This came into my life the other day. Something I've always wanted since I tried one at Roberto's in 2005....
1939 Selmer Balanced Action tenor. It's a re-lacquered one of course and needs work but plays up and down great as-is. Good enough to use on a gig. I'll be getting it overhauled soon. May have the lacquer stripped, may leave it as is.
It's a wonderful tenor, everything I could have hoped for.
So I have 3 tenors, really 4 but 2 are the same make and model. I'm narrowing it down to 2 I intend to keep.
Please forgive the lack of photos in this post. I've "upgraded" my Macbook Pro and now nothing works as it once did. I have no idea how to access my photos right now on this. Another, well, I don't swear here but.... @^*(# you Apple! You SUCK!!!!
I'll just do my best to make up for the lack of pictures with better writing.
Ok, back to tenors.
I started on a Holton and quickly switched to Martin but always wanted a Conn so..... that's where I wound up and stayed for about 15 years. I owned several, 10M, 30M, settled on a 1928 Chu Berry for 9 years. That was a love / hate relationship for years. The fellow who owns it sounds great on it and loves the thing. It's replaced his (Yamaha? Yanagisawa?) as his main horn.
That horn taught me a lot. I learned about plating (I had the neck nickel plated 5x for more focus, the result, I had a silver neck.......looked prettier!) I tried different necks, had the strap hook moved (Mexi Conn neck plus lower strap hook was my favorite combo, felt way better, more modern if you will) but the main thing I learned was it's much easier to destroy my own ideas by the relentless pursuit of equipment than by practicing and putting myself out there. Seriously, if you need to try every different neck, mouthpiece, strap hook, gizmo, gadget, you may have a commitment problem, not a horn problem.
The horn itself, I've heard a recording of myself with the original neck and a Morgan Excalibur piece I bought at Junkdude and it sounded terrific. I needed no other combo, just needed to sit still and create!
But then I tried a Balanced Action and said "Oh I get it. This thing is just that good." Trouble is, those are expensive, any Selmer is expensive if it's made in France!
So about 5 years later I bought a Buescher Aristocrat from my friend Peter. Over the next few years I eventually switched entirely and sold my trusty Chu. Why did I do that? A friend told me the Aristocrat would take me to the next place. Challenge me in the right ways. The Chu may be limiting me. Eventually I found this to be true (for me!). The Aristocrat just had more I could do with it. Such a complex, beautiful, at times nasty sound. It can be an angel or a filthy devil.
It felt like a logical step evolution wise. I sold that one but regretted it and got another which I still have. Actually I have 2, a mint 1935 model and my trusty ugly 1937 model.
So I'm in a similar place. The Balanced Action feels simply like the next logical step in the evolution of my equipment.....
So what do I like and not like about these 3 horns? I do have a Conn Transitional Chu from 1930 that I'm selling.
The Conn first.....
The Conn has the most interesting tone I feel. It's the biggest. I don't think the high end suffers one bit like some folks find. It's got a big sound from bottom to top. It's the darkest but certainly cuts well. What don't I like about it? The obvious.... the key work. And not to mention while playing it on it's own I'm in love with that sound, I quickly realized that after not playing on a Conn for the last 5 years I'd need to get in the corner and do my long tones for a year just to get used to it. I'd need to do some key mods to get used to that again too. It's a commitment thing. Right now, I just want to take it easy and not work so hard! Oh, I could get used to the keys but I just don't want to.
So it should go to someone who will enjoy it.
The Buescher Aristocrat:
My main axe now for a while. When I started playing these I didn't really like them. I just noticed though, even though the sound doesn't "feel" as big as the Conn when you play it, they have a way of putting out sound that cuts and fills a room. I spent an afternoon at Peters house trying his Mk6 from 1957, my 10M, his Chu, my Chu, a couple SML horns and his Grassi (great horn!). Other than the Mk6 and the Grassi, the Buescher kinda buried the rest. It's weird cause you look at it and it's un-impressive with that skinny little bell flare. I liked the tone quality better than all that was mentioned here too. Rich, complex, good cut. I started recording with it and that's where it hit home. It just recorded better for me than my Chu. My intonation on the Chu was good, the Bueshcer is just dead on. It's better in that department than the Conn or Selmer.
The key work I like as well. It feels natural. But the first one I sold cause I needed the dough and I was more used to the more impressive Chu.
The series one Buescher Aristocrat may be one of the best kept secrets of the horn world. No, it's not 'laser beam focused' or 'compact' or 'better for classical'. The tone is wide in the right way and disgusting when pushed. I had a King for a minute and was huge sounding but the Buescher beat that horn to death in the end. And the Buescher has a lovely flexibility that is tough to beat.
Tone wise? Oh I know I just said the Conn is probably the best, but that's subjective. I actually think the Buescher has the most interesting voice. Fine spot between the Conn and a Selmer just like they say. And as soon as I started playing it live, other horn players started asking me what it was and telling me I never sounded better. It's funny cause the 2 most sought after horns are Selmer and Conn. I ain't gonna lie here as I'm just as susceptible to pack mentality as anyone sometimes. I didn't want to give up the Conn partly cause who plays a Buescher??? Plenty of famous Conn and Selmer players, with good reason, but jazz players on a Buescher? Ike Quebec, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter when he played that Bundy with Miles Davis. Oh, Maxwell Davis playing R&B too! That's all I got!
The Buescher doesn't feel limiting. Conns for me do. So do Kings, and some other horns. Psychological? Maybe. It's my brain, my choice yo!
So about my Selmer.
I've been trying out a bunch. I played a Super Balanced Action that got my attention but the price was $8750! Other than the best key work ever made, ultimately I felt the tone was not unlike my Buescher, it just cut differently. Not a difficult jump to make. And I love that low Bb on a Selmer. It's bigger on the American horns, and bigger on say a Buffet or SML, but there is this soft quality to that low Bb that kills me on a Selmer. Hard to describe in words, I just haven't gotten it like that on any other horn.
My Balanced has that. It got me right away. I can't say I like the tone more than the Buescher, but what I do like better is the immediacy of the response. There is this punchiness that gets me right away. It has a more modern sound to it than my Buescher, but not so modern like a modern horn. Still has this bit of spread I really dig. It's a big sound but not so big that I don't feel weird in an intimate setting. I can get that on my Conn too. But this horn just is easier.
It's the most 'compact' of the 3. When pushed it holds together nicely. And it's LOUD.
I was worried about the intonation after reading again and again "the bell keys were sharp" from other players better than I. Not the case with this at all. They are dead on. I struggled for about an hour with the top end going sharp but found the sweet tuning spot and now it plays in tune as well as any good horn for me.
It's easy to make the jump as the tone on my Aristocrat isn't so far away from this Selmer. Both are very warm, I'd say the Selmer is friendlier though. And certainly, the key work is tops. My favorite feel. I think in the name of progress they messed that up. I have not met a Mk6 that I dig the feel on. The Balanced Action and Super Balanced just feel more fun to me. Not machine like.
In other word the Selmer doesn't feel limiting either, like I can play anything I want. It's just easier than any other horn I've played.
So those are my 3 favorite horns. I'll be keeping my Aristocrat and the Selmer. They compliment each other in a good way and neither confuses me like the Conn does now. The Selmer feels simply like the next logical step. Something to grow with. And, I've always wanted one. I'm not getting any younger! Gotta enjoy the rest of my stay here as best as I can!
-J
1939 Selmer Balanced Action tenor. It's a re-lacquered one of course and needs work but plays up and down great as-is. Good enough to use on a gig. I'll be getting it overhauled soon. May have the lacquer stripped, may leave it as is.
It's a wonderful tenor, everything I could have hoped for.
So I have 3 tenors, really 4 but 2 are the same make and model. I'm narrowing it down to 2 I intend to keep.
Please forgive the lack of photos in this post. I've "upgraded" my Macbook Pro and now nothing works as it once did. I have no idea how to access my photos right now on this. Another, well, I don't swear here but.... @^*(# you Apple! You SUCK!!!!
I'll just do my best to make up for the lack of pictures with better writing.
Ok, back to tenors.
I started on a Holton and quickly switched to Martin but always wanted a Conn so..... that's where I wound up and stayed for about 15 years. I owned several, 10M, 30M, settled on a 1928 Chu Berry for 9 years. That was a love / hate relationship for years. The fellow who owns it sounds great on it and loves the thing. It's replaced his (Yamaha? Yanagisawa?) as his main horn.
That horn taught me a lot. I learned about plating (I had the neck nickel plated 5x for more focus, the result, I had a silver neck.......looked prettier!) I tried different necks, had the strap hook moved (Mexi Conn neck plus lower strap hook was my favorite combo, felt way better, more modern if you will) but the main thing I learned was it's much easier to destroy my own ideas by the relentless pursuit of equipment than by practicing and putting myself out there. Seriously, if you need to try every different neck, mouthpiece, strap hook, gizmo, gadget, you may have a commitment problem, not a horn problem.
The horn itself, I've heard a recording of myself with the original neck and a Morgan Excalibur piece I bought at Junkdude and it sounded terrific. I needed no other combo, just needed to sit still and create!
But then I tried a Balanced Action and said "Oh I get it. This thing is just that good." Trouble is, those are expensive, any Selmer is expensive if it's made in France!
So about 5 years later I bought a Buescher Aristocrat from my friend Peter. Over the next few years I eventually switched entirely and sold my trusty Chu. Why did I do that? A friend told me the Aristocrat would take me to the next place. Challenge me in the right ways. The Chu may be limiting me. Eventually I found this to be true (for me!). The Aristocrat just had more I could do with it. Such a complex, beautiful, at times nasty sound. It can be an angel or a filthy devil.
It felt like a logical step evolution wise. I sold that one but regretted it and got another which I still have. Actually I have 2, a mint 1935 model and my trusty ugly 1937 model.
So I'm in a similar place. The Balanced Action feels simply like the next logical step in the evolution of my equipment.....
So what do I like and not like about these 3 horns? I do have a Conn Transitional Chu from 1930 that I'm selling.
The Conn first.....
The Conn has the most interesting tone I feel. It's the biggest. I don't think the high end suffers one bit like some folks find. It's got a big sound from bottom to top. It's the darkest but certainly cuts well. What don't I like about it? The obvious.... the key work. And not to mention while playing it on it's own I'm in love with that sound, I quickly realized that after not playing on a Conn for the last 5 years I'd need to get in the corner and do my long tones for a year just to get used to it. I'd need to do some key mods to get used to that again too. It's a commitment thing. Right now, I just want to take it easy and not work so hard! Oh, I could get used to the keys but I just don't want to.
So it should go to someone who will enjoy it.
The Buescher Aristocrat:
My main axe now for a while. When I started playing these I didn't really like them. I just noticed though, even though the sound doesn't "feel" as big as the Conn when you play it, they have a way of putting out sound that cuts and fills a room. I spent an afternoon at Peters house trying his Mk6 from 1957, my 10M, his Chu, my Chu, a couple SML horns and his Grassi (great horn!). Other than the Mk6 and the Grassi, the Buescher kinda buried the rest. It's weird cause you look at it and it's un-impressive with that skinny little bell flare. I liked the tone quality better than all that was mentioned here too. Rich, complex, good cut. I started recording with it and that's where it hit home. It just recorded better for me than my Chu. My intonation on the Chu was good, the Bueshcer is just dead on. It's better in that department than the Conn or Selmer.
The key work I like as well. It feels natural. But the first one I sold cause I needed the dough and I was more used to the more impressive Chu.
The series one Buescher Aristocrat may be one of the best kept secrets of the horn world. No, it's not 'laser beam focused' or 'compact' or 'better for classical'. The tone is wide in the right way and disgusting when pushed. I had a King for a minute and was huge sounding but the Buescher beat that horn to death in the end. And the Buescher has a lovely flexibility that is tough to beat.
Tone wise? Oh I know I just said the Conn is probably the best, but that's subjective. I actually think the Buescher has the most interesting voice. Fine spot between the Conn and a Selmer just like they say. And as soon as I started playing it live, other horn players started asking me what it was and telling me I never sounded better. It's funny cause the 2 most sought after horns are Selmer and Conn. I ain't gonna lie here as I'm just as susceptible to pack mentality as anyone sometimes. I didn't want to give up the Conn partly cause who plays a Buescher??? Plenty of famous Conn and Selmer players, with good reason, but jazz players on a Buescher? Ike Quebec, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter when he played that Bundy with Miles Davis. Oh, Maxwell Davis playing R&B too! That's all I got!
The Buescher doesn't feel limiting. Conns for me do. So do Kings, and some other horns. Psychological? Maybe. It's my brain, my choice yo!
So about my Selmer.
I've been trying out a bunch. I played a Super Balanced Action that got my attention but the price was $8750! Other than the best key work ever made, ultimately I felt the tone was not unlike my Buescher, it just cut differently. Not a difficult jump to make. And I love that low Bb on a Selmer. It's bigger on the American horns, and bigger on say a Buffet or SML, but there is this soft quality to that low Bb that kills me on a Selmer. Hard to describe in words, I just haven't gotten it like that on any other horn.
My Balanced has that. It got me right away. I can't say I like the tone more than the Buescher, but what I do like better is the immediacy of the response. There is this punchiness that gets me right away. It has a more modern sound to it than my Buescher, but not so modern like a modern horn. Still has this bit of spread I really dig. It's a big sound but not so big that I don't feel weird in an intimate setting. I can get that on my Conn too. But this horn just is easier.
It's the most 'compact' of the 3. When pushed it holds together nicely. And it's LOUD.
I was worried about the intonation after reading again and again "the bell keys were sharp" from other players better than I. Not the case with this at all. They are dead on. I struggled for about an hour with the top end going sharp but found the sweet tuning spot and now it plays in tune as well as any good horn for me.
It's easy to make the jump as the tone on my Aristocrat isn't so far away from this Selmer. Both are very warm, I'd say the Selmer is friendlier though. And certainly, the key work is tops. My favorite feel. I think in the name of progress they messed that up. I have not met a Mk6 that I dig the feel on. The Balanced Action and Super Balanced just feel more fun to me. Not machine like.
In other word the Selmer doesn't feel limiting either, like I can play anything I want. It's just easier than any other horn I've played.
So those are my 3 favorite horns. I'll be keeping my Aristocrat and the Selmer. They compliment each other in a good way and neither confuses me like the Conn does now. The Selmer feels simply like the next logical step. Something to grow with. And, I've always wanted one. I'm not getting any younger! Gotta enjoy the rest of my stay here as best as I can!
-J
