Wilton Felder Crusaders tenor sax sound - how??
Confused
I've gone back to listening to my Crusaders collection and I'm still blown
away by the sound Wilton Felder produces. How does he get that great sound??
You can hear it well on "Street Life" and "Rodeo Drive(High Steppin)
My tone is what I would call "mellow and smooth" - how can I get that
"raspy" sound - especially in the upper octave??
Colin
Robert Steinberg
> My tone is what I would call "mellow and smooth" - how can I get that
> "raspy" sound - especially in the upper octave??
Perhaps telling what you use now will give ams contributors something on
which to base recommendations. Eg, if you are already using a Berg 110/0
with rico plasticovers, there's no sense in changing because that setup
can give you the sound you want.
RS
also a fan of Wilton's
--
Robert Steinberg
MidiOpera.Com
Vita gaia e terribile!
Confused
"Robert Steinberg" <midi...@bellnotnorth.net> wrote in message
news:200601171...@host-216-77-204-45.sua.bellsouth.net...
> Confused <conf...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>
>> My tone is what I would call "mellow and smooth" - how can I get that
>> "raspy" sound - especially in the upper octave??
>
> Perhaps telling what you use now will give ams contributors something on
> which to base recommendations. Eg, if you are already using a Berg 110/0
> with rico plasticovers, there's no sense in changing because that setup
> can give you the sound you want.
Thanks for the answer Robert. I'm just using the stock Yamaha YTS 62 at the
moment. I've had a look at Berg Larsen mouthpieces and there are quite a few
different types. When you say a Berg 110/0, what else do I need to know?
Duckbill, Bullet, Stainless? facing sms or M? Metal or Ebonite (Grained??)
Colin
Robert Steinberg
> Thanks for the answer Robert. I'm just using the stock Yamaha YTS 62 at the
> moment. I've had a look at Berg Larsen mouthpieces and there are quite a few
> different types. When you say a Berg 110/0, what else do I need to know?
> Duckbill, Bullet, Stainless? facing sms or M? Metal or Ebonite (Grained??)
Yes, well that's what keep sax players confused :) I use a 60s vintage
stainless Berg 100/0 with Rico Royals, Plasticovers or other bright
reeds for an R&B sound.
Add to the confusion is that you don't have to just try Bergs. Other
medium or high baffel mps will do it too and there are plenty of them.
You just have to find what's right for you.
Good luck.
--
Robert Steinberg
MidiOpera.Com
Tim Price Jazz
Felder.
The sound is him, but a baffled piece and medium reed,,,MIGHT ,,be a
start.
He's one of the best- Tim
Pete Thomas
Exactly
You can get the exact same setup as Wilton Felder, work for years and
still not sound like him. Then change your setup and get the results.
It's a combination.
E.G:
Wilton Felder + saxophone A + mouthpiece H + reed Z = WF sound
You + the same (saxophone A + mouthpiece H + reed Z) = crap
BUT
You + saxophone D + mouthpiece Z + reed B = very close to WF sound
So stop worrying, keep listening and practising more.
Of course the same setup as your hero is a good starting point but don't
get too bogged down in it. The exact horn and mouthpiece is expensive,
but something quite close is a good starting point. IMO the mouthpice is
the most important factor in the horn/mouthpiece/reed equation (don't
get me started on ligatures) so a good Berg "type" mouthpiece will do
you, whether it's a Guardala, Barone, Pillinger or whatever is a good
place to start. But if you try to get the exact duckbill stainless
grained rubber blahblah you have more chance of being disappointed.
Whatever Wilton used would not make an awful lot of difference. If you
practise long notes, try this next time:
Hold a note. While playing it gradually puff out your cheeks (yes, bad
saxophone technique I know). As you do this you will probably hear the
sound change quite dramatically. This change is more than you usually
get with any ligature, saxophone, reed, mouthpiece. Think about that.
Add to it the parts of your body you can't change (to such an extent),
ie your nasal cavity, throat, lungs and you might begin to get the idea
of how much more there is to the equation than horn/mouthpiece/reed.
Then add to this some intangibles such as your mood on that day, your
Karma, effortless mastery. You may begin to see the picture.
But mainly, transcribe Wilton Felder to within an inch of your life for
10-20 years, buy a Chinese tenor from Steve Goodson, a solid gold
Supergonk from Sugal, whatever reed you can find in Tim Price's dustbin,
still don't ask me about ligatures, and I bet you'll sound more like
Wilton Felder than you want ever wanted to. Then you can start sounding
like yourself.
--
Pete Thomas - www.petethomas.co.uk
***********
On-line saxophone exercises, composition and jazz theory courses,
Saxophone Instruction DVD
***********
To reply privately please use the link on my site.
conn...@excite.com
sounds and styles and, at the same time, a sound that is very
unique--who else sounds like that? You won't sound just
like him but listening a lot and absorbing can only help, whatever
you end up with. BTW, he sounds just as good live as recorded, if
not better--ain't no studio trick!
busk
In my opinion, the best way to copy (or attain some qualities from)
another players' sound is to find a recording where he/she plays a
simple,preferably slow melody, transcribe it, and then play along with
it in unison a lot of times. I have done this a lot with Jan Garbarek
themes from the record 'My Song' by Keith Jarrett and I have always
liked my own sound better after each session practicing this. And it's a
very enjoyable way to practice if the recording is good.
-Troels