Dave dix said:
Forget the indiana and go for the 1941 buescher big B as it will have the best action and intonation then either conn (1936 and 1937 )
Dave
Is that an early Big B with the small bell, or does it have the larger bell? I played them both, and my personal preference for a jazz sound was the one with the larger bell flare. Anyway, they were both great instruments, excellent sound, and the action was perfect for me, compared to the 10M which I also played, and although it was ok and capable of playing fast the action was larger and a bit less comfortable/ergonomic than the Bueschers, and took a little more air support to play because the 10M is a monster tenor! I have never played an Indiana tenor, only an alto and I have a feeling that since it is a little more delicately built than the Buescher Aristocrats were, it is more inclined to give mechanical problems, esp. being a tenor (I heard something about an octave mechanism problem in some of the Martin tenors somewhere...) I had a Buescher Big B (156) alto and now play a Martin Indiana alto and the Buescher was built like a tank, so solid... (never got the alto repadded and sold it on ebay to someone who ended up being a sotw member.) My Martin does not have the same solid construction, great action, or intonation that the Bueschers did. However, to me they both sound great and offer a different voice...
btw - I want to visit Latvia... my mother is from Riga.
