This is a Lj Hutchen Mark II Alto Sax given to me by my bro-in-law

[Michael]

😎 My bro-in-law is about ready to get back to work, recuperation came along fine. I’m getting ready to go back home on the 23rd and today he brings me this LJ Mark II Alto Saxophone that he picked up from a shop in Albuquerque. He knows I’m getting ready to get my Trevor James Saxophones, but said he wanted to do something because he appreciated the sacrifice we made and “didn’t know what else to get you.” How cool of him and my sister….I never asked for anything. He did so much for me when I was a kid. Funny how my family and friends here in New Mexico now think of a Saxophone when they think of me LOL

I don’t know anything about LJ Hutchen Saxophones at all, never even heard of them before. But I got to say the intonation on it, especially in the lower register, is slightly better than my Vito. It’s a little bit bigger, louder, more “colorful” than the Vito; sounds great when you growl on the lower register. But i’ts not quite as free-blowing. For Subtones on the low Bb, B, C#, etc.. you got to push a little bit harder from your diaphragm. I haven’t found much of a difference in the Altissimo range between this Sax and my Vito with the exception of really high notes like Alt E, Eb, F, F# and up to the 5th Octave of G (yes, I’m hitting notes in the 5th Octave range now….thanks to Johnny!) This Sax seems to allow you to get those Altissimo notes out a little bit more easily than the Vito. Thanks much to my bro-in-law/sister for doing this; certainly wasn’t expecting it. But…..what am I going to do with 3 Alto Saxophones?!? (I got 2 right now and with my soon-to-come Trevor James that would be 3 Alto Saxophones) I guess the same thing I would do with the first one….play it! 🙂

[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/l6f77-DSC01707.JPG[/img]
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/28tyn-DSC01708.JPG[/img]
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/b7357-DSC01709.JPG[/img]

[Anonymous]

get your wife & children playing the other Alto’s!!
Then you’re in the band !!!

[Michael]

We’re already working towards it 🙂 My oldest son started the guitar about 4 months ago. My wife knew how to play the Piano really well when she was younger but we don’t have a Piano in the house, so we’re planning on getting a good keyboard set up for her–Our youngest son wants to start learning to play the drums; we’ll take care of both the keyboard and drum set when we move into our new place this year (they also know I’m paying for my pro-model Trevor James Saxophones first too) Our youngest son who wants to learn to play the drums is going to start working on that after I get back home; there’s a great place for him locally where he can go and learn every week, their rates are very good too. It’s our daughter who has an interest in the Saxophone, so we’ll see what happens.

[Anonymous]

@Michael – I’m counting down the days now – must be 8 days to go before you upload to the blog?
Seems like everyone is busy practising their Sax’s – i’m expecting a deluge of uploads to the blog
anytime now! lol
I’m not practising anything in particular, just playing the odd christmas song, sort of lost interest
in uploading at the minute – down to having had a cold for the past 2 weeks!

[john]

Hey guys just give me another day to get back home before you upload to blog because that page is getting too full and I’ll get a new one up.

[Michael]

Hey Johnny, there’s already a new section that you posted for Member’s Videos on there “part 8” I’ve been so, so busy here with family that I haven’t had any time to learn any of your new holiday music but I have bought them–for the past 3 months my practices have consisted solely of Killer Blues/Improvisation, musical theory and all of the normal daily exercises that I have always done like chromatic scales. One thing I have been working hard on is practicing long tones in the Altissimo range and it’s done wonders to my overall tone. I can hold Altissimo G on the Alto as long as you do in “I was made to love her”……..but I’m about to find out how it goes with holding it that long on the Tenor. I’ve had to work SO hard to hit Altissimo G nice/clean consistenly, let alone holding it for that long.
SXPOET: Yes, I get home next Tuesday night….but please give me a few days before even thinking about uploading to the blog. I haven’t seen my wife and kids for 3 months and I’m exhausted. The blog doesn’t have “legs and run away”, so it’s not going anywhere 🙂 You willl see my play 3 songs of Johnny’s on Alto Sax. I have my new Theo Wanne Durga MP scheduled to be delivered before the end of this month, so it’s all good timing. I won’t upload all 3 of Johnny’s songs all in exactly one day. It’s important, for my own personal benefit, to allot a little time for Johnny/other members to provide me with valuable insights and I can take it in and apply–that’s how we get better. There will probably be like 5 days or so between each upload.
Getting back home next week, I will be working on “The Green Onions” in Gm and Am, the Blues “Boogie Woogie” in C, as well as Johnny’s new music. That will all be uploaded around the time I get my new Pro Model Trevor James Saxophones (just around the corner!) Before leaving to NM, I had on Tenor finished some of Johnny’s songs “Pick up the Pieces” and almost done “Yakety Sax” as well as “Spooky” by the Classics IV which included the famous solo, so I’ll work on brushing those up. Lots coming…stay tuned.

[Anonymous]

@Michael – cool looking forward to your uploads!
I probably won’t upload again until february!
The eldest daughter is back home from University
and is revising for exams in mid Jan, so i’ve cut
back on the playing so as not to disturb her

[Author]

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