Narrowing it down finally! Selmer Balanced Action, Conn Chu Berry, Buescher Aristocrat

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

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

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