Bobby Watson setup? equipement sax-alto?
Gabriel SAX :-)
Gabriele (Italy)
GARY IN LA
he uses a yamaha gold plated neck.
i was told he is very happy with this set up, and that he was offered a
complete gold plated sax by Yamaha, but he likes the gold lacqour body better.
i dont know about mouthpeices, i think van duren, check his website out.
Joe Pairman
Mouthpieces:
Alto: A45 Classical
Tenor: S-25 Vandoren
Soprano: S-25 Vandoren
Reeds:
Alto: Java 3 1/2
Tenor: Java 3
Soprano: Vandoren Blue Box 2 1/2
Notice he uses a fairly open mouthpiece ( .090" I think ) AND a
hard-ish reed. That's what I mean about that being the way to get a
big, tenor-ish sound, in contrast to the beautiful and supremely
alto-ish sound of Johnny Hodges. Different strokes, different folks.
--
Joe Pairman
Leeds, UK
GARY IN LA <gary...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20001203205422...@ng-cq1.aol.com...
AJAZZFISH
using really rugged setups. Also why try and make a tenor sound from a horn
that will never get one. Why not try to get the best alto sound out of the
alto that you can get. It is a beautiful instrument too. The high register
does not have to be thin. It's all about trying to get the high register as
full bodied as bottom of the horn.
Scott Hall
"AJAZZFISH" <ajaz...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20001205002744...@ng-xb1.aol.com...
____________________________________________________________________________
___________________
I've been reading this thread with interest........
I play tenor on a very open setup (Otto Link ToneMaster 7*, with the
tip opened significantly), with hard reeds (Alexander Superial #4). This
gets me the sound that I want. It's a very flexible sound, dynamically and
tonally. It lets me play from low Bb up into the altissimo with a very
similar/consistent sound from bottom to top. There are many famous players
I respect (Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter) who also play on large setups with
lots of reed resistance and get just gorgeous sounds. (Intended with all
respect to the masters; I am NOT comparing myself to Dexter and Wayne!)
On the other hand, I recognize that there is a school of saxophone
playing that is diametrically opposed to this one. These players play on
much smaller reeds/mouthpieces and also get big, lush sounds (John Coltrane,
Joe Henderson, Cannonbal Adderly, etc.) I don't know much about this way of
playing, and it is MORE difficult to get the sound I want from these setups.
But I definitely love the way that these players sound.
The only conclusion that I can come to is that since everyone's
mouth/embouchure/lung capacity/oral cavity is radically different from
everyone else's, there is no point in comparing what effect different
mouthpiece/reed combinations will have from player to player. Personally, I
find that it is very easy to play on a large setup with a large reed. With
all respect to AJAZZFISH (who I'm sure is a marvelous musician who gets a
great saxophone sound on his respective setup), I am definitely not trying
to "make it harder for (myself) by using a really rugged setup." I find it
is very DIFFICULT to play on a small reed, or on a smaller tip opening.
There are excellent players who feel exactly opposite about this. Vive la
difference! I say, whatever setup gets you the sound you want, that's the
setup to use.
In closing I'll just say that I find all this defensiveness about one's
setup (my own defensiveness included!) to be very amusing. There is no
"right way" or "wrong way" to get a sound. There is no "right setup" or
"wrong setup". It's all about what works for each player, and how much
music they can make. In the end, that's really the important thing. The
setup just facilitates the music.
AJAZZFISH
simply this; playing the saxophone is an extension of yourself, it should be as
easy as talking or breathing. To paraphrase Dave Liebman, and it's been a
while since I've looked at the book, so I think it was him that said it, is
that the reed is like another vocal chord. I don't know, look at how little
effort it takes to get those chords vibrating.
I also don't mean to say that switching to a softer reed is easy. Like playing
any setup, it takes a lot of work over time to really get a sound that you are
happy with.
Also not to be pickey, but to correct you, John Coltrane did use a smaller
setup (6* I think), but used very hard reeds, except maybe towards the end, the
late impulse trane stuff features him with a much brighter tone than early on.
And Dexter Gordon, I think later on used a more open setup, but probably when
he was playing the dukoff, it was again more of a medium opening, because you
don't really see very many original large tip opening brass B.D.'s. Also he
used medium strength reeds, you can hear it in his tone, and also in the movie
'Round Midnight he asks for rico # 3's.
Scott Hall
advanced research about Dexter's and Coltrane's setups (although remember:
Dexter had a great sense of humour, and he was after all playing a part in
"Round Midnight!")
It actually takes very little effort for me to play the setup that I play
on. I'm sure that the amount of physical effort it takes someone to play a
smaller setup is very similar to the amount of effort that it takes to play
a larger setup. It's just a different type of effort or effortlessness. It
all has to do with conditioning, approach, and physique. There are so many
variables that comparing the two is really quite pointless!
"AJAZZFISH" <ajaz...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20001205223515...@ng-xb1.aol.com...
Dave Jones
>
> ... There are many famous players
> I respect (Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter) who also play on large setups with
> lots of reed resistance and get just gorgeous sounds.
Dexter Gordon played a standard 8 Otto Link with standard Rico 2 1/2 --
very soft reeds -- but he would have sounded like Dexter Gordon on any
setup.
Jive
Joe Pairman
Desmond & Art Pepper's sounds, and personally I find a fairly hard
reed a lot easier to get a good sound out of than a soft reed. If you
prefer soft reeds, that's fine.
--
Joe Pairman
Leeds, UK
> "AJAZZFISH" <ajaz...@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:20001205002744...@ng-xb1.aol.com...
Joe Pairman
Jive, then why did you go & see Jon Van Wie? Why did you ask the NG
about the Morgan-designed silver mouthpieces?
Admit it, you're human like the rest of us and your mouthpiece, while
not the be-all and end-all, helps you get the sounds in your head out
into the air with the minimum hassle.
By the way, I think that it's much easier to get a 'dark' sound out of
a 'bright' mouthpiece than the other way round. I can't imagine
Sanborn having much joy with a Caravan.
--
Joe Pairman
Leeds, UK
Dave Jones <jda...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:3A314C13...@ix.netcom.com...
> Scott Hall wrote:
> >
> > ... There are many famous players
> > I respect (Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter) who also play on large
setups with
> > lots of reed resistance and get just gorgeous sounds.
>
> Dexter Gordon played a standard 8 Otto Link with standard Rico 2
AJAZZFISH
>reed a lot easier to get a good sound out of than a soft reed.
You are right. It is easier to get a good sound out of a hard reed. But I
think that once you get the hang of soft reeds, the sound you get is fuller,
but it does take more work.
AJAZZFISH
>very soft reeds -- but he would have sounded like Dexter Gordon on any
>setup.
>
If you look at the shots of Dex in the 60's and before, he was playing on a
brass dukoff. Even in that famous shot of him from the royal roost in '48
(also the cover of the ballads album)he has a dukoff on his horn. It wasn't
until the 70's that he switched to the link. But it just goes to prove your
point, except for a little change in sound, he sounded like Dex whether he was
playing the Conn 10M with the dukoff or the Mark VI with the link