Klarinet Archive - Posting 000460.txt from 1998/07

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Good cheap sax
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 23:01:04 -0400

At 12:40 PM 7/16/98, Lee Hickling wrote:
>Don't put down "student line" instruments on the basis of the assembly-line
>jobs we're getting nowadays. Low end of the line saxophones used to be much
>better instruments than today's are, and some brands that are now out of
>fashion used to be highly esteemed. Buescher and Conn, for instance. Pick
>up a well-cared-for forty or fifty-year-old Conn and you'll notice for
>openers that it's much heavier than you expected. Then check out the
>mechanism. It will be both rugged and easy fingering. Then experiment with
>mouthpieces as you try it out. You may discover that you can get an alto
>that will do everything you want for well under $500, and be able to buy a
>sharp-looking gig bag to replace the beat-up case.
>
Personally, I find the old saxes, especially the Bueschers and Bundys,
extremely awkward to play when compared to modern sax designs. I dumped my
Bundy tenor for a Yamaha YTS-52 almost immediately after I replaced my
Buescher alto with a Mark VI -- it felt so unbelievably klunky by
comparison I couldn't stand it! But that is a matter of personal
preference. They sound fine, if you can get around on them OK, their
durablility is proven, and they can often be gotten at rock-bottom prices.
The Yamaha student line (-23 series) plays well and feels great. Selmer
has just replaced the Bundy II altos with the AS 300, based on the Selmer
USA AS 110 pro horn. Built like a tank, it also plays well and feels like
a pro horn.

By the way, our repair techs just LOVE gig bags. Very good for their business!

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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