The question “what make of saxophone is right for me?” is one that most saxophonists have pondered at one time or another and it is a subject about which some players hold very strong, almost religious views. Particular makes, models and serial numbers are sort after and paid for with ever increasing amounts. And thanks to the advent of eBay, that holy grail of horns may just be a click or two away, with “Buyer beware” being the maxim to keep in mind at all times if this is your preferred means of acquisition.
By and large, I was spared the prolonged search for a quality instrument. Thanks to my saxophone teacher at the time, who located an instrument for me, I have played the same Selmer MK VI alto since the late 1980’s. It was built towards the end of this famous run of horns and so doesn’t belong to the mythical period of manufacture sort after by many, but I always liked the sound I could make on it and to my ears anyway, it does seem to be improving with the passage of time.
In essence, it is true to say that if you play the alto, there is a large choice of quality makes and models, modern and vintage horns, to choose from.
For players of the soprano saxophone, the modern instruments do have a number of clear advantages. Yes, there is a wonderful quality to the sound that a MKVI soprano can produce, but there are tuning issues with many of these horns. Technology has without doubt improved since the time of their manufacture and so in turn has the general construction and intonation of the soprano saxophone. You could say that this once wild and uncontrollable horn has been somewhat domesticated and there are now a number of modern instruments available to a contemporary soprano saxophonist. The fact that Soprano masters David Liebman (a Keilwerth) and Wayne Shorter (a Yamaha), choose to play modern instruments speaks volumes in support of this evolution.
The tenor saxophone is an instrument that I choose not to play for reasons that I won’t go into here although, I could make the claim that I have listened to the tenor more than any of the other saxophones. (yes, John Coltrane would make up a substantial amount of that listening time, but perhaps that is a topic for a later blog!)
For players of the tenor, the vintage horns do seem, still, to be the instrument of choice. This is providing that a; you can find an instrument and b; once found, you can afford the price tag.
Many of my friends are Selmer devotees and within this group I would say that the Super Balanced Action (SBA) would be the prize horn to play. Of course many years have now passed since the last one of these rolled of the production line and finding one of these instruments is becoming increasingly difficult.
The MK VI is of course the best known of all the vintage horns and as this was the model preferred by so many of the past greats including John Coltrane, I don’t imagine the popularity of this saxophone to ever diminish.
The American horns have certainly had a revival during the past decade or so and whether this can be attributed to the scarcity of Selmers or not, they are certainly worth considering. A good Conn is undoubtedly a beautiful saxophone.
This brings me to the last of the big 4, the lowest of the mainstream saxophone models and in terms of the vintage versus modern debate, the most interesting and slightly confusing of them all. This is, the wonderful world that is the baritone saxophone.
The baritone is a horn that I have come to rather late, but, perhaps in part because of it being in the same key as the alto, I have fast developed a great affection for the tone and feel of the “plumber’s friend”( as a certain Sydney bass player likes to refer to my baritone).
Before I settled on my old low Bb Buescher, I searched high and low (perhaps that should be low and lower) for a horn and I didn’t have any particular preference for old or new, low Bb or A. I just needed to find a baritone that I liked. As my search progressed however, I started to realize one fundamental thing about the baritone saxophone and that is that is that all of the current manufacturers seem to have forgotten how to make them.
I think this regression began from the moment that the low A became part of the standard range (one semi-tone lower than that of the other saxophones). This truly was a Spinal Tap moment in saxophone design. It is the saxophonic equivalent of “amps that go to 11” the classic “one more must be better” approach.
I confess that I have played a handful of baritones that do play well down to low A. The MK IV in particular does seem to cope with this extension, but nothing that is currently made seems to be able to achieve the richness that is routinely achieved by the vintage horns.
My other complaint with the modern instruments is the weight. A modern low A baritone is not a soloing horn to be played standing for two or three sets, not without some serious gym sessions in preparation! These modern instruments seem to be built for some other purpose entirely and I suspect that this is to produce the inevitable and all too frequently occurring low A. Baritone players should stand together on this overuse, put the note up an octave and be done with it! Or, you could choose a low Bb horn and save yourself the trouble of lugging that extra couple of kilos of brass around for one extra semi-tone. Save your back AND get that beautiful low Bb baritone sound!
In my quest for a baritone saxophone, I played close to 30 instruments over a period of about 5 years. The vast majority of these new baritones were just plain ol’, downright terrible. This was and is alarming for such a mainstream instrument! It really does seem inescapable that the low A fundamentally changes the shape and proportions of the instrument, and therefore changes the entire character and response. Far too much is lost and not enough is gained to justify this one note.
I played an alto with a low A when I was in New York many years ago, it was a MK VI and it was so out of tune, it may well still be for sale. Thankfully, for the alto, the low A experiment has been long forgotten. Why is this not the case with the baritone?
I know that there are a couple of present day manufacturers that do still produce a low Bb baritone, but I suspect that the market being the size it is, not enough research and development goes into these instruments, and the examples I managed to find and play were nowhere near the level of a vintage Bb Conn Transitional or 12M, Martin, Selmer, King or Buescher.
I sincerely hope that one day in the not too distant future, the folly of the low A is put aside and a manufacturer is able to re-discover the lost art of making a baritone saxophone with the tone and power of the instruments of yesteryear. Perhaps of equal importance, is that saxophonists demand this of the manufacturers. If the lower notes are so attractive there is always the option of playing these and many more even lower ones on a bass saxophone, an instrument vastly underrepresented in the ranks of saxophonists since its demise between the two world wars. I would also put out a call to all arrangers and composers to resist the urge to write low As for the baritone and perhaps together we can return this instrument to its former glory. Otherwise I fear that the next step may be some bright spark suggesting that the answer to all our problems is to add a low Ab to the baritone, I mean, it’s one more, surely it’s got to be better?
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