[supersonic]

Last week got a Zephyr Special Tenor 237*** beautiful horn

after some days playing it I think it has a very "vintage" /old Sound

dont know how to explain It sounds much more vintage then my Super 20 300***

I like that it is slimmer then the S20 but I dont like that old school-Sound

Are the Zephyr Tenors known for that Sound

 

[Sax Magic]

The Zephyrs prior to 280xxx and the Zephyr Specials have a different bore. After 280xxx the bore is like the Super 20 bore. The early Zephyrs are fine horns, and many people around here like them. Those who prefer the Super 20 sound often find a Zephyr between 285xxx and 350xxx to their liking, both tenor and alto.
Those who play the tenors can add more information, but I hope I have been some help.
Sax Magic

 

[JayeLID]

I have read it was lower than 285,XXX...more like 275,XXX....

There were 3 different Zephyr bodies so one cannot really say "that Zephyr sound".

The older ones are basically Voll-True II bodies, more or less. It's really a radically different body design than the middle and late period Zephs (middle = the ones SM refers to).
Late = they got redesigned again (sadly, dumbed-down somewhat) in the mid '60's when production moved to Eastlake....that would be around 400,XXX. But even then they still aren't bad horns....

Did you buy the Zephyr because you expected it to sound like your Super 20 ? Because, as SM noted....there is a fairly narrow range of Zephyrs which do that.

IMHO, I like the old Zephs and VT-II's because their sound was really, really unique...breathy....old-school I agree, but a very very sexy version of old-school. I cannot think of another model which ever had that sound.....

if I were you I'd give it some time, and don't make such a quick judgment on it. That sonic paradigm is really one unto itself.

 

[saxphil]

The Zephyrs prior to 280xxx and the Zephyr Specials have a different bore. After 280xxx the bore is like the Super 20 bore. The early Zephyrs are fine horns, and many people around here like them. Those who prefer the Super 20 sound often find a Zephyr between 285xxx and 350xxx to their liking, both tenor and alto.
Those who play the tenors can add more information, but I hope I have been some help.
Sax Magic

I prefer the Zephyr tenors that have body specs & sound similar to the S20.

I put the desired range for such Zephyr tenors between serials 280xxx - roughly 370xxx(before cheapened nickel plated keywork)
My stash of Zephyr tenors all fall within this range.

Four of them 281xxx, 299xxx, 305xxx, 358xxx. I love Kings.

 

[TurtleJimmy]

I just played a Zephyr Special that's for sale here locally and it sounded very different than my Eastlake Super 20. It's a beautiful horn, with pearls everywhere, even on the palm keys. I'll have to go back and see what the serial # is, but I found it to be darker overall and a whole different vibe. Even though it was a lot different than the Super 20, I liked the sound quite a bit. I'll agree with JayePDX here ... a completely unique sound.

I played the Zephyr next to a '68 Mark VI and a gold plated Conn Chu Berry ... Both horns that were a whole lot more expensive than the Zeph. They were all great sounding tenors, you'd have to use your own taste to decide between them. The Zephyr Special was certainly the great bargain, and they're probably underrated horns overall.


Turtle

 

[NissanVintageSax]

Zephyrs, any of them, are as unique as their name! I owned a late Eastlake, in which I had a custom Copper Gloger neck, with underslung octave, made for it. It had a unique tone that grows on ya. Had I kept it, I would have had a complete overhaul done to it. I wound up selling it, not on tone, but on a low C# key that was insanely stiff!

 

[Jazzaferri]

I have read that Zephyrs between 280,000 and 285,000 are the same body as the series 1 S20's.

 

[bluto]

Congrats on your ZS! I'd imagine that you can influence the sound of your Zephyr with a different mouthpiece/reed combination. My Zephyr (#278XXX) is probably a transitional model. It has the full floral engraving of the S20/ZS on the bell and bow sans the "Super 20", S20 bell to body brace, key cup engravings, but the wire pants guards and standard Zephyr neck. It definitely responds differently to different mpc/reed combinations. I also find that taking in a bit more mouthpiece than I usually do on my other saxophones gives more focus and projection - perhaps a little less "vintage". YMMV.

Matt Stohrer , a.k.a. abadcliche on SOTW, posted an opinion about the sound of ZS's (#13) on this thread:
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?218888-Vintage-zephyr-tenors
I like saxphil's opinions on King's as well.

Just to add to the model change conjecture: There have been some previous discussions about "transitional" saxophones produced from the time the S20 was introduced (#272,000). Here is what Saxpics has to say on the topic and the comments include sound comparison:

From 275K till about 305K the Zephyrs (IMHO) are the same horn as the S20 except for the keyguards, the neck brace and octave key, and the cosmetics (pearls and key engraving). I have determined that the necks are interchangable and play well back and forth and all the keywork is identical as far as I can tell. I have played a 278K S20 vs. my 281K Zephyr w/silver neck and both I, several spectators and the owner of the S20 could not hear or feel a difference...needless to say, he paid more for his horn; we both acquired these within the past two years.

http://www.saxpics.com/?v=mod&modID=21

 

[Jazzaferri]

The Zephyr mystique thickens ....lol

 

[NissanVintageSax]

The Zephyr is aptly named! It seemed to be caught up in purgatory! While the Suoer 20 got tgeclatest and greatest, the Zephyr was left to be some sort of hybrid middle ground between the Super 20 and Cleveland.

 

[saxphil]

the Zephyr was left to be some sort of hybrid middle ground between the Super 20 and Cleveland.

Perth saxman Carl Mackey sounds great on his Zephyr tenor, check him at 2:32 here:

 

[TurtleJimmy]

I just played a Zephyr Special that's for sale here locally and it sounded very different than my Eastlake Super 20.

I need to amend this ...... I took my Super 20 in and demoed it side by side with the Zephyr Special and they sounded remarkably similar. I think it's my practice room that's brighter. What a gorgeous Zephyr ... Most of its lacquer remaining that's gone to a dark honey color, with full pearls and a silver underslung neck.

Turtle

 

[WarrenScottRobertson]

I need to amend this ...... I took my Super 20 in and demoed it side by side with the Zephyr Special and they sounded remarkably similar. I think it's my practice room that's brighter. What a gorgeous Zephyr ... Most of its lacquer remaining that's gone to a dark honey color, with full pearls and a silver underslung neck.

Turtle

go on, get it!

 

[TurtleJimmy]

I was considering a trade for the Super 20, but the sound was so similar, I decided to keep my Super 20, which I've already bonded with and which has a slightly better pinky table. I thought the Zephyr had just a little more edge to the sound, just a little bit. That's quite a few years between them (1945 for the Zeph and early 1970's for the Super 20) for them to sound so alike.


Turtle