Why did you chose the model of instrument you play?

Gandalfe

Gandalfe

Striving to play the changes in a melodic way.
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I was thinking the other day about the number of people who select an instrument based on it's price, especially when they go for really cheap instruments. Why did you chose the instrument you are playing today?
A canonical story: My wife decided to return to playing clarinet after a 25 break in playing. She pulled out her student instrument and started noodling around. She had been a stellar musician in the high school band so I knew she was serious and I had started up a little over a year before her (but on sax).

I went to my friend QuinnTheEskimo and asked him what he had in the way of a professional clarinet and he let me try a Buffet R13 Festival. So the next day I walked in a sprung it on Suzy. She immediately asked why she needed a new (well used actually) instrument.

So I had her play a scale for the full range of the clarinet on her student instrument. I carefully wrote down the variation in pitch making sure that she couldn't see the tuner results. Then I had her do the same with the Buffet. The difference in intonation was astonishing, even to a returning musician who hadn't played in years. And the beauty and improved ergonomics of the instrument made it a slam dunk.

I often wonder what would have happened if she'd just used the student instrument. In the following five years she has added the following instruments to her skill set: Eb, Bb, A, C sop clarinet, Eb alto, Bb bass clarinet, soprillo through bari sax, some flute, oboe, and English horn. My wife is very passionate about music and is often called upon to sub because she has great sight reading skills.
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Okay, so what is your story? :cool:
 
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Clarinet choice

I ended up with an R13 Bb clarinet (in 1982) because that's what my clarinet teacher recommended for his "serious" students. He went to France every couple of years and picked them out. This is actually the second one I got from him--I sold the first one when I left college and needed the money, then started up again several years later and bought another one. It has served me well ever since.

I'll be buying a bass clarinet one of these days, and will probably end up with a Kessler because (1) that's all I can afford in a low-C instrument, and (2) I've heard good things about it from people I trust.
 
I wanted to start a music instrument in my late 30s (having played trumpet, tenor horn and tuba as a schoolboy, I chose clarinet to restart taking pity on the neighbours)

To try it, I borrowed my ex-wifes student instrument, unplayed for 20 years! I enjoyed it and wanted to continue.

My grandfather died at that time. He was a carpenter by trade. I grew up working with wood and making dovetail joints before I was ten! He left me some money and I wanted something made of wood to buy with it.

I went to a music store, then, happy to buy whatever I liked and had no care of the cost. I had no knowledge of instrument makes, and was still a beginner player. I bought the clarinet that sounded best to me, and looked like a beautiful piece of wood. It is a Leblanc Opus, unstained. I treasure it and think of my grandad every time I play it.

The saxes are another story...
Chris
 
So the saxes...

In the spirit of keeping to topic, my first sax was an alto that I don't play now (it is in the Yani A600 in the gallery on this website)

I wanted to get a tenor sax, and again ignorant of makes and models but keen to get a pro-level sax at student level prices, I started reading around and seeing what the "sleepers" were. Up popped the name Couesnon.

I saw a tenor on Ebay and bid for it, but did not get it. This was in the day when everyone could see who the bidders were in the auction summary.

I then got a cold call, through ebay (naughty, I know), from someone who said they noticed that I had bid, and failed, and that they had a Couesnon the same that they would sell to me if I wanted. If the email had stopped there, I would have hit the delete button immediately, but it went on. The seller was on SOTW, and had bought it from another SOTW person. I had the threads of that sale from the marketplace postings, and was able to contact the initial seller, who had no axe to grind at all, and is a very trusted seller on SOTW (William Bua) for an appraisal of the instrument.

98% sure everything was good, I bought the sax and gave it to my tech to set up for me.

He liked it so much he reviewed it on his web site:
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk/Reviews/Saxes/Tenor/Couesnon_Monopole_II_tenor.htm
If you have the Haynes Manual - you will see a picture of it on page 17!

I liked it so much, I bought an alto to match. And that is the alto I play now

I liked them so much, I bought a bari and soprano and clarinets to match too...

Now the melody clarinets - that is another story

Chris
 
My first instrument I was given lessons on was piano. I hated it because I was forced to play. I finally wheedled my way out of it a few months later.

In fifth grade (or so), I was told that I could join the band and start taking beginning lessons on the instrument of my choosing. I chose trombone. I was then "tested" on it by being given a trombone mouthpiece and told to make a sound. I didn't. I was then told to choose another instrument. I chose clarinet, because my grandfather played one many, many years ago. And I could make a sound out of it.

I played clarinet for about a year and rather hated it because, while the horn I got was a shiny new Signet (in plastic!) it came with a POS Bundy mouthpiece. Neither I, nor my clarinet teacher (whose main axe was flute, IIRC) knew you could SWAP OUT the mouthpiece.

In eighth grade, I was told that I needed to start taking an "elective" class. Band was offered and I played Bb clarinet for the rest of 8th grade and part of 9th. In the middlish part of 9th, I was told that there was an opening for bass clarinet and the school would provide a horn. So, I played bass.

In 10th grade, I was told they needed a bari sax player -- and the school would provide a horn. I said that I'd give it a shot. But the horn was in terrible disrepair. They bought a new Selmer USA (read: "Bundy") for me and I played that for the rest of the year -- and did a NYSSMA audition on it, about four months after I started playing (I got a B on a grade 6 piece, if that means anything to anyone).

About the middle of 11th grade, I transferred schools. Again. They had bari players, so I was told I could switch to something else. I played tenor for awhile and then switched to contrabass clarinet. I continued my sax life on bari (I bought one, myself, and then sold that and got another), because I was going to go to college for music and I knew I couldn't get in as a clarinet player. Bari sax, I had a chance. Which disappeared :(. However, I stuck with the sax and got employed as the music department head and director at a couple of places (I had already been an assistant to the conductor -- paid! -- for several years).

That's my INSTRUMENTAL history. I might write out my VOCAL history, later. :p
 
I returned to the alto sax after a 30 year break. I often think it happened because my son's famous band director asked the parents who participated in the 'follow your kid around day' in high school, who wanted to play their child's instrument. I was the only one who took him up on that and thoroughly enjoyed muckin' about on the bari sax, an instrument I had never played before.

My first alto sax upon my return to performance music was from QuinnTheEskimo who found me my dream sax, a Couf Superba I. I played it for almost a year before I decided to keep it and pay him for it. A gorgeous instrument, it had great intonation, fabulous keyworks ergos, and very beefy sound, especially in the upper range.

Although I wanted a good deal, I wasn't willing to make do with an instrument just because I could get it on the cheap. I understand there are people who are not in a position to buy expensive instruments. But I would suggest that saving up for what you really want could save you money in the long run.

Note, I was a guy who hated Selmer instruments because in my experience they had horrible intonation that in some cases was so bad that there was a special fingering chart for Selmers to help you overcome their deficiencies. It might be interesting to note, that the Selmer Reference series instruments has converted me to a believer. I play now play a Ref 54 alto and Ref 36 tenor. Life is good.
 
I played low brass in middle & high school as well as an Army Post Band, but fell into archaeology during college and then spent 40+ years digging holes, teaching and pushing back the frontiers of prehistory. On retiring, I decided to go back to playing rather than just listening to music.

A variety of accumulated medical conditions rather limited my choice of instruments. Strings were out, as was trombone, because of limited mobility in my right arm while a combination of age and basic sloth precluded my desire to carry a tuba around again. So ... I figured I could do clarinet, or oboe, or saxophone, or maybe even bassoon.

I learned that the local music stores rented instruments and I figured I would rent a different horn every three months or so to see how much I liked it before committing myself to a purchase. A clarinet, maybe, to start with ... Walking into the first store on my list I saw a display of horns which included a nickle finished Antigua soprano sax. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen up to that time and I swear it called me by name. I didn't even ask about rentals, just told the clerk to wrap up the sax, give me a couple of reeds and the Rubank books.

Somehow, since then, I've managed to acquire some 20+ horns - from soprillo to bass, with a Buescher TT C-soprano thrown in for good (?) measure - go back to school (in music), and play in three or four bands. As Gandalfe says, life is good! [Especially so for this particular retiree!!]
 
I've had so many horns along the way but that's part of finding your sound.

On bari, I started out with a King Tempo that I picked up off ebay. It was a wonderful horn. Great sound with a wide spread to it. It had some natural gruff and sounded glorious with just about any mouthpiece. The only issue I had with the horn was that it was a B flat and far too many parts that I played called for a Low A.

I then bought my first Yani Low A. Purchased from Quinn and it arrived slightly damaged. My old tech straightened it out enough to get it to play. It showed potential.

Then about a year later I picked up my second low A Yani and sold the King Tempo to a local player who loved everything I loved about it. The second Yani needed an overhaul so I had Jarrod Buffe do his magic. The horn plays like a dream. Great intonation and a wonderful lyrical quality. My only complaint about the horn was the lack of gruff without getting aggressive with the mouthpiece. Essentially the horn played like a young jazz siren.

After being so pleased with the way the first horn came out I took the other horn to Jarrod for a complete overhaul. He noted that I said that the other horn lacked gruff and put in solid brass resonators. It made a huge difference and that horn plays like the same jazz siren but with 20 or 30 years of playing in clubs on her voice!
 
Simple - I avoid mainstream products. I drive a motorbike no one else's driving, I have a watch no one's wearing, and I choose instruments no one's playing. Is also the reason I have no iPhone nor an iPad.
Not always rational, but that's how it is. <shrug>
 
tictactux said:
Simple - I avoid mainstream products. I drive a motorbike no one else's driving, I have a watch no one's wearing, and I choose instruments no one's playing. Is also the reason I have no iPhone nor an iPad. Not always rational, but that's how it is. <shrug>
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And I, on the other hand, seek out the best in class. I don't care who is or is not using it, as long as it works for me and has a history of lasting the test of time. Don't get me wrong, I have weird stuff like the Goofus or the playasax. But for everyday things that I rely upon, I go with the best I can afford.
 
I buy saxophones and clarinets based on what works best for me. I try to play the actual instrument I buy. If it's not the horn that's currently in vogue I don't care. if I can get it cheap, so much the better.

In the flute family, I'm a little more paranoid. It's not my best instrument, so I get what most good players are using. I'll still try to get a good price and then fix it if anything is wrong with it.
 
Groovekiller said:
In the flute family, I'm a little more paranoid. It's not my best instrument, so I get what most good players are using. I'll still try to get a good price and then fix it if anything is wrong with it.
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This so describes me. I'm a little paranoid on every instrument I play though. I want as much edge as I can get and I'll take it from there.
 
On sax it is quite simple. I originally played Couf alto saxes because that is what Mr Couf sold in his store !! I added Selmer back then as that was the only other name really out there for a reason i can't really recall. So I owned Superba 1 and a mark VII.
Yani, Yamaha, Buffet weren't really sold locally (to me) or in his store.

when I added a tenor it was a Superba 2 - because that is what was readily available. When I went to replace it about 7 yrs ago I ended up with a Superba 1. Which after some ergonomic testing I realized the selmer stack was more to my liking and ended up with a mk VII tenor. I relunctantly sold my Coufs (wish I had them back).

On clarinet I started with a Normandy 4 back in 1978. I upgraded to a LL a while back but went searching for that particular ringing tonal quality. After a long search and research into what makes that ringing tonal quality I ended up with a Buffet R13. And thus that is my main clarinet. I have other ones too and that Normandy still gets played.

on flute it was and still is WT Armstrong flutes .. which happens to be what Mr Couf sold (and he was Prez of WT Armstrong). At one time I had a 103, 303OB and model 80. I only have the 80 now.

Of course at UM, Mr Sinta hated the VIIs and preferred the Coufs of those two. I've come to realize that the SBA is the best ergonomically for me ... selmer stacks and non tilting pinky Bb (like the Coufs). But those are a tad expensive.
 
Wow! That's a tough question for me to answer. I think I'll answer it in stages, and over a couple of posts. This will give me a chance to think out the best way to answer this in a logical manner.

My first venture into the world of pro horns was when I was in high school. I knew I wanted to study music, so I decided to save up my $ and buy a really good sax. At the time, the Mark VII was what Selmer was offering. I opted instead for a new Super 20 (obviously post H.N. White). This horn was a screamer and I really liked it. (I was a rocker from the get-go.) Then a couple of years later when I got to university, my profs made it very clear, the S20 was not welcome. I bowed to pressure and found a Mark VI tenor (the one I still have today) as well as an alto and soprano (still have those as well).

The Mark VI bari I bought because I had played enough baris to know what I wanted in a bari: a low Bb Mark VI. I got the one I did specifically because of its sound. I did not care that it was an ugly relac. The sound sold me on the horn.

As far as my bass goes, when I decided to buy a bass in 2000, there weren't many available. Paul Coats had just posted it on SOTW because he had just finished restoring it, and I happened to see the thread a few minutes after he began it. I sent him an email inquiring about it about an hour before Eugene Rousseau did. The rest is of course Internet history. :wink:

That first Super 20 remains the only pro horn that I have sold to date. Every other sax that I have bought, I still own. (Hence my rather crazy high number of horns. Although Groovekiller has me beat, so I'm OK.)
 
Value and looks without re-lacquering.

Tenor:
Started on a Conn (fireworks on the bell) since then I've had 3 Selmers (Modele 26, Mark VI, and Mark VII). The VI always played sharp and had no high F# key, I was playing in guitar bands and really wanted one, so I traded it on the VII.

The VII had much better intonation than the VI, but I couldn't overblow it to make it rattle so I didn't like it so much. I traded that on a Couf Superba II (see avatar).

I actually liked the Superba better than my VI. The tone was bigger, it had the best high F# key in the business, the intonation was decent (about as good as the VII) and it responded very well.

Up to this point in my life, I chose saxes purely for their playing qualities.

They quit lacquering saxes, and between the salt air and my body the Couf turned green and in places was pitted like the skin of a cantaloupe.

Since I play in places where people often wear tuxedos, looks are actually a bit more important than tone. People listen with their eyes.

So I bought a Gold Plated Grassi Prestiege. Nice playing horn but a little bright sounding. Since then, I've noticed this about gold plated horns. But for 10 or so years it looked great. They the gold started to flake off, taking the silver undercoat with it, and then exposing the brass - green again.

Up to this point I tried every sax before I bought it. But now it's not possible to do so so I started asking questions on sax forums.

I called Anderson plating with questions about re-plating my Grassi. The folks at Anderson said that plain old silver colored nickel was the most durable finish you could put on an instrument. Not the black nickel currently popular, but good old "Bb" nickel.

The price they gave me was about what I could buy another horn for. So I started asking questions on SOTW and other sax forums (I hadn't discovered this one yet). I narrowed it down to either a Mac Sax or a Barone because each one would make one with silver colored nickel.

Mike at Mac Sax said he would put two coats of nickel on a sax, and if I didn't like it, I could return it. Phil said since it was special order, I couldn't return it if I didn't like it. As a small business owner, I understood Phil's position on that subject, because it would take a lot of sales to make up for the loss if I didn't like it.

So Mike got my business. I sold my green Couf, my Grassi is now my back-up horn (and the one I bring for outdoor near the ocean gigs) and the Mac Sax classic is my main axe.

I thought I was getting a great horn for the money, but in the end, I got a great horn.

It looks great, the intonation is better than my older saxes, it's very responsive, and I would compare it favorably with my old Couf. (The VI is too distant in the past to make a comparison, but I liked the Couf better than the VI.)

The intonation is very good, the tone is superb, it is free blowing, and even the dreaded altisissimo G is easy to hit on this horn.

So hopefully the nickel plate will keep it from looking grungy for a long time, and it may be the last horn I ever buy.

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So I chose the sax for looks and by the recommendation of other sax players on the web.

Alto:

I bought a 1925 silver plated King Alto for $50 when I was on the road in the '60s. Someone in a club I was playing in asked if I was interested, I said "sure" and I bought it. It has the voice of an angel, and although the intonation isn't that good, it is lip-able, and with a tone like that, it's worth it (see avatar). I don't plan on ever trading this one, it sounds better than any VI alto I've compared it with.

Notes ♫
 
I played a charity job ($50.00) on the USS Texas back in the 1990's. Aside from being too hot for comfort, my Yamaha YBS 62 and a friend's YTS-62 both changed color from something in the atmosphere.

This is not corrosion I'm talking about. The lacquered portions of the horns actually changed color. The bodies trended a bit more towards a honey color, while the posts became much darker. No lacquer loss or flaking - just an overall color shift.

Since that day, both horns have slowly returned to "normal", as much as either of us can tell. However, there is still a noticeable color difference to the eye between the body and posts.

Since about 20% of the world's petrochemical industry is located along the Houston Ship Channel, it's anyone's guess what was the cause. I had easy access to reports of pollution upsets at the time (I used to work for OSHA), but there were no unusual releases on the day of the performance (or on either side, for that matter).

So, when doing seaside stuff, I leave the Yamaha at home and borrow one of my band director sidemen's school horn.

I never had anything like that happen when playing on the boat back in the 1960's. Of course, those were all Mark VI or Mark VI equivalent horns, so everything was different.
 
I play Selmer saxophones. The horn I am playing on right now is a gold plated mk6 alto, made in Paris back in 1954. I like the horn because the sound and response seems to be of the highest quality. The action has just the right degree of resistance, it's sprung a little loosely, not a tremendous amount of snap. So when my chops are up to it, I can make fast tempos naturally, with the speed coming from my fingers. The action lays under my fingers and moves with them with a natural feel, not a whole lot of pop like the newer horns have.

The new horns do have a faster action. But I've come to realise that it's not as much about the horn's action as it is in the dexterity, strenth, and control of my fingers. I can make this horn play fast if I put in the time and practice the fast tempos daily. The upside is that I very rarely break springs on this horn. Fast playing can be death on springs. That's why you see jazz players with rubber bands adorning their saxophones. At 350 to 400 beats per minute, even with silky smooth fingering technique, the fingers impact the keys almost like a hammer hitting a nail. Any small imperfection in the needle spring will now show up and most likely result in either a crack, or a clean break. The springs in this horn seem to have a little less tension, so I've only broke one in the fifteen years I've been playing it, as compared to two which snapped in the first couple of weeks on a brand new Selmer reference alto purchased when they first came out.

Why Selmer? Why the mk6? I've been playing them for just about forty years now. The horns just meet my musical demands. I feel that this is the only make of saxophone which matches the lofty asperations that I have for my musical creativity. If I don't feel a horn, I won't even blow it. If the keys don't feel right, why even blow it? This is how I feel about much of the new crop of brands coming from the east. I don't get a quality feel from the keys, so I'm not interested in the sound.

My horns are....
serie 2 soprano, 390,xxx just guessing about the serial. I haven't seen it in months.
balanced action alto, mint and original, 23,xxx
mk6 alto gold plate, 58,xxx, my alter ego
reference 54 alto, 600,xxx the bionic alto
mk6 tenor, 103,xx this horn is sweet, wish I could find the time to play it more
mk6 bari, low A. Bought new in '71, or '72. 190,xxx. This is my baby.

I'm not in the market for any more horns.

Julian
 
sideC said:
If the keys don't feel right, why even blow it? This is how I feel about much of the new crop of brands coming from the east. I don't get a quality feel from the keys, so I'm not interested in the sound.

Julian
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What you write is interesting Julian.

I recently took some artsy photos of a friend's Asian pro horn. It's a horn I regularly play when I'm in his studio, and while not identical in tone to my Zephyr, it is comparable. When I got home and looked at these macro photos, I realized how poorly built this horn is. The gaps between the posts and the levers & keys are such that sections of the rods are exposed. There are rough edges along the tops of the keys and posts. The ends of the keys are uneven. Comparing this horn from the far east to my Selmers, or to the King, the finish quality just isn't there.

This poor workmanship contributes to the lack of quality feel of the keys I believe. You are absolutely correct with what you say about the feel under the fingers. I've felt it too. Pundits might say that maybe you and I have been playing Selmers so long that we're snobs to anything else. ;-) I don't think so however.
 
I've not only heard comments like Helen's before, but I've seen comparison photos of instruments ostensibly from the same factory. Lots of variation, but it's getting better, also from what I hear.

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Part 2, of my ramblings from above: you'll note one very specific thing about the horns I have/had: I really didn't have much choice in what horn I bought (or was given). Of course, my purchases -- and donations -- were all fairly far before the Internet revolution, except for three horns: a Martin Handcraft gold-plated C melody that I bought only to resell, a silver plated Evette-Schaeffer curved Bb soprano that was too inexpensive for me to pass on (and was eventually resold) and an Amati ATS-61 that I "bought": I really was buying the CASE and got the sax for free. Which really isn't that good of a commercial for Amati :).

It would be very nice if you could go to a store that had every make and model of every instrument ever made and make your decision based on that. But that'd mean hundreds of thousands of instruments, even if there was only ONE of each make and model. Even if you're talking JUST sax, that'd be hundreds of horns.

This leads me to the point I've made in the past: do people buy, say, a Selmer Mark VI alto sax because it's the BEST available or because it's less expensive (on average, now a-day) than a NEW Selmer Reference 54 alto -- or the most expensive modern horns on the market, a Pink Gold Yanagisawa or Inderbinen?
 
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