Klarinet Archive - Posting 000062.txt from 2011/06

From: corvo di bassetto <rab@-----.de>
Subj: Re: [kl] Thoughts on the sax-bothering-my-thumb thing
Date: Thu, 09 Jun 2011 05:47:20 -0400

Kurt,
always delightful to read your postings; =

The Americans who were told: =

Vous avez mal =E0 la t=EAte, would those be people like Ben Webster (Balanc=
e Action), Coleman Hawkins (Selmer and SML) or Don Byas (SML)? However mad =
they were, the sound they produced with their Otto Link MPs was certainly w=
orth while. =

Which are the short faced MPs you refer to? On the clarinet I stick to the =
ultra-long 19th century or Austrian style facing (only more open); what wou=
ld be a very long faced sax mouthpiece? The kind that Rascher and his disci=
ples used (Buescher)? How about the old Links from the 30s & 40s, aren't th=
ey longer faced than, say, the more recent Selmer soloists? How about the R=
unyons (never played one), did they start the fashion of short facings?

I have several 1950s Bueschers (tenor and alto) and I like them very much; =
also in terms of ergonomics and reliability. I am buying up Bueschers throw=
n out by crazy Americans and give then to my students. Sensible Americans l=
ike Johnny Hodges and Sigurd Rascher loved and kept using them. Why would t=
hey change such a well proven design? (As far as I know the early Bundys we=
re pretty much the same as late Aristocrats, is that true?)=96Maybe because=
"the French" are a bit mal =E0 la t=EAte?

Best regards
danyel

Am 09.06.2011 um 06:39 schrieb kurtheisig@-----.net:

> =

> Marty,
> =

> My 58,000 is flawlessly in tune.
> =

> The French said of the Americans in those days "Vous avec mal a la tet!",=
and they were right.
> =

> The problems were that we were playing wrong. We used short faced reeds o=
f a popular name. We also used short faced mouthpieces and held the horns w=
rong.
> =

> The French had no such problems.
> =

> Once I started playing acoustically correctly, all those "problems" just =
vanished.
> =

> Perhaps it was Selmer listening to the crazy Americans that resulted in t=
he dismal faire offered today?
> =

> Kurt
> =

> =

> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Martin Marks <martymarks511@-----.com>
>> Sent: Jun 8, 2011 8:29 PM
>> To: The Klarinet Mailing List <klarinet@-----.com>
>> Subject: Re: [kl] Thoughts on the sax-bothering-my-thumb thing
>> =

>> On Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 8:07 PM, <kurtheisig@-----.net> wrote:
>> =

>>> =

>>> The Mk VI Selmer was made from 1954 to 1975.
>>> =

>>> Ralph Morgan, who was Selmer's historian and senior engineer put out the
>>> most authoritative list with serial numbers. The lowest ones were 58,xx=
x and
>>> the highest 243,xxx. There will, of course, be serial numbers outside of
>>> those as Selmer famously did that.
>>> =

>>> Though the Mark VI officially came out in 1954, Ralph, as southeastern
>>> salesman was selling prototypes as early as 1952.
>>> =

>>> Most collectors know of 3 different series within the MK VI. The "U" bo=
w,
>>> the "J" bow and a return to a "U" bow, often with a patch soldered into=
the
>>> top of the bow.
>>> (This was to correct a non-existent problem).
>>> No. It was a real problem. I owned two of the early(short bow) Mark V1
>>> altos at different times. They had a tendency to gurgle on the low B. =
My
>>> repairman soldered a plate in the bow which cured the problem. Selmer
>>> started doing the same when enough players complained. These were seri=
al #
>>> 58000 horns.
>>> martinm
>> =

>> =

>> =

>>> =

>>> =

>>> =

>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: hns692@-----.com
>>>> Sent: Jun 8, 2011 4:26 PM
>>>> To: klarinet@-----.com
>>>> Subject: Re: [kl] Thoughts on the sax-bothering-my-thumb thing
>>>> =

>>>> I have heard, too, that most of the student line saxes, somewhere after
>>> the
>>>> 60s, were re-engineered and the key structure made shorter to make it
>>>> easier for students' small hands to play them. Anyone know anything a=
bout
>>>> that? And, when were the Mark VIs made?
>>>> =

>>>> I have a 1914 Holtan and love it -- but it's miserable to play and
>>> stresses
>>>> my hands unbelievably. Outside of being a really good-sounding horn a=
nd
>>>> well worth keeping (has lots of extra keys, too), it's still not easy =
to
>>>> play. Would love a horn more compatible with my hand size.
>>>> =

>>>> Any words of fact?
>>>> =

>>>> Lee Ann Hansen
>>>> =

>>>> =

>>>> In a message dated 6/8/2011 6:02:37 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
>>>> davebow@-----.nz writes:
>>>> =

>>>> Bundy is a pretty basic student instrument. Can be very uncomfortable=
to
>>>> play.
>>>> A Yamaha YAS-23 is a much better instrument if you only want a student
>>>> sax.
>>>> =

>>>> Best,
>>>> David
>>>> =

>>>> On 9/06/2011, at 2:31 AM, Rachel Roessel wrote:
>>>> =

>>>>> I took a look this weekend. My thumbrest is a single non-adjustable
>>>> piece of
>>>>> metal that is soldered (I assume) to the body. The alto sax is a Bun=
dy
>>>> II,
>>>>> serial number 762,936. Can anyone tell me about the Bundy II? I've
>>> heard
>>>> taht
>>>>> it's a good student model, but other than that, I don't know much ab=
out
>>>> it since
>>>>> alto sax isn't my primary instrument.
>>>>> =

>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>> =

>>>>> Rachel
>>>>> =

>>>>> =

>>>>> =

>>>>> =

>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>> =

>>>>> Many sax thumb rests are adjustable. Does yours have a large screw
>>>>> holding it on? You may be able to adjust it so that your hand is in
>>>>> a better position.
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> =

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>>> =

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> =

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