As a player I had many different saxophones, just get one you like how it feels in your hands, that it is confortable to blow, even tone, and good intonation. Once you have that you can tweak any sax to sound a bit different just changing the mouthpice and reed choice. This 3 saxophones sound diferent here, but lets say you played the Conn for a year, if you switch to the selmer, wich sounds very diferent here, it willll end up sounding a lot like you souunded on the Conn a few weeks, months from now, Because you will ADAPT to it and make it sound as you think it should sound. The sound concept is in your head, you will chose a different mouthpiece, a different reed. You will change your oral cavity, your embochure, until it sounds closer to the sound you have in your mind. All saxophones have different tendencies, many will sound notoriously diferent if you just switch the mouthpiece from one to the next, Most of the sound difference will go away once you adapt to it. I once sold a YTS 62 to a student that had a bad chinise student sax, when he was play testing it, he sounded better on that chinise thing that he was playing for some years.
The Buescher sounds the brightest to my ears and the Conn the darkest. In a way the Buescher sounds the most intimate, conveying lots of detail, whereas the Conn seems a bit muffled. Not that that’s a bad thing - kinda like a warm blanket. In between them both was the Selmer that seemed to have the better intonation. I guess I’d vote Selmer for balance and versatility, but to me you sounded most comfy on the Buescher. What a wealth of choices! BTW - Nice playing too!
I played both the 1965 Mark VI and the Buescher Big B Aristocrat 1942 for many years, the Buescher is just as good or even better, it’s just as versatile. I would love to own a 10m, I owned a great 6m but I swithed to an 1936 Aristocrat alto, the ease of intonation on the Buescher make them very useful in wind ensembles.
I have four new wonder twos and a custom made buescher True Tone c soprano. I love my conns, it’s why I have four (five if you count the 60s Bari) and the buescher is absolutely amazing (I’ve tried to find one and I could find no other example of a custom made csop like mine)
I have a 10M, I guess I’m just partial to that horn. Like this one which has been overhauled and tweaked. Mine plays similar but has been years since the rebuild. I can tweak with my mouth similar to this musician. I own Buescher horns and several Martin Committees too but the Conn is the one I like more! Partial to Conn tenors
I’m spoiled. I have a ‘29 New Wonder II and a Buffet SuperDynaction. IMHO the Buffet is as close to the Selmer sound as you could expect, but nothing beats these vintage beasts for playing the old school charts! The Conns react best to the original mouthpieces - I tried to contain it with a Selmer S80 for wind ensemble work with some success, but it strangled the big bore spread that I love so much.
I think older players uses mouthpiece with much smaller openings, what is the opening size for yours when testing these horns? Are they picky on mouthpiece?
so much fatter than any new horn... those horns drip with soul... handbuilt by master craftsmen instead of machines... for my ears the conns are always my fave...
