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
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
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