora is a cut above student quality and may even justifiably be described as an intermediate quality horn.
PS: If anyone can help with a year of manufacture from the serial number I'd be very grateful - I can't find any references.
