Tatay #2! Cheap classical guitars.

Just got this one in the mail, another Tatay no. 13.

Outside of the cosmetics it is nothing at all like my #1. Completely different sound. A remarkably nice sound for sure, lots of bass. I set it up with LaBella hard tension strings. My other one ha medium hard. I think those suit these guitars a bit better.

I read one Tatay fan say the tone color is "Orange". That's the color that comes to mind on this one.

My other one, I have no idea of the era it was built in. I believe it to be much older. This one has a slimmer more comfortable neck whereas my #1 us bigger and I'd say while it's comfortable it's more 'crude'. But that being said, everything about the construction of this guitar is more 'crude'!

My #1 sports some nice rosewood back and sides (I don't know if it's Brazilian, it's definitely rosewood) whereas this one is Mahogany.

This is now my throw it in the gig bag and schlep it to lessons guitar. I like it. Still more inspiring to me than any guitar made now in a similar price bracket. My Favilla is going to a friend, glad to send it to him.

There is little information about this brand, would love to know more. Supposedly the earlier ones were luthier built. My #1 feels and appears to have a lot more attention dedicated to making it. This one seems not too different than other factory made Spanish guitars I've played. Better than many of them but definitely not a "serious" guitar.

Still, worth every penny I paid for it. It does sound quite nice and projects the way I like it to!

-J

One of my favorite things....Tatay Classical Guitar. And a story.

When I was a teenager I studied with an interesting teacher named Bruce. He was largely a classical player, made his living performing and giving lessons. Around my house my mom always had a couple nylon string guitars. A battered Silvertone that was wrecked by some renters who put steel strings on it (I found it neglected in the basement 4 years ago and glued it back together, hence starting my new path). and she had a beautiful Giannini made in Brazil that we bought at Music and Arts Center in Catonsville. She played a few folk songs and a wrote some as well, taught me my basic chords. I think she and my dad knew something about the importance of learning classical, maybe it was intuition or just their generation.

I just wanted to rock. I wanted electric. I wanted a Stratocaster. I wanted to skip all that.

My mom taught me my first chords. My dad showed me how to change the strings. In a panic I started the day before high school as I sucked at everything else. How was I going to fit in? I liked Jimi. Rock stars were cool.

So I advanced quickly. My dad bought my first Stratocaster, an awful late 70's model, at Bills Music house in Catonsville. His words: "I'll do this, but you need to show me results or you gotta pay me back in a year." I didn't need prompting, but I'll say this. That was probably the best thing he ever did for me. A great lesson in accountability. So grateful for that moment. I worked my ass off. And $389 in 1983 was way more than a 15 year old can afford cutting grass!

I loved Jimi, Keith, Clapton, but I always had a thing for nylon strings. We had a couple Carlos Montoya records on the shelf, along with Getz/Gilberto. And I had a deep secret admiration for the kids in the school orchestra program. I was always a bit envious of them. Secretly envious. So I was glad to have studied with Bruce.

But there was a couple things off about it. He started me on Bach's Bouree and Gavotte. I can certainly play those now but at the time, these were over my head. In hindsight I was one who could have benefitted from a method book. Just exercises and scales and patterns and easier songs. I wasn't the type to rise to the challenge partly cause other things came so easily to me. So I gave up. Bruce worked with me on improvisation, Indian classical scales and other things. Understand, this was a teacher who sent people to Juliard. I simply felt I wasn't 'good enough' even though I enjoyed so much else he had to share. I am grateful to him, he was a great fellow and very cool teacher. I had my youthful impatience and arrogance to contend with as well. I may not have accepted the direction a stricter classical regimen would have offered anyway. But, I now see the importance of it. That foundational stuff.

On top of that, I knew a good instrument when I played one. 6 months after getting my '79 Stratocaster I tried a '66 and immediately knew that for another $165 I would have a far superior instrument. That thing sang, mine coughed!! Price $550 (custom color Lake Placid Blue!!). I paid $389. Ugh. Dad wasn't interested in a brat who needed an upgrade! And I wasn't really a brat so I didn't whine about it. Best to love what you got and I did just that!

Bruce had a house full of classical and Flamenco guitars. I played a few. Prices started around $2k! I had a Yamaha that I bought from him for $75. It was decent... but, next to a Ramirez of Dauphin, pure sadness.

Nice classical for $2k+ or real Stratocaster for around $500. I went that direction.

Yup, my choice. Not pointing fingers here. And it was a good choice. I made a lot of people happy with all that sound.

So fast forward too many years and I recover my mothers beat ass Silvertone, glue it back together and record some tracks with it. Cheap, plywood, nylon string guitar. Really crappy. And I fell in love again. My electrics sit on the wall and I'd pick that thing up daily.

Last year a friend was visiting and we went into Main Drag music in Williamsburg and I upgraded to a 40's made Favilla. Again, not a great guitar but better than that Yamaha. I went to Sam Ash and bought the Carcassi Method For Guitar book and have been practicing daily out of it. I have no agenda, I don't aspire to be a concert guitarist at the age of 50 here, I just enjoy playing it so much and it's showing up in my own music in ways I didn't think would happen. My days off I'm up to 4+ hours.

So I needed to get something better. I've been working hard and wanted to treat myself. I played an incredible Ramirez from about 1903. Over $10K!!!! If cost were no object I'd own that guitar. It's stunning and has such a beautiful sound. But my rule is if I'm making a big purchase from my fun money account, I need to have double that in there. I don't have that and would rather work towards a house!

I'm good at finding interesting guitars that make me happy. I wanted something old, made in Spain, had to have Brazilian rosewood back and sides, and a nice sound and playability. I came across this Vincente Tatay........

It was hard to find any information on these about price. Lots of forum confusion. I did find a later New York produced one for $2k on a website that only has high end classical guitars (that one is beautiful!) and Retrofret had one listed for $3200 that sold for an unknown offer. I know that shop, great place and they usually get close to their asking price.

Neither guitar looked like this. And most Tatay guitars sell for considerably less. I mean, we're talking $100-$300!

Early ones are supposedly luthier produced, later they built a large factory and made a ton of instruments. This one was $1200. I didn't feel great about that price but decided to take a gamble. It fit what I was looking for: all solid wood including beautiful rosewood back and sides, ancient, the owner liked it quite a bit. Projection is good he says. The label we couldn't find....

So, I decided to go for it. Yes, I probably overpaid, I just found another similar one for a whopping $295! Bought that one as well.......Different label inside, probably later but same beautiful cosmetics.

Once I restrung it and set it up to my liking I found that I absolutely love this guitar. It's very warm, nice deep bass and clear highs. No, it's not as refined as that beautiful Ramirez but, I did get to play them side by side and found myself not feeling that wanting feeling on the Tatay. It's worth every penny of my hard earned $1200 to me. Plus it has that unusual "who made it" thing I like. Best part is, I do not want to put it down. When I need to go out on a date, go to earn a pile of money....I get bummed cause I just want to keep playing, keep improving, keep enjoying the sound. The only bug about this guitar was the intonation, but I fixed that and now I never want to put it down!

So if you are looking for a really good instrument that isn't worth it's weight in gold, do consider trying one of these out. It's important to have a guitar you love. It keeps the energy going forward.

Next step, find another instructor to help me get to the next level. I'm ready, more humble, more patient, and doing it for no other reason that the joy of playing. I like this chapter the best....


More photos:

Oh yes, Rosette is quite beautiful on this model. Has pearl and nice wood, much like the Ramirez I tried. I do like a beautiful instrument:

-JB

How did you get so good?

I love this question....how did you get so good?

I get asked this by my kid students all the time. "How do you do that? How did you get good at that?"

I do my best to let them know it's an exercise in persistence, appreciating the little bit you did learn already and all that good stuff.

I've been in a real woodshed period. Lots of hours practicing classical guitar, lots of hour practicing my saxophone. The fruits are starting to show and it feels good. I feel good. I don't yet know what it's for or why I do this, but have just surrendered to it and accepted the mystery. I'm having this weird temporary experience called life bookended by 2 great mysteries. I could haven been a soldier, fireman, wall street guy, engineer, father, but chose to make music and dedicate my time to this activity that brings me almost no money but a lot of joy.

So I was recently at a party with my parents. The host and his friend had a little jam session and they played some classics. I had my guitar in the car so I went and grabbed it to sit in. Some of the folks were astounded. One guy was near tears talking to me. I was moved by that. I didn't know it was possible.

He asked me how I got to this place......

It sounds bitter but it's not. I looked around and thought "well, other than my 5 year old niece and the 2 teenagers here, I'm the only person in this room who has probably never been married and who doesn't have a family...."

I didn't say this out loud, but the thought naturally popped into my head.

This has been a lonely existence. I'm quite sane but accept that I'm not easy to be around either. There is always melodies in my head, things I'm working out musically, solving this seemingly unending puzzle. 90% of my days I'm quite okay being alone. I'm defensive of my time. The minute I'm sharing too much of my time I lose the sanity part.

One friend said something about the 'sacrifice Jef made' or something like that. It's no sacrifice. It's just my life. It's that simple. When the music is good it's all worth it. Being this age and on my own, and it's quite possible I may remain alone, I've accepted this, I best make the most of this creation. Maybe this is my child? These sounds, the few records I've been a part of. I mean, why not?

So it's not to say that all artist are difficult and are just good at being lonely creatures. I'm open to any possibility to share this life. My feelings about the whole matter can change as soon as I click publish. And certainly it's worked out for others. And I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a good musician. And I'm digging this journey. Maybe I'll someday get that good.

JB

On faith, patience and progress.

This summer, Gospel of Mars hit the 5 year mark. Five years.... how did that happen? We have our first LP coming out soon, something I knew would happen but had little idea of when.

We could have done it sooner, but really, everything happens in it's own perfect time, in it's own perfect way. And there have been plenty of setbacks with this LP. For some reason I don't feel the leat bit frustrated. It's at the pressing plant and I have no control over anything. I don't know when it will be in our hands, I just know that it will be in our hands.

There was a point in my life not long ago where everything seemed to be in a rush. I would be playing in 4 different projects, my heart may have been in one of the 4, the rest were things that 'may become successful' or projects that I felt weirdly obligated to do. I was stretched thin and not particularly happy. Everything was urgent. Life was urgent. And whatever music I had my heart in I allowed to suffer. I had little faith in it.

Then I hit bottom.

I learned to say no. It forced me to be honest. The bottom sucks but if you let it, it's the greatest teacher.

If we forced ourselves to make a record 4 years ago, it wouldn't have been very good as we weren't very good. We have a tendency to create material that is too challenging for us to play well. It takes time and persistence.

Now there isn't a sense of urgency any longer. Which is Ironic. I have 30 less years of time ahead of me than I did 30 years ago when I played my first gig. Everything was urgent. Maybe cause I'm in no hurry to die? Or maybe cause I'm just enjoying the ride, getting better on my instruments, and enjoying the company of my friends and fellow bandmates and the honor it is to create with them. These things are more important to me now. The progress is the success.

My faith is stillness is unshakeable now. Sit still, show up and do the work. Simple formula. All the good things that have happened to us happened in ways that weren't expected. We didn't shop our record at all, we just got in front of the right folks to put it out. They have faith in us. That happened at the right time, we already had the recording in the can. We still struggle getting gigs outside of 2 spots that we love, and really, do we need more places? We've built a bit of community by playing at Troost 17 times now. When it's time for us to step it up, it will happen naturally in it's own way.

I think the old me was just ego.....always forcing it's will. That's the model in our society that we're given over and over again. The forceful egomaniac gets the success. Maybe that's true, and maybe it's true that it doesn't last and doesn't make anyone happy.

And what if you're a natural introvert like I am? I can't think of a more dishonest way of life than to try to fit in with the extrovert. There is no success in dishonesty. And most days I'm now happy. Glad to serve our music and audience. Grateful that the music we make is honest and not trying to 'make it'. Happy to let the music we make take us where we are needed to go. On it's own perfect time and it's own perfect way.

JB

A $1000 solution to a $5 problem. Change that neck cork!

This post is just to remind myself, who lives in a capitalist society and is addicted to buying stuff, to just chill out and find cheap solutions.

So lately I've been less than enamored with my beloved '36 Buescher Aristocrat tenor. It's been playing okay but sounding a bit harsh. It does need work and ultimately I will get it overhauled mainly to restore it's sloppy key action to be as tight as my minty low hours '35. When I bought the horn last year within a week the bell to body brace popped and one of the key guards fell off so I took it to KB Sax where he straightened it out. He told me the pads are good but challenging to work with, they aren't the best quality and if it's a keeper I should ultimately get it overhauled.

An art deco Buescher Aristocrat isn't worth all that much dough. And this one was de-snapped, there is no lacquer left, it's an ugly beauty. I can't think about getting 'my money back out of it' if I ever needed to sell it but....it's that good so I have no intention of selling it.

So anyway, I still had the neck cork on from when I purchased it. That was 18 months ago. And for the last 6 months I've been using that bad for the environment teflon tape. So last night I had myself a neck cork changing party. Did both of my Buescher tenors...

Didn't get a chance to play until tonight and I got the most satisfying 2 hour practice session I've had in a while in. Everything sounds better, plays better, I didn't want to stop but need to go to bed!

See, in my consumer mind the noise goes like this: You're not satisfied. Look on EBay, SOTW, Reverb at saxes. Maybe it's time for a Selmer Balanced Action? ($5k-$8k). Or maybe another vintage Otto Link like a Double Line one ($1k-$2k), or another neck (Chinese made $80 to USA or German or Dutch $1.2k) and on and on and on.

When your horn isn't tight it's harder to get inspired, harder to practice. Easy for me to fantasize. The last thing I wind up thinking is "maybe it's just a little leak up top, or maybe it's just the neck cork, or maybe I could spend the money on a lesson...."

I do know when it's my reed. It took me years to settle on the brand I use now, and that would trip me up. Buy a new horn when I really just needed to listen to that cat who years ago told me: "You're playing those blue box Vandoren reeds? You working to hard bro!"

I bought a stack of 10 neck corks on EBay for about $12 shipped. I followed instructions from Music Medic and also have watched the pros do it enough times to know, that is something I can handle myself. I bought 10 just in case I mess up. I did the first time, the second time I got it. And now like I said, I get to remember that I have a horn that I would envy if it were my brothers or sisters! Gone is the notion that I need anything else except more sleep, and more time on my horn. I got a good one! We'll keep making music together for years to come!

JB

Buffet Dynaction tenor saxophone. Why did Selmer come to dominate the French saxophone world?

I'm torn about selling this beauty.....

Why am I torn? It's easily the best sounding tenor I've owned. And it's terrifically in tune to boot. I also find the key work to be super easy.

You often hear the name Buffet being associated with 'classical' horns much like Buescher is. Well, I don't play classical but I guess I prefer 'classical' tenors. Buffet and Buescher are my personal favorites. I find them capable of doing anything. I never feel limited sonically like I do on other horns. I feel the same way about an old Selmer, flexible and capable of expressing you. Other brands I've felt like the horn had too much of it's ego stamp in the way. Kings, 10Ms, lovely horns but hard to get me into the horn and out to the room (for me, I'm open to others who experience differently!).

I just had this horn tuned up and KB Sax in Long Island City. When I went to pick it up I got to play it against a Selmer Balanced and Super Balanced Action tenor. I feel this held it's own with those and had a stronger low end which coming from American tenors, I like very much. I didn't find the key work difficult to switch on either of them with the Balanced being my personal favorite.

We talked about SML, Buffet and Selmer which were all made pretty close to one another, much like the 'big American 3' made in Elkhart Indiana.

How did Selmer come to dominate? They are all fabulous horns. I personally don't dig the feel of an SML though I have played some that had a great sound.

Sonically I found this horn to be rather close to the Selmers I tried that day. Dark center, nice bite though the Selmers won in the brightness department. They all projected similarly. When I tried some of Kim's necks my Buffet simply became a better horn than those 2. Even with the stock neck the intonation is superior though the tone leans towards quite dark.

Like I said I could get around on all of them with ease.

So, I think it may come down to something simple: weight. The Buffets and SML tenors I have played are stupid heavy! The Selmer felt like a toy (No Selmer fanatics, this is not an insult, it's a compliment! I'm a player. I need to have fun playing. I need it to be a balance between a tool and a toy dig????) I owned a Dolnet for a while too. Goddamn! That was a heavy beast! Powerful but I prefer the tone of the Buffet over all of the above.

 I may keep this tenor for studio work, it has a great tone color and I can sit down for that. Or maybe it's time to commit to a gym and lift more weights?! My Buescher and my Conn Transitional have good weight, about the same as the Selmer. I find new horns to be too heavy as well, except for Borgani maybe.

So I'm torn. It's for sale as of now but don't mind it sitting here either. This horn has a helluva sound and is easy to play. If you are looking for one keep that in mind. Yes they are a good Selmer competitor, no they are not a Selmer, they are a Buffet which is great in it's own right. But if you have neck or back issues, keep this in mind!

JB

The good and not so good of internet music forums

In 2007 I joined the online forum Sax on the Web. I left in 2010. I have nothing against internet forum communities but thought I'd share my experience here and hope that some reader finds it useful.

The internet is a peculiar new reality. I cannot tell if it is bringing more people together, or simply driving us apart. I joined SOTW to explore my fascination with my chosen instrument and to share my journey with some fellow players. Well, that's the positive reason for joining. I also need to admit here too that I was having serious struggles with the equipment obsession trying to solve problems by buying gear rather than practicing on what I have. I did spend most of my time on the equipment side of the forum.

Obsessing and chasing gear is a fabulous way to insure you won't grow.

I could not stop.... not without massive help.

Does this resonate?

So, most of my interactions were pleasant. A few members were kind enough to let them know they like me and enjoyed some of my contributions. I'm no "pro level" horn player, not in the schooled jazz sense, but I have a good ear for tone and work really hard to make good sounds be it sax or guitar. I learned a lot. It helped me clear up some things and make some enlightened choices.

But then I'd read about the latest heavy neck screw or whatever to make your sound better and there went another bit of cash.

I could not stop........

Then some things started getting weird. I suppose those who frequent forums often know it's nothing unusual, but the negativity stuff. The occasional person who maybe isn't well and just needs attention attacking you. Today I know my choices better. If someone goes low I can choose to go high. But back then I did my best and slowly started to sink. Someone operating at a low frequency seeks to bring you there. Two things can bring out the darkness inside: your own darkness or your own light. I could be captain positive sunshine and get pounced by someone for doing so. I didn't know it didn't need to bother me so I'd engage.

By the end of my stay I made a few questionable comments criticizing peoples choices myself. That's not me to do that. I didn't like this version of me.

Oh, and I couldn't stop.....

One day as I was satisfying my fix at my coffee shop in Echo Park, yes I considered myself addicted to this forum by this point and it was bad, I received a private message from a member who I had apparently offended. At this point I had just under 500 post. He tore into me. Tore into what he knew about me (which isn't anything, all internet social activity including this blog is my brand, not me, it's bullshit) and dealt some low blows. He used threatening language, the works. He left off with a peculiar warning that I waste too much time there judging from my near 500 post.

500 post....that is a lot of time spent there. The number was right there in front of me. What was I getting from that number? It was a bucket of water poured on my sleepy head.

I answered him with a thank you. I didn't know what I did to offend this person but thanked him for pointing out something I was refusing to see. I was an addict. 500 post. I couldn't stop. I was spending more time here than I was making music and becoming a better player and person. This needed to stop.

I said to myself "please shoot me if I reach 1000!"

I pointed out to him he was approaching the 1000 mark......

So I did the best thing I could. I made one final post announcing "this is my final post, thank you for the good times". I did this so I couldn't go back. My ego needed to do such a thing. I contacted an administrator and asked that I be removed since they don't let you just go. I explained my addict behavior and that I needed this. I kinda begged. She told me she was sad to see me go and found me to be an interesting and valuable member and that it would say on my profile that I was 'banned'. I said "go for it! Thank you!"

That stopped the bleeding. I keep more money now and have become a much better player by spending time taking care of my gifts and digging into my own dreams.



So what about my side of the street?

I needed to admit there was ego tripping on my part. I got high on being right a few times. That felt gross but in a satisfying way. Yuck.....

If I did it again I wouldn't use an avatar. I'd use my name. That creates, for me, a better energy.

People say things over the internet that they would never say in person. For the most part we are rather docile creatures prone to decent social behaviors. But behind miles of fiber optic cables and satellites all bets are off. Read any comments section on any online news or video channel and you can see it. It's unfortunate behavior. There is absolutely no physical accountability online. If I said some of the things some folks said to me, I'd expect to get my nose broken. I even said to my 'private message' guy "you know, I bet we'd actually have a decent conversation about any of this over a cup of coffee". I don't think ill of that person at all. In hindsight I think he was struggling with the same problem as I was: he could not stop. If we met in person we may have actually helped one another. But in this cyber world? Has anybody ever grown from a Facebook argument? The #1 emotion on the web is rage. I don't know why this is but it's easier to go from 1 to 10 on the rage-o-meter on the web for me than when I'm sitting in NYC traffic!

I do follow SOTW still. I learn a lot. I learn about players I've never heard about and I'm grateful. I'm stronger now, wiser, but wise enough to know how easily I could get sucked back into behavior that harms me, so I read and then pick up my horn and work on ideas. I'm grateful for the whole experience. I'm grateful to Dr. G, JL, others and especially KCP for helping me move on.

I think it's a good thing for some people, just not for this person. If it's good for you, enjoy it! If you think you have a problem and cannot stop, there is help available. Reach out and get it, then get on and improve your playing, life, relationships, joy, heart.......

-Jef

More on the Holton Revelation tenor saxophone

So I've finally gotten to put this old Holton tenor through some paces. I want to share some impressions as there is a bit of interest in these horns and talk of the price possibly rising.

If you read this, don't worry about all that. These are great bargain horns. There is a reason why some old horns sell for the money they sell for. It's easy to resent the unobtanium, but it's easy to just get on with it and find something you love and play the heck out of it.

That being said, I like my Holton, I don't love it. I love my Buescher Aristocrat from '36 and on some days I love my Conn 10M, also from '36.

I don't really like to write in the "This vs. That" vein, but this may be useful to some who are interested.

Now, there was one of these that sold last year for around $725. You've probably already found the old listing if you happen to be doing a web search on a Holton Revelation tenor. In it the seller says something about his friend the player trying it and comparing it to the legendary Selmer Mk6 and saying it it's comparable in terms of tone and power. Please, don't buy into that. Maybe it's true to the person who wrote it and played it. I'm not a Selmer player but I have played some that made me go "well, if cost were no object, this would be mine!" or "Oh, I get it." I've played plenty that made me just go "meh, whatever" as well. But even those are, well, a step up, a big ass step up from the Holton.

The next is "the poor mans Conn".... No, that's called the Pan American. Those can be really good. And this horn is far different than any Conn I've ever played or owned, and Conn is the horn I've spent the most time on. Different sound altogether, brighter, wider, in some ways richer.

The next one you may have read it "tinny sound and sketchy intonation at best". That one came from an administrator at Sax on the Web apparently.

Let me answer to that. If all I did was spend a few minutes on this horn I would have come to the same conclusion. It is difficult being we are on the wrong side of the horn to really hear ourselves. Some horns I can hear myself better on than others. My Buescher is great that way. Good sense of the note. My Conn, not as good. When I had a Selmer from 1930 that was the only thing that kept me from selling it, great 'sense of the note'. This horn it's difficult to tell how I'm projecting.

Why is that? I don't really know. What I have experienced is this: it's a brighter horn, by far. It reminds me of a Cleveland tenor I once had for a minute, a 30's model. Bright and raunchy. Though this horn blows much better in tune than any King I've played. While I'm not a fan of bright horns in general, I can see this horn having it's place in the studio. The King I had I just couldn't blow in tune, but the sound I got for some nasty section stuff was unbeatable. This covers that base.

I'm not going to get all technical on you, I'll just keep a couple little things that I see. The neck socket is smaller than my Conn or Buescher. Those 2 are interchangeable and about 28.4mm in diameter. The Holton is 28mm. I had a later Collegiate that was wider than my Conn or Buescher! A lot wider. For me difficult to focus that horn.

Also the palm key tone holes are BIG on the Holton. Considerably wider than on my Conn or Buescher. I gotta say, the high end is my favorite part on the Revelation. It has a openness and a complexity upstairs my Conn lacks, and the Buescher can get, believe it or not, a little too rich up there for me! But I'm not complaining. Point being, I feel like I can get lazy with my airstream on the Conn, the Buescher is more demanding of my attention and I can push the core around to my liking. On the Holton with my Early Babbit Super Tone Master piece if I'm lazy what I get is the tin can alley. Not good. But after playing it for an hour I settled in and found if I'm focused and am playing with a really open throat, I get a full sound. It seems this horn just needs me to play with more support. It's just a different experience to fill it up than my other 2. I can't be lazy with this horn. Not a bad thing but not the best for me as some days I like my lazy.

You'll also read about Holton's clunktastic key work. If you are used to old American horns, this model is pretty damned good. Not as fast as my Conn but faster than my Buescher.

Now with any horn some times it's a matter of matching it to the right mouthpiece. I have 2 pieces, my Otto Link metal and an old Brilhart Hard Rubber piece opened up by my man Sakshama up in Queens. The Link is my go to piece. Never selling it. And it's cured my need to seek. When a piece simply solves a problem you may have struggled with for a decade, find the money. It was worth the chunk of change I forked over for it. The Brilhart I go back and forth on. Great player but I'm not 100% stoked on the sound I get, especially on my beloved Buescher. It's very 50's Sonny Rollins. Now, before you laser beam me off the map, Sonny is one of my absolute heroes, and I love his sound especially from that era. It's just such a big ass sound, not what I'm going for. Funny thing is I spent years working towards that, now I'm moving towards my own bag....

So the Brilhart on my Buescher is not my favorite. But I put it on the Holton and it's instant love. Great big, clear, rich tone. It can get too bright and a bit stuffy on my Buescher, on this horn it's the ticket to Hollywood. So if I keep the horn I'll keep that piece. It's a fantastic match.

THE BELL TEST:

My old teacher, W.C. Cage in Portland Oregon used to do this thing whenever I would bring him a new horn. He would tap the bell and compare it to his 10M that he played since the 40's. His horn being tapped was dead. "That's how you can tell a good horn!" he would say, "that metal".  He would tap a horn of mine and you'd hear 'clang, clang, ring' and he'd say to me "dump it!" Oh that used to make me mad. "A good horn has that deadness to the tap".

Now, you're going to get some kind of ring to it, but my Conn and Bueshcer are pretty dead in that department. The Holton rings much louder. The Conn and Buescher make a Bb, the Holton a C. Maybe that's what he meant. Maybe that's what he was listening for? Maybe that's all jive and now in my head. I do know this: the first good horn I had was an old Martin Handcraft. It was dead and a Dodo. He said "You got yourself a good horn!" No brand snobbery, it was a 1930 split bell Handcraft I sold to a friend later on. And yes, Mr Cage was right. That was a really good horn. Just had a great sound and felt solid. The brighter horns I've played and owned don't tend to pass the bell test. Doesn't make them a bad horn, it just makes them not as likable by me.

But like I said, this may be the perfect horn for some recordings I do where I need to sound more raunchy than I do on my other horns. I think this horn gets nastier than my Buescher, and I thought that wasn't possible!

So the only other thing I haven't done yet is use it with my band or on a gig. I'm not sure I trust it enough yet. When my drummer changes a drum head, it can change the way the band sounds. A horn can do that too and it's all about the group sound to me. And like I said, I don't know how it projects. We play acoustically and we can get pretty crazy so I need to be able to get over the top. I do intend to re-pad this horn and my guess is the guts will come out better with that. But bright horns and me are not the best match. Same with bright guitars and amps, that lower mid is important. (funny thing, playing this horn quietly it's all mid heaven, loud is where it brightens up).

So like I said, this is a cool horn. If you are curious about one, I hope this helps. These are very hard to find so if you do buy one, buy it knowing if it needs work you're not going to make any dough flipping it, that is if you don't dig it. It's no Selmer, it's no Conn. If you want a Selmer, save your money and buy one (I can finally afford one myself but would rather put a down on a house and take a vacation! If I can save.......then.......). If you want a Conn, buy a Conn. If you want something different and away from the rest, give one of these a go.

Oh, and some demos:

With Metal Link....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyu1yBG4fCs



With Rubber Brilhart......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd2S5slUEqI&t=58s

Enjoy! JB

Holton 213 Revelation tenor saxophone. Cool American Depression era horn!

Ok, Nerding out on the gear stuff. What can I say? It's a fun thing to do therefore a good thing. Maybe someone curious about these rare gems can decide a bit more clearly if they want to try one out or not by reading this little article.

So first off, what is the purpose of a "B" horn, or backup horn? Well, my "A" horn, which is my well loved '36 Buescher Aristocrat, is in the shop at KB Sax getting a tuneup. It has some leaks and I want to take the best care of it as possible. I hate being without that horn. It inspires me to have ideas whenever I pick it up. Bueschers in general do that, something about the sound makes me hear things and reach for them. But alas, I need the work done and I'm without it.

Those aren't expensive horns. I could buy another one easily but, I can't deal with 2 of the same. Why bother? They would still behave differently and it would create still more confusion.

I had 2 Elkharts from that same era in the last 2 years. Both were great and just similar enough with that small bell flare and nice sound. Not as rich but still nice. Stencil horns can be like that...

And the last 2 pics are of the Elkhart necks: The silver one was wonderfully modern with that comfortable upturned thing going on. The other was your classic Elkhart/Bundy/Buescher stencil. Both were original to the horns, a lot of experimenting at the Elkhart plant apparently.....

The trouble with these Elkhart horns is... well, in a pinch when I need the money, is they sell so easily. Best horn I can ask $800 for period. We're talking about the small bell ones from the 30's, not the later ones. These early ones had nice heavy brass and a better sound. Sold the first one to a great player who needed it for his jump blues gig, the second to another great player who was vintage curious and played on a Yamaha for 20 years.

So a "B" horn should for me be closer in tone to my "A" horn, but one that I can lose my ass on if I sell it? Sounds like a plan mate!

I do have a Conn 10M that is really good. But it's what I call a more "cold toned" horn. It's brash and big, loud as can be and of course can ballad it out beautifully, but the Buescher is just a "Warm toned" horn. 10M is a black and white photo, Buescher is a Cyanotype or Sepia photo. I love my 10M in a section on a mic, but I can hear my Buescher better and I love the way it barks to the back of the room.

So let me introduce to you a horn that is worth no money..... the Holton 213 Revelation:

This was Holton's flagship in 1937. Not much information is available on these gems as they made so few and garnered so little respect it seems. My first saxophone was a Holton Collegiate I bought from a friend for $200. It was a great place to start. There is a record with me playing on it out there, couldn't play well then but the tone I got was pretty damn good.

This tenor popped into my life this week on the cheap. It needs work but plays down to Bb well enough. My initial impressions were this: Nice sound but, oh effing no, right about A2 everything goes wicked sharp. Holton and their reputation for poor intonation and I just lost money on a wall hanger. Idiot!

But then I fixed the octave mechanism (upper stack rod needed cleaning and oiling plus one weak spring) and adjusted the funny tuner neck:

Where the tuner thing meets the neck, everything is skinnier than average. I backed off that bit and voila..... pitch locks right in. Now I can give it a real go.

Gotta say, while I don't think this horn has the power of my other 2, I really find the tone immediately likable. It's so warm. Probably warmer than my Buescher. Definitely sepia toned! My Buescher is more Cyan. This horn just has a beautiful voice. What does it remind me of? Immediate West Coast Cool. I want to play Prez, Giuffre, Getz..... What horn does it remind me of the most? I had a Selmer Super Sax from 1930 that sounded very much like this one. It had this pretty high end to it, great mids. This one is much like that horn but with better pitch and a bigger low end. I sold that horn to the chagrin of my band (they loved it, I didn't) cause I couldn't lock in that low end tuning and I'm addicted to the American bottom. This horn so far has both.

This one will be a project for me to learn how to re-pad a horn. It needs it. It's a decent candidate partly cause it has those brazed on tone holes which appear to be more level than most. And there is no body damage.

So what about Holton's key work? I almost bought a Holton Baritone from the 20's last year cause it was cheap, in tune (believe it or not!) and had a huge, belligerent tone when pushed and a beautiful voice when sub-toned. That would have set me back $550 case and all. But the key work was effing awful. No, I mean really bad. I can't imagine them selling any. Our hands haven't evolved at all in thousands of years. How did they mess that up so badly????

But by this point they got it together. It feels just as good/bad as any American horn. It's more fluid than my Buescher, my 10M is just plain fast. Like I said, the octave key is goofy but we'll see if that can be sorted out. I think it can.

The low Eb and C keys have a nice angle to them, something Buescher didn't get to for another few years and Conn never got to. The right hand is really comfortable.

The G# cluster is much like a Conn New Wonder series 1 from 1921 or so. Nothing offensive. I work better with these types of clusters. G# is not articulated, which I like too. The palm keys are far better than either my Conn or Buescher. They nailed that! No need for risers!!!!

And I love the design of the key guards. Classy high ball styling!

The engraving is lovely. And odd. A carry over from the Jazz Age, more Art Nouveau, less Art Deco:

Where this horn wins it beauty. This is the prettiest horn I think I've ever seen and it may be one of the prettiest horns I've ever heard. The lacquer has a gorgeous copper color to it. The keys appear to be silver plated but with a thin coat of the same lacquer over it, thin enough so that it's see through creating a striking presence. It's hard to tell if that is the color of the lacquer or whether that's the color of the metal. The neck has lost most of it's lacquer revealing the metal which shows it to have a high copper content. Very red brass.

I won't know how it sits with a band until I try it with the group, but that'll have to wait until it's fixed up and my Buescher is back in the shop.

People have referred these as a "Poor man's Conn". No. I don't buy that. And, Conn's aren't expensive at all, not even a good one if you don't need a pretty one. This horn does not have that big Conn sound, it has it's own unique thing going on that is worthy of a try if you like old horns. It's got good guts, which I need, and it's got that warmth that I really need. I think it's a good match to my Buescher. Every bit as inspiring to play. And if I fix it up and try to sell it, I'm likely to lose my ass on this one so that is a plus!!

One thing I'm really starting to like is the high register. On my Buescher it's a chameleon. I can get a close approximation of a wooden flute up there. That's difficult to achieve on my Conn. It's easy on this Holton. Of course some folks are like: "well why would you want that? My sax needs to sound like a sax!!!" to which I say thank God I'm not you and you're not me. We all like different things. The sax is one of the most flexible instruments in this world. I've gotten human voice tones from my Buescher, and of course, when I want to sound like a sax I do, it is after all, a sax right?

One wonders why Holton saxes never caught on the way the "big 4" did. Was it advertising? Or lack of hype? Or was it what Buffet did which was make the best clarinets in the world and let Selmer make the best saxes. Holton made superior trombones and other brass instruments already so why do too much? Really, that makes total sense to me. But I'm glad they did. It makes the world of old saxophones that much more diverse and interesting.

JB

Decisions, decisions....Too many instruments....

So my last blog post was about 3 tenors I have. Pondering which to keep (Buescher is a no brainer, on the fence about the other 2).  There's so many factors when trying a new instrument. All 3 of these horns have such great attributes.

It comes down to a few simple things: Am I having fun with this instrument? How do I sound?


The fun factor is more obvious and to me, more important. I need a horn or guitar that allows me to express myself but also forbids me from taking myself too seriously. Modern saxes feel like machines. A good old sax like a Conn or Buescher feels like a toy. I play with toys. I'm about 10 years old when I play music, those notes become the world.

The sound factor is more deceptive. I spent the whole week playing my 10M. Mmmmm, that is a beautiful sound. Got good time in practicing my scales, long tones and just the joy of playing a lot of old tunes and my own material. That's the stop! The 10M is the best horn ever for me......

Then the band had rehearsal. I miss my crappy Buescher. That horn has a presence to it that is simply the best. I know the 10m sounds great, and I sound good on it, but from behind the horn it's harder to hear. In most situations like with my own group, the Buescher is just perfect. I get a sense of the note. I don't feel lost. That's not to say it's Buescher in general, I've owned Aristocrats that didn't do this. I just happen to have one that may be particularly good. I get more compliments on my sound on the Buescher as well. Not the reason to play it but it's nice to get props from your audience and fellow musicians.

So while the Buescher has the most primitive keys I'll gladly continue to suffer a bit. The 10M is the fastest of the 3....

But, on the mic, in a horn section, the 10M is it for me. I love the way it blends and being it's a really dark horn it's not possible for the sound person to make me sound like Brecker or Pickett, not that there's anything wrong with those sounds, it's just not me. And playing through a pa can be frustrating. The 10M goes through wires and transistors and digital shit delays and pops through the monitor sounding focused and big, still warm. It has it's role, maybe just not with my band.

The Buffet is interesting. Every time I pick it up I'm floored at first. It's so fast, responsive and has a great sound. I haven't used it live yet so I don't know whats up.

But here is the simple test. There is a little sax solo I learned early on from Ethiopiques Vol 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MX4KjBEn_4

I love this solo. It's brief and beautiful and it's one of the reasons I play the horn. It's the sound I always go for. Oh, I never get there but it's my model.

I play it on one horn and go "Ah......." On another I go "Hmmmmmm". The latter goes back in the case.

The latter will probably go on the auction block. It becomes easy to decide. I think it's less than 20 notes! The simple things!

JB

3 tenors... '36 Aristocrat, '36 10M and 50's Buffet Dynaction!

"Brownie, your problem is you were raised with too much!" said my dear friend David Ackerman to me one drizzly afternoon in Portland. I knew he was right. My dear teacher W.C. Cage owned 3 tenors since 1946. His 10M which he played till he died in 2009, a Yamaha student model which he lent out and the guy sold for drugs, and a late 40's Buescher Aristocrat big B that he didn't like at all, he just bought it cause it was pretty and the pawn shop down in down in Clarksdale Mississippi sold it to him for $200 in 2005. It was pretty. New condition with all the tags and original case, mouthpiece etc.

His 10M was the best ever. I coveted that horn for years as we went over melodies. I told myself I would buy one if I could find one as good as his. I did. I own it. And, it's my rainy day horn for when my Aristocrat is in the shop.

I do have too much. I was raised middle class in the United States of America. I'm also un married. My mother used to tell me that if a man gets to be 40 and ain't married, he surrounds himself with stuff. Goddammit. She may have been right! My high school guitar teacher had a house full of expensive classical guitars....

But I live in a small apartment in Brooklyn now. Makes the rotating door easier. One comes in, one goes out. I don't want too much stuff.

So this post is a bit about the 3 horns I have. It's for the equipment junky and the person looking for some insights into what to buy. All these insane years have given me a lot of knowledge to share about different instruments. I suppose that's just a part of my musician. I'm curious about sound and I'm always reaching for something better....

My #1 tenor is my '36 Buescher Aristocrat.

What do I love so much about this horn? I've determined these are simply the best horn for me, and this is the best one I've played. It sports a pretty silver plated neck and has a lovely gold plated octave key. The neck is probably from an early 40's Aristocrat, it's shorter than the later 156 neck or 400 neck and is a great match for this horn.

This horn just has something about the sound that I love. It's got a lot of guts. There's a bunch of bollocks about these being "classical" tenors. Nah, they can do anything you want and when I push this horn it just gets nasty as can be. Filthy. Disgusting. Overly emotional. Much nastier than my very hyped 10M, which is hyped not without good reason. They deserve the hype. Buescher saxes get very little hype, especially these early ones.

This horn cuts too. With my Early Babbit Otto Link Super Tone Master I can get over anything while never losing my sense of the note, which makes playing it in tune easy. I can hear myself and it has a nice 'back pressure'. You know, that feeling there is a bit of a donut in the horn just fighting you in the right way. I can get any tone out of this horn. I can sound like a flute, a bassoon, a baby, an opera singer and of course, a sax. The most versatile tenor I've ever owned.

You'll notice the big ass neck screw. I bought one for this horn and my 10M. They are made by Meridian Winds and advertised as 'ergonomic'. I agree with that. I like tightening them. Feels substantial. But, I bought them cause I like a little bling. They're pretty. I like a good watch, shoes, rings, a little dressing up is hot. Does this thing affect the sound? I admit I bought it when all that buzz was going on about the buzz screws. At first I thought it did do something, just the opposite of buzz, in fact a bit of buzz kill. Which I liked. I tried my old screws later and found no difference.

This horn gets my vibe, my sound and allows me to express myself my way. Out of the 3, it has the crappiest key work (sorry 10M, you don't get to be dissed in this post!). But for the sound, it's worth it. I should also mention. I moved around a bit as a child. I'm highly adaptable. Give me a minute on each horn and I do fine. I do understand those who can't adapt though too.

I should mention too, this horn was de-snapped and mounted with those Selmer type plastic resonators. That kills some collector value but, I call jive to the playability bit. I sought this horn out and bought it because it was de-snapped! If I need to change a pad I can pop in whatever I like. I can find a lazy tech on the road who hates the snappos and he or she can have me going in minutes. I don't like things that limit my choices. If I find another one that is de-snapped I may pick it up too. These horns can be had for cheap which is lucky for me and you.

But Jef, who famous played one of these? Ike Quebec. Enough said! Listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJou_YPgbgI

So dare to be different and check one of these babies out.

My next horn is new to me. A 50's Buffet Dynaction....

I wasn't so sure about this horn until today. I've been playing it all day long. There are 2 basic types of sound/feels to me on tenor. Old and New. The Chu I played for a decade had that old thing: big fundamental, bellows like a big dog. Dark with that voluptuous voice. My 10M has it, my Aristocrat a bit less. There are some horns like the '46 Big B I owned for a while, the Martin Committee 2 I owned, the Selmer Cigar Cutter that I owned, these had that more 'refined' thing. Hard to describe nut I'll try. Dark and airy in the middle but with a nice, bright open edge to it. Make sense? It's just a different experience to play it. My Martin Handcraft Standard that I owned, old sound. Just big. I understand that sound and how to work it since I played old Conns for so many years. Horns like this, or a Selmer, I don't understand at all. My Committee 2 same thing. Lovely horn but I didn't get it. There's a lushness I don't exactly understand, almost like the sound is coming from a different place than I'm used to.

With my Otto Link I don't like this horn so much. Too clear, too big. But last night I put my Brilhart Hard Rubber piece (Sakshama re-face) on it and BOOM! Instant 'Blue Trane" era John.

The negative things said about these horns, they are stuffy, too dark, only good for classical yadda yadda, that's simply not true. And this is an earlier Dynaction, not the later bolder and brighter Super Dynaction. This horn has a tone not unlike the Super Balanced Action I recently played that was priced at $10k. I paid a bit more than 1/10 of that price for this horn.

Some horns, and this includes Selmer, or, really any horn, it's maddening. Important to match the right mouthpiece with the horn itself. This horn has a very big sound, but a different quality of big than my American horns. I think a more spread, maybe even a crappier new NY Otto Link piece would do it right. For what I want, it needs a spread piece. My Link has a great focus which works so well on my naturally spread Aristocrat and, well, less spread 10M.

I don't know what the "French" sound that people talk about is but I gotta say, this horn comes hauntingly close to my favorite Clifford Jordan recordings. He's one of my heroes. That makes me happy. Is it a keeper? Jury is out. My rule for this is buy cheap so you can check out and not lose any money. I'm not in love with this one yet but it's growing on me, fast.

If it sticks around it'll be my session horn where I want to sound a bit more like someone else. And no, I don't buy the "it's the player, not the horn" argument. It's both. Why would you choose one horn over another? The first thing that grabs me is the sound I get. This horn isn't my sound, but it's a very, very likable sound.

Who played these? Who cares? Try one and see if you like it. Albert Ayler enjoyed a Super Dynaction. I love his sound. David S Ware enjoyed an S1.....


This one I bought from Hammer Woodwinds in Pennsylvania. Great shop! They did a great overhaul on it and the horn is cracking! Has those funny screw in "cymbal" resonators in there.

Which leads me to one more point. Do the snap resonators make a difference? Do the screw in cymbal hat resonators make a difference? How important is original equipment?

Well, my next and last horn is my 10M. It has no resonators. I've played some that had oversized expensive resonators that were dead tenors. My 10M cuts like a Ginsu folks. It's just a good one. When I get it re-padded I may just go with the smallest thing I can go with. It is the darkest horn of the lot but even as is, the thing soars over whatever I need it to.

Me and my 10M:

Not much to say about this horn as these are already hyped. All they say is true. Big ass sound, great intonation (all 3 tenors have great intonation!) and for me, the fastest keys. I know some folks find them unbearable, but I came up on Conns. There is a reason for their often high prices. I got mine cheap. It's every bit as good as my old teachers horn.

Soundwise it's quite different than the other 2. More clear than my Aristocrat and less expressive but the thing is just a blast to play. It is the darkest of the 3 horns.

You can hear numerous examples of folks playing these, Lester Young, Jerry Bergonzi, Sal Nistico, Dexter Gordon.

I'll leave with a little bit about perception and the brain. I tried all the tricks to get around practicing. Silver plate my neck for more 'focus and depth' and swear that did the trick until months later when I'd have to admit that I'm not sure if anything changed at all and that I'm struggling with the same things. Silver, gold plated and bare brass saxes swearing that did this or that.

My 10M is a re-lacquered horn. It was done a long time ago. When I first got it I thought it was such an ugly color, like that 70's Yamaha student pale yellow lacquer, that I was determined to have it stripped. Then this 1974 Yanagisawa came through my life. It had that horrific bright, pale look to it. Next to that horn I could see that beautiful golden honey color my 10M is. I cannot see it as anything other than beautiful when I look at it now. My perception has shifted entirely. The mind is a curious and complex thing. I do wonder when I see someone playing on a silver Mk6, and I've been told those are bright and stuffy, that's what I hear cause that's what I've been told. But reality speaks differently. I only hear good music if I like the music I hear, and hear good sound if I like the sound I hear. It's all a part of the journey and it's a beautiful journey. The best part of it? The actual practicing and playing part.

When my mind drifts and I start craving something else, I pick up my Aristocrat and play for 10 minutes. My mind gets real quiet then. I have all that I need. And I'm blessed to be able to share some music with this world. My Aristocrat is my subtle knife. It cuts holes in space and time......

JB