[Dixielandjazz] Re: More information about my wonderful cheap soprano

[Russ Guarino]

My new soprano is a "Bandnow" costing $250 + Tax.  Got it from 123 Music [ on
the web ].  No scroll work on the bell.  Just plain lacquer. But very pretty.

Plays like a champ including high side keys and index finger high F. Low left
hand little finger keys speak easily. At first I thought middle B & C were flat,
but by pushing in the mouthpiece a little deeper down the cork, it came right
into tune.  I highly recommend the horn.  I use my old mouthpiece and reed.

Like all sopranos it required intuitive adjustments to play in tune, but I
adjusted to the horn quickly, first play.  The only effort I have to use with
the horn is when I come off the clarinet and play about 6 or 8 notes before I
adjust.  I find I have to "open" my mouth cavity and throat to get the sound I
want.  Smooth and serene. I've been able to avoid an "edgy" tone with this horn.

Comes with hard case, neck strap, mouthpiece, white gloves, cleaning cloth,
plastic neck cap and two necks, one curved and one straight.  I also bought a
soprano stand and had to take out some insulation foam at the bell end of the
case to fit the stand into the bell when putting it away.  I like the  horn so
much I have actually been practicing with it.

Why does nobody believe me?  "A $250 soprano, are you nuts"?

Russ Guarino

Larry Walton Entertainment wrote:

> Well Russ the same thing happened to me.  I have a Winston soprano.  The
> horn plays nice except the high register.  I can play it in tune but it's
> not naturally in tune.  It does have a nice tone but so many of these
> imports are really soft metal.  I did the same trick and it went over
> bending the body of the horn and everything attached to it.  Lucky we have a
> killer repair shop here.  They didn't charge me much because the laughs were
> worth it to them.  So after three trips for adjustment problems I decided to
> buy a Yamaha Custom at ten times the price.  The Yamaha is a great horn.  I
> keep the Winston as an emergency horn.
>
> Funny thing the Winston stock mouthpiece will not play on the Yamaha.
> Yamaha stock mouthpieces really suck.  I was using a 3.5 or 4 Rico Royal on
> the Winston.  I Bought a Bari mouthpiece on the recommendation of a friend
> and it plays really well but a 2 or 2.5 reed feels about the same as a 4 on
> the other mouthpiece.  A weak reed was, intonation wise, a waste of time on
> the Winston.
>
> Larry
> St. Louis
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Russ Guarino" <russg at redshift.com>
> To: "Michael Woitowicz" <banjobarons at nconnect.net>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Friday, August 26, 2005 5:11 PM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Re: the next dumb thing after Gig Bags are opened
>
> > Some of us can damage a horn no matter how careful we be.
> >
> > I just purchased a new soprano sax for $250 [  it plays really great, but
> that's
> > another story ] with two neck pieces, one straight and one curved.
> >
> > I took the body of the sax out of the case, set it down on the soprano
> stand and
> > attached the straight neck piece.  Forgetting that it needed to be
> tighten, I
> > then tried to pick up the horn by the neck piece [ my old horn did not
> have a
> > separate neck piece ].  To my surprise, the body of the horn fell to the
> floor
> > and bent the bell, but god be praised, nothing else was damaged.
> >
> > So I now have a brand new soprano, in a hard case, with a bent bell.
> >
> > Russ Guarino
> >
> > Michael Woitowicz wrote:
> >
> > > Interesting thread -- gig bags.
> > >
> > > I have one for my banjos, and use it occasionally when I travel by
> plane. It
> > > doesn't offer the greatest protection in the world, but it seems a bit
> > > easier to get through security at the airports with a gig bag hung over
> your
> > > shoulder as opposed to carrying a hard shell case. Perhaps because it's
> a
> > > bit smaller overall than a hard-shell case.
> > >
> > > I don't use it for my best instrument, and am very, very careful how
> place
> > > it in the overhead storage compartment. I watch whoever else is putting
> > > stuff in the same compartment and advise them to be careful.
> > >
> > > I can stuff a lot of other soft items in the bag for traveling, so it is
> > > handy.
> > >
> > > Mike Woitowicz
> > > The Banjo Barons Ragtime Band
> > > The Dixie Barons Dixieland Band
> > > www.banjomusic.biz
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
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