I good old Conn from the 30's is a real canon for big sound. Personally I like the Bueschers of the 40's (same sound, better ergos). Hail Gus!

Vince Gnojek and I studied with the same coach in high school.

When i went for buying a saxophone 20 years ago there were no such things like a good and new instrument on a reasonable price. Student horns were awful back then so i got a used conn alto from 1981. It wasn’t in a good shape but after i took it to a shop and got overhauled it turned out being an excellent horn. I went through the same with my tenor saxophone which is from the late 90’s early 2000’s has a shitty brand name “Accent” but it’s turned out to be a better horn than my teacher’s fancy selmer super action balance. Especially after some modifications. It has no odd flaws and easy to play on it. That sound thing is an endless and senseless debate because the sound is in your head so eventually you will play on the same sound on every horn. Too much wasted energy and time spinning on the sound topic. Just get a kind of equipment what is easy and comfortable to play on and just enjoy playing.

Last comment…I promise! I once watched Sonny Rollins try tenors. He played a low B flat long tone on every tenor in the place and then checked a couple octaves for intonation. That’s it. It was awesome!

Good night l always enjoy your videos. For me the high F sharp key is a very usefull addition. On tenor ltried three differant fingerings for altissimo G and l only managed to get it wiith the fingering using the F sharp key. My motto is anything to make life easier is welvome. Keep the videos coming.

Very interesting video. I was choosing between 2 student model sax’s and both were on sale, so the costs were similar. I ended up getting a Conn-Selmer Prelude AS711 because of the name recognition. Would love to get a Selmer Mark VI but I’ll probably never be able to afford one.

Nice video. I personally think any saxophone works in jazz but for classical music I would strongly prefer the saxophone have: 1. High F-sharp key 2. Modern Left Pinky Keys design. (Balanced Action and Forward) Not having #1 is not a deal breaker but I really wouldn't go without #2. Not having to move that left pinky when going from a low B-flat/B/C-sharp to a G-sharp really helps keep things smooth especially arpeggios. Obviously these are things that would also boost your jazz sax playing but you don't need it as much in my opinion. If you're going to only own 1 saxophone and you play in both jazz/classical, you really should avoid getting a vintage horn (pre Balanced Action) and buy a new/used modern Selmer/Yamaha/Yanagisawa.

For student-level saxes, I recommend Yamaha because they play well and every tech can work on it. For pro horns, I own an early Yamaha Purple label (62c) soprano, tenor (w/hi F#) and bari. I play the Yamaha tenor much more often than my 1959 Mk VI tenor (no F#). My alto is a great late model Mk VI. If i were buying a new high end horn, Selmers (not the References - I hated those), Yani, Keilwerth, and Rampone & Cazzani (surprisingly good) would be on my list. I’m a jazz player so YMMV if you play classical.

The key to it all is that screw you have for your soprano neck, Geoff. You know!

This is a really cool video! I almost feel like I want to bring my horns with me and join in on their chats. I actually have some issues with my YAS-23 with the lower spatula keys. I still like that horn, but needs a serious overhaul. I would ask what to look for in an overhaul.

I like to bring a tuner and try a few horns, recording each on my phone. I also check the altissimo up to double high F (or as high as you can go), making sure to check how in tune it is. I also try to see well if can do split tones high F# and above. Then you can listen back to your recordings later to make more comparison in your head.

"Un-shiny" typically gets my vote. However, there is something to be said for a shiny silver horn...or a matte silver horn with a gold-washed bell. 🤓🎷

Any difference in the pinky key ergonomics in Yanigisawa A-WO1 vs Yamaha 62iii?

You can certainly play modern classical music on a Conn 6M its action when setup right is lightning fast. Conns do not have a focused sound at all it’s a very big open sound that requires a lot of air. Selmers have a more focused sound with a lot of sweetness in the mid range and then Yamahas are very neutral tonally. I play a Selmer Ref 54 on alto and it’s my main instrument but my tenor and soprano I have chosen so I can simply pick them up quickly on the same gig and as little adjustment as possible is necessary.

The problem with the High F# key is that if you have been playing am horn without that key it's very difficult to play one that has it. The altissimo register sounds very strange and some fingerings become slightly out of tune. I mean you can play it but it seems odd. For exemple I've been playing old Selmer since I was a kid (mark 6 and SBA are my main horn) and I would never get a Supreme, not because I don't think it's great but just because I can't have it without that key. I've tried two Supremes and the altissimo register was too strange for me.

I don't want to buy any next. My dream was tenor a) Yanagisawa (I don't know why), b) any perfect silver, c) black and silver Keilwerth. Miraculously I bought Yanagisawa T5 without high F#. My teacher sold me Dukoff D9 Miami Super Power Chamber and I bought later also Dukoff M7. I, my saxophone, and my mouthpieces are the same age, around 50. Perfect team, no reason for change.