[14470]

I still use my Martin Magna all the time, it is better for certain gigs than the Flamingo is. It is definitely louder than the selmer.

Just a friendly teaser and the company certainly first class. Still unclear why not more well known players in the past chose Martin.

 

[akumaJFR]

This is pure conjecture on my part, but perhaps those players who used Martins and then switched were drawn to more flexibility in tone? Maybe? As has been previously mentioned, Martins have a very distinctive tone all by themselves. It's big, bold, and thick. Obviously tone mostly comes from the player, but perhaps those players were looking to make the horn more transparent, and bring more of their own sound to the forefront. Again, just shooting in the dark here.

 

[Thomsax]

"The one "brand name" Martin recording I'd like to hear someday is the demonstration cd Bob Ackerman did for the Saxophone magazine--anybody have it?"

Send me an e-mail if you can't fet the CD from anyone in US.

thomsax@hotmail.com

 

[rleitch]

WE FORGOT MR. LUCKY!!!:shock:

 

[Bootman]

I am enjoying the trip of exploring the Magna, Flamingo and Conn tranny here. I cant say which one is better because each is fantastic in their own way. The main argument that players have that modern horns have better ergonomics isn't something that I have found at all. I feel much more comfortable on the older keyowrk and have no issue with playing fast on any well set-up and overhauled vintage sax. Most players who complain about vintage keywork will have other issues such as finger placement, poor wrist and hand position, dropping head (poorly adjusted neck strap) as the main culprit to their supposed keywork issues.

I took the Flamingo to a Jump Boogie gig last night and felt that I couldn't be heard, even when on mic. I wished I had the Magna on that gig just for issues of extreme volume. I spoke to other band members and audience who told me that they could hear the horn clear as a bell out the front. My perspective on the sound last night was obviously not what it should have been. The Flamingo sounded fantastic.

Today I took the Tranny tenor out and it also soudned fantastic, loud, resonant and room filling with ease. Tomorrow it will be back to my favourite Sax, the Magna so I can work out why I prefer this horn. My biggest problem I have here is which horn do I take becaus ethe reality is that they are all fantastic, just slightly different to each other and other band members cant really tell the difference anyway.

 

[Jacques5646]

This thread has taken huge proportion and is a proof of the emotional value attached to our lovely (generally) curved instrument. Thanks to you all and keep contributing. After that I decently cannot stay inert on my stool and shall take the plundge next monday: a friend of mine identified one of the rare Martin owners in this corner of the world, who accepted to have me trying it for a couple of days. I'll thus be a guest to your club and this will be my honour.

 

[candiceartisan]

Two days ago I received my fifth Martin horn. A 1939 Comm II tenor. What a player! Easy blowing, dark, lush. The man I bought it from also sent a vintage Otto Link Tone Master piece. I'm in heaven!
Candy

 

[WarrenScottRobertson]

There are many well known, published photos of Hank with a The Martin Committee Tenor, some of which can be viewed in the book MASTERS OF JAZZ SAXOPHONE by Dave Gelly.

He switched later in life to a Selmer, but his early career was with the Martin.

And then may be at one session switched back

 

[BH9]

No question about that one.

It's a mystery that not more played the Martin saxes. On trumpet, Martin Committee III was and still is the horn to have. Most of the greats played the Martin trumpets, including Miles.

And maybe that's it? If John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins had chosen to play Martins, would our horns be worth a lot more money now?

 

[paulwl]

Does anybody consider the endorsement issue? Selmer was just better at getting their horns into the hands of more name players - and their horns were as good as any others, and better than most new horns in the 50s and 60s. There may have been peer pressure working in their favor as well, especially in New York, where an up and coming player really needed to stay with the crowd to rise to the top of it.

 

[Hornlip]

[ . . . ] And maybe that's it? If John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins had chosen to play Martins, would our horns be worth a lot more money now?

Yes. Especially Coletrane. If you were a younger player getting into jazz, you might not look any farther than what he was playing. If Coletrane played Martins, that company might still be in business!!

Celebrity endorsements, or just accidental association, can really light a fire under sales. The only reason the Rickenbacker guitar company is still in business is probably because John Lennon happened to pick one up in Hamburg, Germany, even before the Beatles got big in England. After they got big, other bands (like The Byrds, The Who, Etc Etc) started playing Ricks, too. The company was never a giant in terms of sales (they were always on the expensive side), but they've still got a persistent niche market. Same goes for the Vox amplifier company - it's what they Beatles played!! They're still around. Even that Hohner bass guitar, with the faux - bass fiddle body, that Paul played in the early days is still being made.

Does anybody consider the endorsement issue? Selmer was just better at getting their horns into the hands of more name players - and their horns were as good as any others, and better than most new horns in the 50s and 60s. There may have been peer pressure working in their favor as well, especially in New York, where an up and coming player really needed to stay with the crowd to rise to the top of it.

I once knew an old guy who was a young session player in New York starting about the mid '50s. He had a new Martin alto, and he preferred it to Selmer's horns. He said that he quickly learned from other players that the fact he wasn't playing a Selmer could hurt his ability to get work. The interesting thing was that this was partly on account of the Selmer players themselves, but also because that for whatever reason a number of the major producers for the various kinds of studio work he was pursuing had decided the only horn serious saxophonists played were Selmers, and they would actually ask what you were playing as a quick and dirty rule-of-thumb for new faces. He said he found it all ridiculous, but he didn't want to risk losing work so he got a Mark VI.

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

And then may be at one session switched back

Nice find!

 

[BH9]

Who sounds better than Lucky Thompson?

 

[paulwl]

Damn few.

BTW, my 102k Typewriter tenor is easily the sweetest blowing tenor I own. It has other facets too but no tenor I know plays this easily and richly in the low end.

 

[arkinet]

Just got back my martin stencil (Reynolds "official musicman") from the shop, and man, theres just something about the sound, the core and depth. Makes me think about selling my s20.

 

[saxphil]

Just got back my martin stencil (Reynolds "official musicman") from the shop, and man, theres just something about the sound, the core and depth. Makes me think about selling my s20.

I get what you are saying.
The same applies to various Martin tenors that I own, the best of it is .. they cost much less.

 

[arkinet]

I get what you are saying.
The same applies to various Martin tenors that I own, the best of it is .. they cost much less.

I cant overlook how fast and smooth the s20 plays though. I will try to keep both as long as I can

 

[olhonker]

I think Tex Beneke was on Martin payroll, and played Martin Tenor.

 

[BH9]

Is that a point for, or a point against?

 

[BH9]

I know that at one point, for maybe a parallel, if you played electric bass in a studio, the engineer and producer expected it to be a Fender. It was something they knew, they knew how to get a sound out of it, so why waste time (money) on trying something else?

Someone already mentioned this aspect of it, I think. For bass players, that was true for a long time. Fenders were expected.