Dillon prototype bass saxophone

[iiipopes]

Nah, they're not low.

Here's low: http://www.contrabass.com" target="_blank

[eupher61]

Totally agree with Bloke about the Buescher bass sax. Amazing instruments, but a little funky with pitch often. Using a real bass sax, instead of a bari, mouthpiece does help.

A friend actually made up a fingering chart for his Buescher, so that after his far-too-early death whoever ended up with it could have a good starting point.

[Donn]

I haven't played a Thor, but have played a Keilwerth/Armstrong/H. Couf from the '80s, and it's a decent modern style saxophone. Pretty much have to use a bass sax mouthpiece, bari mouthpieces (and in fact many bass mouthpieces) won't fit. Somewhat limited applications.

[Donn]

I have also had a chance to hear a lot from an Italian one (Corsi?) that had a very edgy tone and octaves that were in tune within themselves but not with each other (or the rest of the group).

Orsi. I'd guess the wrong mouthpiece. The chamber of a saxophone mouthpiece is supposed to somehow serve in place of the cone that would be formed by the theoretical extention of the neck to a point. The volume of the chamber is similar, and adjustment of the mouthpiece back and forth on the neck by what appears to be trivial increments actually changes the volume of the chamber. That's with the lower notes, and then with some of the higher range, the tuning effect is linear like you might expect instead of that volume displacement thing. It sort of works, but only if the chamber matches the instrument to some degree. I am probably garbling something I heard - no expert here - but empirically, I can play my saxophones more or less in tune across their range with some mouthpieces, and not with others, and it's particularly a problem with the bass because of the limited availability.

[Donn]

It's probably keyed down to Bb, if not A (so, concert Ab or G below the bass clef).

The only make I know of that goes below "Bb" is made by Lopes Instrumentos Musicais, in Brazil. They go to "G", i.e., F. It's a good idea - the bass sax is pretty useless for anything but a contrabass role, so the low range to F is a big help - but only if you don't want to ever play standing up.

[eupher61]

Rollini was a monster, yep. If finances had worked out better, Bix and Tram would've stuck with the Rollini band, at least for a while, and I wonder how things would have turned out? (I"ve been listening to a lot of Bix lately...)

I have a track by Red Nichols/Five Pennies, "Battle Hymn" with the tastiest bass sax solo I've ever heard, although the bass is inaudible on most of the rest of the track.

[Donn]

I've owned/sold a Buescher bass saxophone and a Couf/Keilwerth bass saxophone. Other Bueschers have passed through my shop. The German instrument had a new appearance and was quite well-made. The Buescher would easily be judged to be the superior instrument.

So would a Keilwerth easily be judged to be superior, if for example the person doing the judging were inclined towards a more modern saxophone sound.

All bass saxophones (as do all bass tubas, contrabass tubas, soprano-alto-tenor-baritone saxophones) have their quirks.

So true, and so unreasonable to criticize tubas for intonation quirks, when it's something we just ought to take for granted. But there have been some improvements in what we can expect, since the '30s. About the only quirk left in that '80s Keilwerth is the need to use the D palm key as if it were a second octave vent with 2nd register D.

Adrian Rollini (who played with Bix) is my hero. I've never heard better bass sax playing than on those recordings with Bix.

I think the story I heard was that he was not only self taught, he learned to play the instrument on very short notice. Along with vibraphone, etc.

Mr. Rollini played a Conn. They are quite rare.

Inasmuch as bass saxophones are rare, but I would have guessed Conn bass saxophones to be the most numerous.

[Donn]

Canal Street Blues with-
2 cornets
trombone
sousa
piano, banjo, washboard
and dueling bass saxes!

I'm not looking at the tube, for lack of Flash software, but I've seen their two bass sax act, if as I surmise that's Uptime Lowdown. They're both nice guys. Paul Woltz plays just about every kind of woodwind, plus tuba, and can fix them too.

[eupher61]

Great band. They've changed personnel a lot over the years, but always top notch. They've had the 2 bass sax front line thing for a number of years, at least back into the 80's. Very cool! Thanks for the video links, Bob.

They recorded the best "Kansas City Man Blues" I've heard on an LP from the really early 80s.

and now, for the requisite hijacking...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc_WJ7kW ... re=related" target="_blank

ever seen 3 double bells in the same band??

[The Big Ben]

From the "For What It's Worth Department":

There is a hippie band in my town of Port Townsend which parades in the spring Rhody Festival Parade and they have a bass sax player. He rolls it down the street on a stand with casters and accompanies a few other hippies on other hippie instruments. Last year, they marched behind the group from "Natural Midwives" who featured a woman, barebellied, greatly with child. It was found out the next week that she had been carrying two of them. Making a brood of five. Not bad for a 19 year old.

Jeff "Constantly Amused" Benedict

[eupher61]

Pick an argument with Rick...or pet your cat...Petting a cat tends to have a calming effect.

but, neither petting Rick nor picking an argument with a cat are calming. Of course, I haven't tried either of those...

[MaryAnn]

So I wonder if anybody ever bought this?

MA, drooling again...the band I play in has a bass sax, well-played (i.e., in tune, not "honky") and I have to admit I'm jealous. The lady is about my size, too.

[scottw]

There are probably more bass saxes around here--the Philadelphia area--than anywhere on earth. The Mummers String Bands nearly all use at least one bass sax, many obvious relics from the early days of Mummer-dom. They do present quite a sound along with all the other saxes and the marching string basses.

[iiipopes]

A guy in the local community band has a really nice Conn bass sax, and gets a good tone out of it. Get this: we think we are rather indulgent in having multiple instruments. He also has an Eb bari sax, a regular Bb bass clarinet, an Eb contra bass clarinet, AND a BBb sub contrabass clarinet. He gets a great tone out of all of them, but my favorite is his Selmer Eb contra clarinet of solid rosewood. And he can get whatever you want or need out of all of them. He actually brought them all in rotation to band one season so that the director could pick the one that best suited the band. Of course, the director picked the Eb contra clarinet, as much because he had parts in the repertoire for it and didn't have to re-write something for it, like he had to do for the bass sax.

[eupher61]

I'm not sure how I wandered onto this old thread, but it happened.

At the time I didn't know this anecdote: A local (St Louis) guy who is fairly well-known, an amazing musician, and a great man to boot, owns both Bob Short's Martin from the 50s Turk Murphy bands, but Adrian Rollini's bass sax. A lot of history in those two horns! The guy also plays plectrum banjo very well, and can hold his own playing piano.