This Female Pro Sax Player has a better tone than some of the guys!

[Michael]

Hey Dazza–how did the Gig you got to see go? I would have loved to be there with you….I was thinking the other day how AWESOME it would be if all of the Members here on Johnny’s site, someday, could arrange a Jam Session where we all get together and get to see each other play; up close and personal 🙂 You better believe I would be buy a plane ticket for it 🙂

[john]

As you may remember I was given that horn to play for about a month or 2 back when I did the review vid and I really loved it. It’s a top-end sax for sure but I can’t honestly tell you the comparison to the XS because I didn’t try that one. I wouldn’t split hairs at this point. Check out the price difference and what that difference brings, if it’s just a few bells and whistles and maybe a different choice for the look or finish then these things are not going to have any notacable differences in whats most important, your tone. Remember what I always say about that; 90% of it is related to you and your mp/reed setup not the horn.
Did you get any further with the balanced action (mark IV)?

[john]

Hey Michael I got an email the other day from another member asking if I had plans to put on a “sax camp” for those interested in doing just that. I haven’t given it any thought but I do remember when I started studying my teacher did such a thing with a handful of his students and it was really great… mind you most of us were kids (teens) but hanging out as a group and studying, practicing etc was awesome that one summer. I guess if enough people showed an interest such a thing could happen. We have quite a few members here but they’re scattered around the globe so could be costly for some as far as flights hotels etc. Anyway, that is something to think about.

[Michael]

I decided not to get that Sax I was looking at out here….I would have loved to have it, but I’m set on the Trevor James. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great sax in good condition; but I gave the guys at Massullo Music my word and I don’t want to do anything that will hinder that….I’m SO, SO, SO close to having the $– Life, in general, has thrown enough at me as it is. There will be another time in the way of a Tenor.

I’m going with the RAW and not RAW XS for the exact reasons that you mentioned above…I naturally thought about it, but the RAW XS is a few hundred dollars more and I don’t see the justification in it, especially with the Custom made MBII MP that I have that I’ll be using with it. I can’t see, right now anyway, playing another MP for Alto Sax. I was getting ready to upload “Just the Way you Are” to the blog and then I had to come out here. It has that “richness” that is hard to describe. Those few hundred dollars extra the RAW XS would cost is $ I can use to get a Home Recording Studio set up and that’s next on the Agenda after I pay for my Trevor James….I’ll probably need some help and guidance from you Johnny in the way of Home Recording; more than happy to pay you for your time.
A Sax Camp would be Awesome!!! I would highly recommend you think about it. Maybe send out a survey/e-mail to all members to see how many are serious and require a deposit? We know your time is valuable. I would NOT hesitate to pay you a few hundred dollars to hang with you/other players for a day and get face-to-face instruction–that would be something that would just help the rest of us in the way of a HUGE learning curve. (Look at what Dazza mentions about getting to be up close and personal at the Sax Gig he went to?) If it was organized correctly, that’s something that could also be good for folks like Massullo Music or other folks whom you may know to display and exhibit their stuff too. If it’s organized right, hotels are sometimes willing to give discounts of sorts if there’s enough people, but if not that’s fine too–they have to make a living. It’s something to think about for sure.

[Anonymous]

Hey Michael – i got the opportunity to hear a grade 8 student play a Trevor James student Sax, and i can honestly say it sounded better than my intermediate Yamaha YAS480.
My Sax teacher prefers Trevor James to Yamaha’s, even though he uses Selmar’s Alto & Tenors professionally for a living.
Also Dave Koz is doing a gig near me so i might go and see him play!

[Dazza]

Hey guys. Last night tripped into the city for that gig which started at 11pm going thorugh to 2am. Driving so not drinking and what a disapointment! The band played great songs and the singer was really good but the singer I came to hear, the tenor player, couldn’t be heard! I mean lterally couldnt hear him. Whether his mike wasn’t on and he didnt know it (which I doubt) or he was under instruction, I am not sure but I was p$#%ed off. I actually heard someone between songs point to his sax and scream, turn it up!. The drummer was too loud and the trumpet player was taking all the glory. Mustang Sally came on and I thought, here we go, sax solo coming up but he was blowing hard on his beautiful Selmer (looked a lot like Johnnys) but NOTHIN!. There is a community big band that plays every second Sunday at the local hall that a muso friend of mine said are great so off to see that one for a dose of live music. Incidentally, where do you live Johnny? If the Sax Camp goes ahead give us all a year to save up hey! The Aussie dollar is on the slide….Cheers

[john]

Yes Daz, will do, I live in Vancoiver BC Canada.
wow that’s a disappointing story to say the least but I’m not surprised. It’s just not acceptable tho. Did he have a mic in front of him on a stand? was there a soundman mixing the band? It could be a number of reasons but that’s why we do a sound check before any gig, it’s just how you do it so things sound right. If he was completely inaudible then it’s his and the bands responsibility to make sure he is turned on and at a good volume that’s comparable to everyone else on stage. I get mad thinkin about it and I wasn’t even there!
thing is, it’s happened to me many time in my earlier gigging days but I learned pretty quick cause it pissed me off way more when it was me that couldn’t be heard, a guy has to take more control over the sound in live playing situations or else thus is exactly what happens.

[Dazza]

Yes he had a mounted mic on hos sax that seemed to be angled too far out and the soundman was intent on texting for two hours rather than focussing on the job at hand. Anyway, I was thinking of giving him my feedback next time I go to his shop, politely of course. I looked on the link to Amazon and saw the Meyer 5’s at half the price of what I was quoted the other day here. Before I commit, can you tell me if the metal one in yr demo is the aluminium and would I be better with the 5 or 6. Can the larger opening be compensated by going back a half reed size for a bit? Would the sound be all that differnet between the HR and the AL? Thanks

[john]

yes the AL is quite superior to the HR for tone quality and yes I am playing the AL one in the video but I am comparing it to the Meyer HR not the Claude Lakey HR, still, the AL is that much better sounding than the HR. The prices reflect this to as there is a big difference.I was actually introduced to these AL ones when they lent me the sax and was really impressed. Not sure if it beats the metal but def blows away the HR ones.
5 is med and so 6 is just up a step but you’ll feel the diff. and yes, you can compensate somewhat by going larger and then dropping down a reed size. depending on where you’re at, since I can’t be listening to you in the same room it’s not possible to tell but on size is not so biog that you can’t fit into it very quickly, especially if you’re intent on getting ahead and spend some time with it. Just do some of the exercises I have here, long tones etc.

[Michael]

Hey Dazza, did those guys do any kind of sound check, at all, before the session started? A soundman texting instead of doing his job?!? My goodness……….sounds like those guys just didn’t have their act together!

Being out here in New Mexico right now and having the opportunity to hang around, as time permits, my nephew and his band (my nephew is an absolutely KILLING guitar player) has worked with me a lot about Chords and chord progression, timing and rhythm and it’s been a fantastic experience for me and a huge learning curve–my problem at times was to get caught up mentally in my own playing v.s. listening to that drummer (My nephew’s drummer told me that the drummer ALWAYS sets the pace for the band and that people don’t realize how of a role the drummer has).
They we’re telling me that, when it comes to having a Sax player on a band and if I listened to a lot of great songs in the past, what you hear is that although the Sax player never tries to play ahead of the drummer and certainly NEVER ahead of the singer; a good band who appreciates their Sax player will give him that time in the Song to let him Solo for the exact reasons that you mentioned. He can almost become “nonexistant” if others try to “drown” him out. They we’re telling me that EVERYONE LOVES and WANTS to hear that moment when the Sax player solos and a good band will recognize that and allow for it…..when you went to that gig, you wanted to hear their Sax player solo, right? That’s the point my nephew’s band was making and the same holds true for the Guitar players, the drummer, etc. Here’s a couple of videos that they actually showed me in the way of a visual aide to help me understand what they’re talking about–notice how much in harmony everyone is:
http://youtu.be/5BiWXOUXQ0I
http://youtu.be/UCTbNnoZMwc

[Author]

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