Anyone who knows me, or has read anything on my website, likely knows that I am a vintage sax player. Have been, and always will be... Well almost.
In September I had the opportunity to play-test a horn that I've been curious about for years: A Shadow tenor by Keilwerth.
How this happened was really a fluke. My friend and I were visiting our favourite music store in Bellingham, WA. He was on the hunt for a new flute. Me? Whenever I go to Wind Works I really go to check out their vintage Dukoff mouthpieces--still looking for a nice bari piece--and try their vintage consignment horns.
Although the shop had no bari Dukoffs in stock, they did have a totally customized Dukoff tenor that was done by Bob Carpenter himself. Since their consignment tenor stock was rather boring at that moment, I opted instead to try the Shadow tenor that was on the wall. I was not prepared at all for what was about to happen.
Since I was staying in the US for a few days, I bought the Carpenter-refaced Dukoff and went away to think things through. After a few text messages with someone I know at JK, and other JK players, I decided that I would stop at the shop on my way back home.
Another 2 hours of play-testing with different more and different reeds; and having the horn regulated by their head tech, my original thoughts were confirmed: The SX90R Shadow leaves all my other tenors in the dust. It had the sound of a vintage horn, yet had the ergos of a modern horn. I could already do stuff on it that I couldn't do on my my horns that I've had for 30+ years! Here's the thing, that's not b/c any of my other horns are bad, but because the Shadow is so effortless.
For example, G3 is a bitch to play on many tenors. On my Mark VI, it is the hardest altissimo note to hit. On the Shadow it plays just like a regular note.
I ended up buying the Shadow, and it has joined the rest of its Keilwerth saxophone family members in their stands.
If you ever have a chance to try a Shadow, either new or used, you owe it to yourself to try it. If for no other reason than to see what true handcraftsmanship in modern saxophone building is capable of producing. They may look like pieces of art, but they are hard-working tools that will truly last a lifetime +.
I will be writing a full review of it in the coming weeks, and comparing it to its Toneking cousin from 1957. I'd also like to compare it to a SX90R in lacquer that a local shop has in stock.
In the meantime, the Shadow has become my main tenor. I use it when I sub for the Tenor 1 in a swing band, and I've used it for educational workshops in schools.
In September I had the opportunity to play-test a horn that I've been curious about for years: A Shadow tenor by Keilwerth.
How this happened was really a fluke. My friend and I were visiting our favourite music store in Bellingham, WA. He was on the hunt for a new flute. Me? Whenever I go to Wind Works I really go to check out their vintage Dukoff mouthpieces--still looking for a nice bari piece--and try their vintage consignment horns.
Although the shop had no bari Dukoffs in stock, they did have a totally customized Dukoff tenor that was done by Bob Carpenter himself. Since their consignment tenor stock was rather boring at that moment, I opted instead to try the Shadow tenor that was on the wall. I was not prepared at all for what was about to happen.
- The Shadow responded instantly to my airstream;
- The horn was 100% in-tune when played anywhere from fff to ppp ;
- The sax played with no resistance;
- The tenor subtoned effortlessly down to low Bb;
- It played 100% evenly across the entire range of the horn;
- The Shadow had lightning-quick key action;
- The horn was ergonomically so intuitive, it felt like I’d been playing it for years, not mere minutes.
Since I was staying in the US for a few days, I bought the Carpenter-refaced Dukoff and went away to think things through. After a few text messages with someone I know at JK, and other JK players, I decided that I would stop at the shop on my way back home.
Another 2 hours of play-testing with different more and different reeds; and having the horn regulated by their head tech, my original thoughts were confirmed: The SX90R Shadow leaves all my other tenors in the dust. It had the sound of a vintage horn, yet had the ergos of a modern horn. I could already do stuff on it that I couldn't do on my my horns that I've had for 30+ years! Here's the thing, that's not b/c any of my other horns are bad, but because the Shadow is so effortless.
For example, G3 is a bitch to play on many tenors. On my Mark VI, it is the hardest altissimo note to hit. On the Shadow it plays just like a regular note.
I ended up buying the Shadow, and it has joined the rest of its Keilwerth saxophone family members in their stands.
If you ever have a chance to try a Shadow, either new or used, you owe it to yourself to try it. If for no other reason than to see what true handcraftsmanship in modern saxophone building is capable of producing. They may look like pieces of art, but they are hard-working tools that will truly last a lifetime +.
I will be writing a full review of it in the coming weeks, and comparing it to its Toneking cousin from 1957. I'd also like to compare it to a SX90R in lacquer that a local shop has in stock.
In the meantime, the Shadow has become my main tenor. I use it when I sub for the Tenor 1 in a swing band, and I've used it for educational workshops in schools.
