[queperknuckle]

My alto basically has good intonation. However, in big band practice I ran into problems because my Eb was playing sharp. I was trying a Meyer 6M that day. It was very embarrassing as the band director stopped practice and I just couldn't get the note to play in tune. I went home and pulled out my tuner. The horn was just way to hard to control, so I plopped my selmer super session F. Wala! I could control the intonation much better. The horn actually plays in tune pretty well with this piece and I couldn't explain why.

I noticed a big difference between this Pierret alto and my old Selmer Reference. The selmer locked onto a note. When you played it, it was either in tune or out of tune. Even if my em brochure got tired, it still "locked" in. With this horn, just the slightest change of em brochure can cause a note to go out of whack. I have to really control my em brochure on every note. What causes this difference? Is this a common difference between vintage and modern horns?

 

[Dave Dolson]

Not just vintage vs. modern - it is common among all makes of saxophones . . . some are out of tune, others have better intonation. AND, some mouthpieces will aid intonation, others will make you fight it.

I think the only thing that is consistent is that no one plays a mouthpiece and a saxophone the same way. What might work for me may not work for you. My Meyer 6S-M and my Super Session F both play fine - for me, on a variety of vintage and modern altos.

I am not familiar with the one horn you mentioned, but my Ref 54 alto plays SO easy, and yes the intonation is easy to control (but so are my vintage altos). DAVE