A Voodoo Rex Review From a Client
STEVE GOODSON
Web. Not that I care, or not that it has had any effect on our sales
that I can discern. They refer to me as "Voldemart", "He who cannot be
named", and "the evil one" among other things. Whenever someone dares
make a favorable comment about one of my products, the moderators jump
right in and remove the post. It's OK with me, it's their forum, and
they make the rules. I know that far less than 1% of the saxophone
players in the world read SOTW, and that the ones who drink the Kool
Aide and believe every word they read there (I like to think of it as
"The Saxophone Misinformation Site") are generally not old enough to
shave (at least the ones I've personally met) and most of them seem to
have extremely limited playing skills. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR
COMMENTS, PLEASE POST THEM AT THE FORUM ON WWW.NATIONOFMUSIC.COM I
WON'T ANSWER OR RESPOND HERE
One of our new Voodoo Rex owners, Patrick Shaeffer, posted this
lengthy review. As long as they leave it up, here's a link:
http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=119325
I figure they'll take it down, so here's a cut and paste of Patrick's
comments, completely un-edited. Congratulations to Patrick for his
sarcasm and humor!
Since I know how some are enamored with anything SG related, down to
what kind of boxes he uses; like kwgrinnell, I am including the
intimate details I obtained possession of the box; which arrived via
UPS, around 5:15 Central Standard Time on Thursday, August 20th. Once
arrived at my destination I inspected the box. It was roughly 14 1/2
tall x 28 1/2 long x 8 1/2 wide & was listed as being 14 pounds. It
had 5 white stickers with F R A G I L E centered on the stickers, with
4 red lightning bolt like designs extending in to the center of the
stickers, on 5 of the 6 sides of the box. The stickers had on them:
LABEL MADE IN REDMOND, OREGON, U.S.A. THE DE LEONE CORPORATION SCL
501. There were 4 double staples on opposite sides of the short sides
of the cardboard box, for a total of 16. 3 pieces of clear packing
tape were wrapped lengthways around the box. 4 pieces were wrapped
widthways to just short of center of the box. 1 of the stickers was
creased underneath at 2 1/2 inches from the top left side & 1 5/16ths
from the bottom right side for 2 7/8th inches. None of the stickers
were centered but at different angles & lengths from the sides of the
box. For example, one of the stickers on the long side of the box was
3/4ths of an inch from the bottom of the box on the left & 1 7/8ths on
the right, while being 3 inches from the side if the box on the left
bottom & 2 3/8ths from the top left of the 4x4 sticker. The UPS
Internet Shipping: Shipment Label dated 8/17/2009 was on the bottom
right side of the same side as said sticker. I removed the label at
5:48 with WESTCOTT TITANIUM NON STICK scissors with blue handles with
yellow striping on the interior finger area of the scissors. The label
was 8 1/2 x 11 inches. The only damage to the box was an about 3 inch
scrape on the long side of the bottom side which was 14 1/2 inches
from 1 edge of the box & 10 3/4ths from the other end. The scrape
extended about 2 2/8ths towards the center of the box on one end & 2
1/8th on the other end, where the clear packing tape had prevented the
scrape from extending further. The scrape was not deep enough to
affect the integrity of the box.
Next Chapter: "The Strike!," coming next.
5:57 - I began the operation. With my trusty scissors I proceeded to
cut at the "crotch;" for a lack of a better word, of the waistline,
towards the neckline. I delicately stuck my finger into the resulting
breach & ran the hard blade up as if through buttah until I arrived at
the FRAGILE area. I then reversed the process & cut from the opposite
end, finally cutting through the area which offered some resistance as
I forced my way through the "I L."
6:02 - Imagine my surprise when I found the inside to be pink , and
white packing peanuts. I stuck my hand into the box & removed the
filling, enough so that I wouldn't make a mess, and by 6:11 I had
removed the black soul from the box.
The black, 2 zipper case, with 2 stiff fabric-covered handles with a
Velcro/fabric handle encasing wrap, included 2 black metal loops to
affix a carrying strap to. The fabric/zipper swath is 4 inches wide &
runs the entire length of the front of the case, around to about 4 1/2
inches on the apex side & about 5 inches on the bottom. Not being an
expert in leather versus synthetic, I won't guess what the rest of the
case is made of, the rest of the case is Alto shaped instead of being
a square case. The case is about 27 2/8ths long, 5 inches wide at the
apex, and 12 inches wide at the bottom.
The 2 zippers were located on the left side, so I unzipped the one to
the right.
6:19 - I lifted the lid, and what to my eyes did appear? A dark
reddish-brown plush interior, a gold-covered mouthpiece cap with the 3
small holes in the top of it, the neck in bubble-wrap, and a folded
black neck-strap located in the center of the body/bell of the sax.
Realizing I had the case upside-down, I closed it & flipped it over
Next Chapter: "The Home-run," coming next.
The case included a hard plastic Saxgourmet Alto mouthpiece that is 3
7/16th inches long.
Also included is 1 1/16th inch long, gold-colored, 2-screw lig with a
fancy design on 4 areas of it & LZH-1999 on it. It's not a solid metal
lig, but has 8 "cut-out" areas around the interior of it.
Additionally, underneath the bell/bow of the horn was a black neck-
strap that is 45 3/4th inches (41 1/2 of that being the actual strap,
and the rest being the black metal clips) when stretched out & 34 1/2
inches when brought to the shortest lenghth it can be brought to for
playing. The cushioned part of the strap is 6 1/2 inches long. Unlike
my Neotech strap with the 1 hook, this strap has 2 hooks. 1 at each
end of the strap. These have the safety clasp to keep them from coming
off the hook-ring on the sax. Personally, I would probably not use
this strap because the hooks are metal & the neck area is not as
cushioned as my Neotech strap with it's plastic hook with safety
clasp.
There are 3 indented areas of the case. 1 for the mouthpiece; an area
right above where the bore of the sax is, which is 1 1/4th by 2 inches
(2 1/4th deep on 1 side & 2 1/2 on the other, the neck compartment;
which runs along the bore & is about 12 inches along the outer edge, 1
1/2 of an inch wide at the neck-cork area, then it runs about 9 inches
down the bore before angling back towards the middle/outside of the
case. The last indentuon is underneath the bell/bow of the horn: about
8 1/2 inches long, 4 inches wide, and ranges from about 1 1/2 of an
inch deep near the bottom of the horn to an inch near the curve of the
bell. None of these areas are covered by a "lid" of anytype to keep
anything from shifting; though the mouthpiece area is snug enough that
the mouthpiece will probably not move much if kept in the cover. The
indentuon for the neck & mouthpiece areas extend into the upper
section of the case. The mouthpiece area, for about 1 1/4th of an
inch. The neck area, for about an inch.
Next Chapter: "The Horn," coming next.
6:26 - I removed the neck
...after donning my white gloves that came with the horn (I kid, I
kid!!), from the bubble-wrap; usin' my trusty scissors, then removed
it from the small plastic bag it came in. The leaf-like engravings run
up both sides of the neck & are very nicely done. They start about
2/8ths from the bottom & run up to about 1/4th of an inch from the
cork. The cork is 1 3/8ths of an inch long & is in great shape. The
inside of the cork side of the neck is 7/16ths of an inch on the
inside & 7/8ths on the outside. The under-neck octave mechanism is
sturdy. It's an inch wide where it meets with the octave mechanism on
the horn. There's a small imperfection on the left-hand side of the
lip of the neck; less than an 8th of an inch long, where it fits on
the sax, and when you place your finger inside the neck you can feel a
small bump on the inside / opposite side of that imperfection; don't
know if some tool caused this during the manufacturing process, but
it's not a significant issue to me since it's so slight.
Note: The case is very sturdy, but one of those that doesn't
necessarily like to stay open; having a fabric strap that runs from
about the middle bottom of the case to the middle bottom of the lid,
so it needs a little "assistance" to stay open & might need to be
coaxed into staying open, and it has a tendancy to sometimes start
tipping over on the lid side once the horn is removed, depending on
what type of surface it's on.
6:33 - The 1st thing I noticed when I removed the sax from the case is
that it feels like a tyrannosaurus.
Next Chapter: "The Rex," coming next.
This horn is solid!
The color is nothing like the rose-brass shiny-penny look of the
Saxgourmet Tenor Six. It's a dark copper look except for the Honey-
colored areas as mentioned in "The Pitch."
I removed the lyre screw since I don't plan on playing this in a pick-
up marching band with a flip-chart.
On the right side of the bell is:
VOODOO REX
DESIGNED BY
STEVE GOODSON
Above that is a skull complete with a Tophat & 2 bones crossed
underneath the skull.
The flower/vine-like engraving is tastefully done.
The bore interior where the neck goes is 7/8ths of an inch.
Unlike the Saxgourmet Tenor Six which has the 3 neck-strap rings as 1
complete piece affixed to the horn, the Rex has 3 separate large
rings, when compared to the Saxgourmet Tenor Six.
The side F# key is large so much so that you'ld have a hard time not
being able to find it when you need it. The same can be said for the
mechanism for high F#.
The bell is 5 3/16ths inches wide.
The interior of the bell is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches in width & 3
3/4ths inches long.
The abalone key touches are beautiful!
6:51 - I weighed this baby Rex & it weighed in at 4 pounds; 4 1/2 with
the neck.
The thumbhook is BIG.
6:55 - The key action is SOLID. No clanky-clanky with this beast;
unlike the Saxgourmet Tenor Six which has a little clank action on one
of the low notes.
Next Chapter: "I Blow" , coming next.
7:00 - After a little reed prep I tossed a Plasticover 2 Alto reed on
my Aaron Drake Ceramic mouthpiece JAB062009 & my new Christoph Heftrig
lig, greased up the neck cork, slid it on there, and easily just blew
into the mouthpiece & out slid a open keys C# so surprisingly easy
that I was surprised! (imagine that!! ) Certainly easier than my
Selmer Ref 54, Yamaha YAS-21, or PF Flier. The playability of the horn
was sweet though I had to adjust slightly to it from my other horns
because of the placement of the keys being closer together for easier
playing. However, I had a gig to go play which I normally only play my
Tenor on. I took the Alto with me along with my wireless mic. Once
there, after prepping a Rico La Voz MED SOFT Alto reed I placed it on
my JodyJazz DV 9* because I wanted a different sound then what I was
getting from the Drake. When I had time; like between sets, I tested
the horn out in a side-room to make sure it was going to work for what
I wanted to do. We started the last set with Bob Seger's "Turn The
Page." The horn sounded great; having the darker sound which helps off-
set the "bright" mouthpiece I use. We add more Sax than Seger has on
his version & it worked out great.
Since then, I've taken the horn out more & have been amazed at how
easy it is to "growl" on this compared to my other saxes. Altissimo is
easy. I was surprised how easy high E-F# come out using the palm keys.
However, I'll probably have to find different Altissimo Eb & above
fingerings. I'm extremely happy with the horn
mississippisaxguy
>
> read more »
And all of that changes the fact that you're a liar, a crook, a thief,
and just a general, all-around piece of sh*t how?
You think maybe whenever you sell one of those $11,000 ChiComm-made
pieces of sh*t you're hawking currently you could send me the money
you owe me? After all, what you owe me is only 10% of the selling
price of one of your Crap Fives.
mississippisaxguy
saxxsymbol
> My, my, isn't that nice.
>
> Here is another all copper Taiwan built saxophone that is selling for
> $2100 less and Sugal is still making money on the deal! Does that
> tell you what the markup on the Voodoo Rex at $3600 really is? I'm
> still waiting for a review of the $11,000 category 5 tenor, that is if
> anyone ever buys one.
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SUGAL-CUSTOM-BUILT-ALTO-PURE-COPPER-SAX-AAA_W...
Since thay are both made of copper must be the same
horn???????????????????
I guess Phil B's horns are the same as Cannoball's after all since
they are both made in Taiwan and made of brass.
What is the markup for a $ 3000 Cannonball these days?
saxxsymbol
> Ignoring the idiotic dribble from the post above, let me sift through
> all the extraneous bull shit contained of the review of the Voo Doo
> Rex written by Patrick Sheaffer and give readers the accurate
> condensed version of what he really said about the actual saxophone
> itself.
>
> Remember folks Patrick's review was cut and pasted from the "Saxophone
> Misinformation Site" whose members are "not old enough to shave" and
> most of them have "extremely limited playing skills" according to
> Steve Goodson. (Speaking of extremely limited playing skills have you
> seen this Youtube video yet?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEzAPtUdw70)
>
> Here is the essence of what Patrick actually said about the saxophone.
>
> Accessories
> -plastic mouthpiece
> - neck-strap with 2 metal hooks
> -case sturdy, but doesn’t stay open
>
> Cosmetics
> -leaf-like engravings up both sides of the neck
> -dark copper look except for the Honey-colored areas
> -VOODOO REX DESIGNED BY STEVE GOODSON on bell
> -skull and bones with top hat on bell
> -flower/vine-like engraving
> -abalone key inserts
>
> Features
> -3 separate neck strap rings
> -large side F# key
> -large high F# key
> -big thumb hook
>
> Comments
> -the key action is solid
> -the horn is solid
> -open C# plays easily
> -the playability of the horn is sweet
> -the placement of the keys is closer together
> -the horn sounds great; having the darker sound which helps off-set
> the bright mouthpiece
> -it is easy to "growl"
> -altissimo is easy.
> -the high E-F# come out easy using the palm keys. (F# palm keys?)
> -I'm extremely happy with the horn
You can add he thinks the Voodoo Rex is better than his Reference 54
that he bought new for considerable more money.
Bolivar
Actually this is what he stated (whatever it means):
"...easily just blew into the mouthpiece & out slid a open keys C# so
saxxsymbol
>
> - Show quoted text -
check a few posts later when he says it is a better horn than his 54
he bought new.
MartinMods
> on it with a cheap #2 reed and easily just blew into the mouthpiece
> and OUT SLID AN OPEN KEYS C# SO SURPRISINGLY EASY THAT I WAS
> SURPRISED! (IMAGINE THAT!!)
Like I told SG a couple days ago, if you are not "WOW"-ing me with an
audio file of someone (that can play) playing the horn that I can
access withing a few seconds, you are just a used car salesman. The
sound is the first prerequisite for any instrument. If the sound is
crap when I hear it or play it, and that means for me, tone, response,
dynamic range, and intonation, then it doesn't matter what keys,
finish, engraving, or other shit it has on it. It's crap.
If all you do is talk about how great it is, and don't give me any
audio, it means to me, that you either know it sounds like crap and
are ashamed of how it sounds, or you are stupid. In either case, your
product is crap AFAIC.
So, you guys doing reviews: Words don't mean anything until you
establish with real audio that you have a quality product. Audio
first. Then I will listen to your blah, blah, blah.
kwgrinnell
>
> read more »
Nice that you have the time to read and comment on "favorable" reviews
of your scam work. Dare to comment on the crap you passed off on me as
warranty work? Can't wait to read what you have to say to the New
Orleans BBB when you can find the time to respond to them.
saxxsymbol
>
> - Show quoted text -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=grmpwbsR3TA&feature=related
or search
"saxgourmetproducts" on you tube and look up Gary Brown , Amadee
Castanell and Jeff watkins on voodoo rex altos
I think they qualify as guys who can play a little.
saxxsymbol
> On Aug 28, 5:57 pm, MartinMods <i...@martinmods.com> wrote:
>
> > So, you guys doing reviews: Words don't mean anything until you
> > establish with real audio that you have a quality product. Audio
> > first. Then I will listen to your blah, blah, blah.
>
> of how the Mach 5 tenor sounds which is supposed to be even better
> since it costs $11,000. To get past the talking to hear how the horn
> "sings" skip to 2:20.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/user/saxgourmetproducts
Didn't realize your were internet challenged John. You always give the
impression you are saavy about the net. On that same page under
video's click see all then look up the voodoo rex demo's.
Tom Tapscott is a forum member at nation of music and a music store
owner, not a pro player, nor does he pretend to be. In fact he was one
of the folks you initially thought was Steve until proven otherwise.
Check out Tony G or James Martin on a cat 5.
John, do you believe stones glued to a sax neck or body or keywork
makes a difference in sound or intonation? Do you belive the finish
matters on a neck as far as sound goes? Please answer, don't duck
anymore. You're failure to answer this question speaks volumes.
kwgrinnell
STEVE GOODSON
View profile
(2 users) More options Aug 26, 9:06 am
Newsgroups: alt.music.saxophone
From: STEVE GOODSON <saxgour...@cox.net>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:06:47 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Wed, Aug 26 2009 9:06 am
Subject: A Voodoo Rex Review From a Client
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For reasons that are pretty unclear to me, they hate me at Sax On the
Web. Not that I care, or not that it has had any effect on our sales
that I can discern. They refer to me as "Voldemart", "He who cannot be
named", and "the evil one" among other things. Whenever someone dares
make a favorable comment about one of my products, the moderators jump
right in and remove the post. It's OK with me, it's their forum, and
they make the rules. I know that far less than 1% of the saxophone
players in the world read SOTW, and that the ones who drink the Kool
Aide and believe every word they read there (I like to think of it as
"The Saxophone Misinformation Site") are generally not old enough to
shave (at least the ones I've personally met) and most of them seem to
have extremely limited playing skills. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR
COMMENTS, PLEASE POST THEM AT THE FORUM ON WWW.NATIONOFMUSIC.COM I
WON'T ANSWER OR RESPOND HERE
Unclear? No, very clear. You are a maniacal pretender to the throne.
And no, you do "NOT" respond when there has been a legitimate concern
of your honesty or work ethic. Crap in one hand and put your good name
in the other and see which one smells the most. Now go monitor the
three paid dirtbags on the nationofmorons. Or better yet, quietly
close the door to your "business" and enter into an endeavor you might
hope to be qualified in some day. Walking in mud puddles or picking up
dog droppings should be a good start.
Gomez
trombone last April and I don't know Mr. Goodson and I've never played
one of his offerings. I've heard an earful however and I've not, for
to my satisfaction, pinned down just where his horns are made. I've
heard Vietnam, China and the ever popular Taiwan. This is important in
that it implies three different probable levels of quality.
But, more importantly, his appearance and demeanor are cheap and not
at all confidence inspiring. His on-camera personality wouldn't sell
Sham-Wows at a carnival and, with all respect due since I don't know
the man, he comes across to me as sleazy and kind of creepy. There is
no way in hell I would buy a horn from him without throughly examining
and playing it first, and then, maybe.
I'm an instrument builder and am now doing my own overhauls, setups
and repairs. I'm mostly engaged in finding and restoring old horns
(for my collection) and I find his articles in Saxophone Journal sort
of amusing as one would need be an acoustic engineer to make some of
the statements he makes there. As for being a horn "designer" that
claim is phony on its face since the horn is without doubt the product
of one of the major SE Asian manufacturers and may incorporate perhaps
some small modifications that are accommodated since they do not
interfere with their work flow.
I'm absolutely amazed that he can be in the business.
Gomez
ansertmetniac
wrote:
Yet you suck Barone's dick
Brainwashed , gullible and ignorant
Abbedd
Salsa
Are you completely fucking insane? OCD much?
Farting the electric yellow brane dildo again? With packaging?
Seriously.
What the fuck.
these eyes
Unreal. You can hear that that guy is a player, but the horn makes
him sound like crap. It literally sounds broken.
Same story here:
> http://www.youtube.com/user/saxgourmetproducts
If suxxx can't hear that, it explains quite a lot.