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Pro Saxophones
THE
MARK VI
I always believed the classic Coleman 'Godfather of the Sax' Hawkins line about giving up playing the baritone and the bass to play just the tenor. He expressed it thus:
'You've only got one life and that's enough to learn one goddamn Saxophone!' and so for the first seventeen years of playing Sax I blew only the Alto. And then I blew the legendary MARK VI Tenor and we caught fire and I knew that Sax and that Sax knew me. And now I play it and this MARK VI is MAGICAL.
I use an Otto Link no. 7 mouthpiece with an Oleg ligature and either a no. 3 Rico Royal reed or a no. 3 Plasticover reed when I need a more searing sound.
SELMER
- PARIS. FRANCE
Hand-crafted in the birthplace of the Sax, this is the ultimate Saxophonists' dream machine. I am lucky enough to have one of each of the top makes and I truly love them both equally, but differently. My Alto is a Selmer-Paris Serie II which I bought to congratulate myself on managing to get a degree.
I use a Peter Ponzol 007 mouthpiece and a leather ligature with a no. 3 Rico Royal reed. My Selmer, brand spanking new in 1988, and with the stiff test of blowing 8 notes, was a quantum leap from the 'banger' I started with. I would definitely say playing a Sax of that majesty has helped me enormously to become a very good Saxman. The latest model is called Series III, and this is because Selmer are trying to copy...
Berri Goddard of Blowout Sax has a 1929 Selmer Tenor, model 26, and uses
a Lawton 8*B mouthpiece and a Vandoren Java 2.5 reed.
The other top, highly recommended Selmers are called, rather bizarrely,
a 'Cigar Cutter', A 'Radio Improved' and The Selmer 'Balanced action'.
My favourite Saxmen who blew Selmer-Paris are 'Big' Ben Webster, who blew
a Selmer 'balanced action' he called Old Betsy and Lou Donaldson, master
of the 'boogaloo' who blew a Mark VI. Many, many other Sax super heroes
blew Selmer-Paris: super heroes like Paul Desmond; Stanley Turrentine;
and Coleman Hawkins, who had his Selmer specially made with a quadrupled
plated bell; Soul 'axeman' Junior Walker; and Joshua Redman, of the new
generation; the list is endless...
KEILWERTH
German, also produced in black and gold, as used by one of my original Sax inspirations, Grover Washington. The top number is SX90R. Needless to say, all the high-professional-end Saxs are fabulous and, in a very perfect world, ideal for learning to play.
YAMAHA
The high-numbered Japanese Saxs. These are either called CUSTOM, which new jazzman James Carter uses on all four of his Saxs!… or Yamaha 62s.
YANIGISAWA
(Ya-knee-giss-ah-wa... brave marketing move!) played by Plas Johnson, he of 'The Pink Panther' tune, and jazz Saxman Greg Osby. The professional number is 993.
ALL MAKES AND BRANDS LISTED HERE WANTED FOR CASH OR PART-EXCHANGE. WE WILL ALSO SELL YOUR EXISTING HORNS ON COMMISSION.
DO CALL, OR EMAIL AND MAKE A PERSONAL APPOINTMENT SO WE CAN FIND THE RIGHT SAX FOR YOU.
ALL EXISTING SAX TEACHERS SHOULD CALL/EMAIL TO ARRANGE THEIR PERSONAL DISCOUNT AS US SAX TEACHERS SHOULD STICK TOGETHER AND HELP EACH OTHER AS A UNITED GROUP.
