I hear someone's getting a new toy ...
- Thread starter pete
- Start date
And.................
Who is this "someone" and what is this thing you call "toy"? :???:
Who is this "someone" and what is this thing you call "toy"? :???:
It's me, but it's not here yet. And there's the definite possibility I'll have to learn to play it first! More will be coming soon.
http://woodwindforum.com/forums/album.php?albumid=9
This is the finished product. There are a few "under construction" pics, but Randy said that he wanted to get permission to repost those. THOSE are kewl.
BTB, this reminds me that I have to increase the max size of the album pics ....
Cookie (OK, rep points) to the person that can say WHY this one-up's Gandalfe's toy.
This is the finished product. There are a few "under construction" pics, but Randy said that he wanted to get permission to repost those. THOSE are kewl.
BTB, this reminds me that I have to increase the max size of the album pics ....
Cookie (OK, rep points) to the person that can say WHY this one-up's Gandalfe's toy.
Much gooder. Size now set to 1024x768 for users. 6000x6000 for mods and admins. (If you want to take advantage of the new sizes, you have to re-up the pics.)
How would one operate such a monster without a compressor of some sort?
Bass sax is not all that more demanding in this area than a baritone, so contra-bass, while a bit of a stretch, would certainly be within the realm of the possible.
The contra-bass saxophone chiefly has novelty value, and in that it has served the Nuclear Whales well. I've got the story of the "discovery" of their contra-bass somewhere, but have only heard it played on two or three occasions, all far in the past.
Incidentally, the Nuclear Whales seem to have gone inactive in recent years. I believe that one of their female members died a while back, and their website showed signs of not being updated in some time the last time that I visited.
The contra-bass saxophone chiefly has novelty value, and in that it has served the Nuclear Whales well. I've got the story of the "discovery" of their contra-bass somewhere, but have only heard it played on two or three occasions, all far in the past.
Incidentally, the Nuclear Whales seem to have gone inactive in recent years. I believe that one of their female members died a while back, and their website showed signs of not being updated in some time the last time that I visited.
I'm guessing that I'm not allowed to guess as I already know the answer.pete said:
I think I heard somewhere that Ann (Nuclear Whales) had died. Can't find it on the internet right now and my 1 PM lesson just arrived.
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Yes, Ann did pass away in 1999.
http://www.ann.merrell.org/
A list of current members can be found here:
http://www.nuclearwhales.com/info.htm
http://www.ann.merrell.org/
A list of current members can be found here:
http://www.nuclearwhales.com/info.htm
I think that was posted here a few months back. On could always go to http://www.nuclearwhales.com/contact3.htm ....
BTB, Randy already has an Eb Tubax. I think we can safely call him "Teh King of GAS."
I'm actually quite excited for him and looking forward to a report.
And no, Jim, I won't give you extra points on the one-upsmanship. I'm hopening that you know why -- beyond the fact that it's a contra, of course.
It's here!
My Eppelsheim Eb contrabass saxophone arrived today. No problems, and it played perfectly right out of the box, and it's fantastic! I've only spent about an hour with it, but here are my initial impressions:
It uses the same mouthpieces as my Eppelsheim bass saxophone, and I had already done extensive experimenting with bass sax mouthpieces, so I was already familiar with the "front end" of the horn.
It's easier to play than I had anticipated. It's at least as easy as a bass saxophone. The tone using the large chamber mouthpiece is lush and very musical. The mouthpieces with a higher baffle work better on the contrabass than on the bass, at least for me. They add various degrees of edge and flexibility is still pretty good. The contrabass is a pretty loud horn, however, louder than a Tubax, and I probably will stick with the darker sound.
As with all of Eppelsheim's big horns, keywork goes up to high F# with an additional "altissimo valve" for playing even higher. The new contrabass has a low A key, something completely new on contrabass saxophones. Also typical of the work of this maker, there are no bad notes on the horn. This is also new in the world of contrabasses, as the 1920s contras and the modern Orsi contras were very problematic.
Benedikt Eppelsheim has helped with the development of the new LeGere bass sax reeds, and he sent me some with the horn. They are excellent, maybe the best bass sax reeds yet.
My Eppelsheim Eb contrabass saxophone arrived today. No problems, and it played perfectly right out of the box, and it's fantastic! I've only spent about an hour with it, but here are my initial impressions:
It uses the same mouthpieces as my Eppelsheim bass saxophone, and I had already done extensive experimenting with bass sax mouthpieces, so I was already familiar with the "front end" of the horn.
It's easier to play than I had anticipated. It's at least as easy as a bass saxophone. The tone using the large chamber mouthpiece is lush and very musical. The mouthpieces with a higher baffle work better on the contrabass than on the bass, at least for me. They add various degrees of edge and flexibility is still pretty good. The contrabass is a pretty loud horn, however, louder than a Tubax, and I probably will stick with the darker sound.
As with all of Eppelsheim's big horns, keywork goes up to high F# with an additional "altissimo valve" for playing even higher. The new contrabass has a low A key, something completely new on contrabass saxophones. Also typical of the work of this maker, there are no bad notes on the horn. This is also new in the world of contrabasses, as the 1920s contras and the modern Orsi contras were very problematic.
Benedikt Eppelsheim has helped with the development of the new LeGere bass sax reeds, and he sent me some with the horn. They are excellent, maybe the best bass sax reeds yet.
Pictures would be nice. I suspect sound clip will soon be available. This should quell the notion that new bass sax and contrabass saxes don't sound as good as the vintage ones.
I'm keen to try the Legere bass sax reeds too. Merlin hooked me up with Guy Legere on facebook. That may turn out to be interesting opportunity to talk to the man.
I'm keen to try the Legere bass sax reeds too. Merlin hooked me up with Guy Legere on facebook. That may turn out to be interesting opportunity to talk to the man.
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Groovekiller: Congrats. I read the other thread about the Eb Tubax and your comments there. I also checked the links to the Epplesheim web-site and checked out the various photos. Interesting!
Now I see this thread. I'm wondering why, after already having and liking the Tubax, that you went for this monster, too? Will you keep both? Use both? Under what circumstances?
No criticism (I totally understand GAS and the "need" to buy a bunch of horns even if the purchases seem to duplicate something already in the closet) - I'm just curious. DAVE
Now I see this thread. I'm wondering why, after already having and liking the Tubax, that you went for this monster, too? Will you keep both? Use both? Under what circumstances?
No criticism (I totally understand GAS and the "need" to buy a bunch of horns even if the purchases seem to duplicate something already in the closet) - I'm just curious. DAVE
http://woodwindforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11478&postcount=6
-100 rep points for not reading posts from an Admin
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Hey, I was gonna string Helen and Jim along for awhile!Goovekiller said:
I actually think the low A key is more a necessity for the contra, than a low A or G for the bass. Hey, it's concert C.
I was wondering, a bit, if Mr. E was going to try to do an integrated mouthpiece, like he did on the Soprillo. There's no real reason for that on the contra.
I, too, am interested in what you're going to do with the Eb Tubax.
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