Winter project: re-pad this old King Zephyr!

  It's been a tough winter here in the Big Apple. Tough for me and tough for many of my friends as well. I'm not satisfied with my creative output, been a bit of a struggle to get out of the house. So when the weather insist on being bad (today is lovely!) I need other things to do. This is one of those things.

  Did my first re-pad. Why? the motivation is to learn how to do my own adjustments and fix minor problems on my own horns. I have that kind of mind and this type of work is expensive. I chose this horn on Ebay, it's a 1935 model with the single socket neck and single strap ring hook, chose it cause it was in good shape with no dents and the price was pretty darned cheap. It's a re-lacquer though from what I can tell it was probably just a lacquer. The engraving is super sharp with no signs of buffing. They did make these horns available as bare brass, that was an option. Someone along its 80 year journey had lacquer applied which is the smart thing to do. Protects the metal and keeps your hands from smelling like a machine shop after every practice session!

I also chose this cause it was cheap and I may sell it but after playing it for a while last night it may need to stay with me. It's really good. I like the way these horns look: smart and modern and they feel that way under the hands too.

  So why do my own re-pad, what other reasons besides I'm bored, depressed and don't have the dough and it's winter time? Well, a bit of history. The 3 tenors I've played that made me the most excited were in this order: A King Zephyr from 1950, I Selmer Balanced Action from 1938 and an early 40's Buescher 400. Funny that none of these were Conns which is what I played on for many years.

  I told myself if I ever found a King Zephyr that was as good as the first one I tried (over-priced at $3200 in 2005!) I would buy it. Well, I tried many, including a few Super 20 horns that did nothing for me. Some had really peculiar intonation, others including a very expensive Super 20 were dull as dishwater. Not tone, life, no excitement. I was hooked on the size of the 20's Conn sound but wanted something more modern. The Selmer was a cool $4850 in 2005 and they have gone up. Same horn is close to $9k now. Oh, if cost were no object I'd do it and God willing, that won't be an issue forever, but I can't see myself taking a ten grand horn to the gigs I play and well, I don't need one really.

  I've been trying some new horns out: P Mauriat, Tenor Madness (the best I've tried!) and some new Selmer. They all feel tankish to me. I don't want my horn to be a tank. Heavy build psychologically means heavy tone and heavy playing. I want to get away with that. Tonally those new horns sound like my Buescher, not even close to the Selmers they so try to emulate. They lack finesse, excitement.

  So the King seems the way for me to go. I tried a really beat Balanced Action and really liked it. The Selmer horns have a nice 'bite' to them that my sound, no matter what I do, lacks.

  I re-padded this with Music Medic pads with nylon resonators. That's a part of how my mind works. I've played a lot of horns and the ones that grab me, none of them have metal resos. A king is a tad bright so this mellows it out a bit. The sound gets bigger when pushed, not thinner. If I could re-do my Buescher this way without the 'collector' anxiety bs and those snappo resonators, I would do it in a snap (pun intended!). The worst sounding horns I have played have those ugly star resonators. I don't know if it's psychological or what, but to me the warmth is compromised with those big star things.

  So far I'm really digging this horn. It's a smaller bore than I'm used to. The sound is more compact and the response is fast. It still has some timing issues I need to address but they are getting worked out bit by bit. This horn is powerful. These old Kings have a reputation for dodgy intonation. Not the case with this one. Now that I've spent some time with it I find it easy to play in tune. I'm using an Otto Link Super Tonemaster 8. I have played other kings that liked to go sharp in the upper register. This one stays in tune really well. Quite the opposite of my old Conns which liked to blow sharp. Those did me well since they forced me to relax or I wouldn't be in tune! If I'm all tight, my sound goes out the window!

One thing I really do like about this horn is how even it is. The high end doesn't thin out like some tenors do. It stays strong. I also like the keywork. Easiest glissando I've ever had. Very smooth and nice and light. The weight is on the lighter side too. I was always convinced that a horn needed to be heavy for it to be really good. My neck doesn't like that philosophy. An old Selmer feels light in the hand (Balanced Action? No one has made a more fluid horn than that!), and so does this horn.
It has that perfect tenor 'angry' midrange that I like. It sounds like I mean business!

Art Deco is sexy........

J