[Dixielandjazz] More on Sopramno Sax

[Paul Edgerton]

On Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 5:42 PM, Larry Walton Entertainment - St.
Louis <larrys.bands at charter.net> wrote:
> Yes, I think the other writer meant the C melody sometimes called a C tenor.
>  As far as I know there were never any C soprano's but I suppose there could
>  be.

Yes, there were C sopranos and C tenors, which as you noted were
usually called C-melody saxophones. In fact, there was a whole family
of saxes pitched in C and F. The F alto was also called a
mezzo-soprano. The oldest saxophone in existence is an F baritone with
a range only to low B that was made by Adolphe himself. This family of
saxophones was intended for orchestral use while the more familiar Bb
and Eb models were intended for military bands.

>  Most if not all sopranos made before 1950 are pure junk.  Virtually
>  impossible to play in tune and the tone is pretty bad.

I'll add a couple of comments to this: While many old saxes were never
more than cheap mass-market horns and haven't aged well, some
Bueschers, Conns, Holtons and Martins were quite good, not to mention
Selmer, Buffet and SML.

Remember that our concept of saxophone tone has changed radically over
the years, and few of today's players would be satisfied with the sort
of tone the early models produced, and even less comfortable playing
on the mouthpiece facings that were prevalent in the 1920s. But
matched with an appropriate mouthpiece of the right vintage, these
instruments could be played rather well in tune. I might even go so
far as to say they could be more in tune than what some players manage
on contemporary instruments!

One critical variable is mouthpiece chamber volume. Mouthpieces are
constructed to replace the truncated portion of the saxophone's
conical bore. Nearly all of the old ones were made with very close
facings. Most of the original mouthpieces that have been refaced to a
more modern and more open style were typically filed down enough to
reduce the internal volume significantly -- ruining the intonation.
That is especially true for tiny soprano mouthpieces.

But as JD says, some of those old horns have a gorgeous sound.

-- Paul Edgerton