Since when does a horn need to be broke in? CB horns are fine tuned in Utah by specialists. Any horn should sound good from the beginning...they don`t need to be "Broke" in. If anything after initially playing a new horn "some" of them may need to be "readjusted" to regain their original intonation if any changes have occured as a result of "settling in"....

Just curious...did you get your sax knowledge from the same school you learned to spell and write?

People dont insist on sounding retarded by writing unsubstantiated, opinionated, unobjective crap. Keep and open mind and get educated. Don`t pretend to be an expert on something (a concept or instrument) that you obviously know nothing about. Try to spell correctly as this will also increase your "credibility"

Joel you need to expand on your statements with actual examples of "Mature Personal Experience With The Subject Matter" versus idiotic badly spelled outbursts.

cheers,

Jeff

Own a black nickel/laquer plated key
B1 Tenor Sax. The lacquer on thumb/octave keys have faded. The action is not as
good as a Selmer - but the sound!!! The
intonition!!!The looks!!!The response
from low Bb to altissimo!!! I have never played a horn that is so much fun to play!!! How about an SA Cannonball?

Brava -
In reading many of the statements that have been posted I believe that Jeff summed up many of my thoughts leading up to his. Thank you for being succinct and for pointing out that no two horns are alike, not even ones made by the same company. There are too many variables so the best thing for anybody to do is shop around, play as many as possible and realize that brand names are just names - the really good horns are the ones taht give you goosebumps and chills when you play them.

Smile be happy

different horns are better for different players. charlie parker would own you all on a bundy

Lord, there is some rubbish being talked here. 70-80% of the tone of the sax depends on the person blowing down it. The remaining 20-30% depends on the reed, mouthpiece and ligature - and they aren`t THAT important - and the sax itself. Simply put, the quality of the sax itself is not as important as you may think.

"Professional" saxes just have - in the main - lighter actions. Lighter actions do not suit all players. They`re somewhat better built, but if you pick up a vintage sax, it`s usually nowhere near as well built in comparison to a modern "pro" sax. However. If you CAN play properly, you`ll find the old warhorses sound more like "the real thing" than modern pro saxes.

Conclusion ? The manufacturers will foist a lot of rubbish on you to get them to buy their latest sax. That`s how they stay in business. A lot of musicians think the instrument makes them sound good - look at all the fellas who bought a white Strat and a Marshall stack thinking they`d sound like Hendrix. They didn`t. Practice, practice, practice - that`s what you rely on, not what particular sax you practice with.

As a PS - I`ve been *playing* - as opposed to "blowing down" the sax - for 29 years. The conclusions I`ve come to about saxes is that so long as you`ve got a blowable reed and the sax is mechanically OK, it`ll sound OK, as the production of the sound is up to you. How well the sax helps you produce the sound you want is a different matter. Some saxes sound better when you have to fight them a bit to get them to play. A good sax player relies on his ability, not the instrument - the instrument doesn`t play itself. What`s the definition of a good sax ? A fast action ? Fast action equals less travel for the keys equals less sound and tone. High action ? More difficult to close the keys. Easy blowing ? - tends to run away with you. Difficult to blow but great when it gets started ? Fatigue sets in.

It`s ludicrous to say "this sax is better than that one". Better for what ? This has turned into a ridiculous thread where everyone thinks Brand X will turn them into some kind of guru. Never in a million years.

buescher and keilwerth altos rules . they`ve great intonation for concert and jazz. worth it !

While I am not as irritated by the semi-literate, experience-challenged, opinionated, chest-beating posts as Jeff was, I DO think that there are a couple points that have not been covered, and a couple bogus arguments against CB brought forth.

First and foremost, a Cannonball is not a Cannonball is not a Cannonball! Based on testimony from the shop where I bought my Global Series CB, coupled with other threads, I think it is safe to say that this fledgling company has made great strides since its inception in the 1990s. Translation: it may well be that the first couple models of what CB called their "professional" horns were not exactly ready for prime time. Mine is solid, and has stood up to extensive play in the time I have owned it. If it falls apart (which I doubt), I will be a big enough man to post about it.

Secondly, "Joel" seems to be a textbook example of faulty reasoning. His evidence that CBs are uniformly outplayed by other brands is confounded by the possibility that the Yani/Yamaha/Selmer players are actually the most talented players, who by circular reasoning never even *considered* a horn assembled in Taiwan. Also, as has been mentioned, even popping the same mouthpiece from one horn to the other and swapping is not a valid test since the same mouthpiece can sound majestic on one horn and stuffy on another. As for the thin metal, well, to the touch the brass of my CB bell sounds no different than my Yamaha 62. If you are concerned about how thick the brass is to stand up to abuse, get yourself a Bundy. As for the "how-can-CBs-be-so-good-if-only-a-few-pros-are-using-them?" argument. This is also a bogus argument. Pros are human too, with their own stereotypes and predjudices, or simple preference for the familiar or tried-and-true. If one is to use an anecdote, the more relevant fact would be that there ARE pros out there like Albright and Christlieb who are using CB, which tells you that at least *some* CBs specimens leaving Salt Lake City are pleasing to the ear of some of the world`s best players.

To conclude, to anyone reading this thread who is considering getting a CB, you owe it to your wallet (or Dad`s wallet) to at least give one of the newer models (Global Series or Stonecutter) a try-- trying several models of CB if your dealer stocks several, and with several different mouthpieces on each one. I`ll admit, the silver and gold lacquer models didn`t do anything for me, but the black nickel was superb.

Yes, the Yanis/Yamahas/Selmers are great horns, and I`m honest enough to admit that there may well be a specimen out there from the big 3 that I might like even better than my CB, but it`s a moot point since I sound great on my CB, my bandmates in the bands I sub in (and the one I regularly play in) really like the sound, I don`t see why I should have to pay so much more for a nice horn, I`m having fun playing, and my phone keeps ringing.

If you, gentle reader, ever DO pick up a CB that sounded great to you, just be prepared for (big three) brand snobs to give you a hard time-- many will simply not be able to mentally deal with the fact that they may have paid $1500+ more than they needed to to get a really great sound!

Cannonball, Kielworth, Selmer... the bottom line is in the mouthpiece, that`s the voice.

Charlie Parker played a different sax each night sometimes, but always had his trusty Brillhart moutpiece set-up.. and he always sounded exactly the same no matter what horn he blew. The rest is mechanical.

I agree with the Band Director (below) - The Selmer Mk 6 is grossly over rated. I`ve had several and they seem VERY inconsistant. But everything I`ve heard about the Cannonball is all in praise.

Ha ha, good discussions, all. I have a Selmer Mark VI alto sax and have played that one only since I got it as a child in 1968. I`d never play anything else. And why would I? That`s not to say there aren`t other quality instruments worth playing...maybe it`s just me. Probably is. Yeah, that`s it. Best, Rollpicture/Hollywood CA

Hey guys just bored and thought I would add my 2 cents worth. I am a professional sax player here in Nashville and I play Selmer horns and also have matching custom Yamaha`s... I love them all. I was in Memphis this weekend and bored so I was looking around at a music store and decided I would break down and play a Cannonball...and to my suprise....I really like what I heard. It was great....I almost bought the horn on the spot and in the process trying to get one for my collection. I would defintely go play one before I made any judgement against this horn. I have played alot of horns and it sounded better than most saxes I have played...incuding Yangi`horn which i dont like..but thats my opinion. PLay them all and pick the one you like...dont listen to everybody else...form your own opinion and create your own sound.

I don`t think it really matters what you use. If you suck like me, nobody will listen to you no matter what.

Kenny G, you are horrible.

I`ve had an Elkhart 300 curved soprano for a year now, and it rocks! I`m semi pro and normally a tenor player of 30 years experience (Selmer SA80II). I bought it out of curiosity but at gigs it steals the limelight....big sound, play as fast as you like. The moral of the story is, don`t put saxes down just because they are cheap!

I just bought a new pro cannonball tenor and it is fabulous, and not as expensive as a pro selmer (which I don`t like anyway). as far as altos go, I`ve heard less favorable things about them. I`m also primarily an alto player, and having just gone through the search, I understand how hard it can be. I will reccomend a yamaha YAS62, however. It`s what Ive got and I absolutely love it. There have never in the three years that I`ve had it been any problems, and it sounds fantastic. It`s the most solid horn I`ve ever played, intonation and tone are nearly perfect. Good luck in your search, I strongly reccomend the YAS62, everyone I know who`s played it has fallen in love with it.