Thanks for watching! Let us know your favorite in the comments below. A few notes: We recorded each performance consecutively, aiming to keep conditions as identical as possible. However, there are variables that are difficult to control completely. Additionally, the saxophones do sound different "in the room" compared to under the microphone. Despite these factors, we hope this video provides you with insight into the character of each brand!
The minimal differences prove the sound comes from the player. rather than the sax. Could you do a comparison/ discussion on intonation, keywork comfort and build quality, please?
Great job! The Z and the Yani sound great. Also these are modern horns and not vintage mark vi or sba! These horns sound great and it’s because of the player. As long as the person likes their sound and how they play it what really matters and not necessarily the brand.🎷
I’m partial to the TJ Sig Custom, which I just bought about a month ago. 2nd choice would be the R&C. I’m in love with the sound and ergonomics of my TJ. It’s a hard tenor to put down. Thanks for this demo! Great job!
Same, just reaffirms my belief that the most important reasons to get a specific horn over another is ergonomics, intonation, ease of playing, and looks, in that order, not sound. Sound comes from the player, the reed, the mouthpiece, and maybe the neck, in that order.
It all sounds pretty similar, the taiwan models almost identical besides slight differences in the playing. For my ears the Rampone Cazzani stood out. But it would have been interesting to hear how they cope with staccato, full blast and overtones. This was all in a kind of lounge mode.
The average listener could not discern any difference between any of them. They all sound great, but almost identical. Get a vintage horn like a Conn 10m if you want to go for a distinctive sound.
I'm listening through professional studio monitors. I felt the Yanagisawa had the most lovely "out front" sound, the 66R and The Duke were sonically identical, the TJ Raw had the most lovely compact sound, and the Supreme was the most subdued. The 82Z and Supreme were both very refined, sonically.
To me, I enjoyed the Yamaha the most, followed by the Yani. The Selmer was in third place. I was surprised by the Atlantic. That is probably the best value horn out there. I liked it better than the Eastman 52 St.
Haha they don’t all sound the same! But kudos to the demonstrator for expressing each horn with accurate phrasing. My faves fwiw. Selmer Supreme, Atlantic Duke, Rampone and Cazzani, Keilwerth Shadow. 😊
As with geoffcsax, I agree with him. Very minimal difference with most of the sounds and it's definitely the player that makes the difference. For me, if the sounds of these horns are very similar, I'd have to go there myself and try the ergonomics for myself. These are all great "looking" horns. However, again, I'd have to try the horns for myself while deciding what kind of sound I'm leaning more towards and what kind of music I want to use the horn for. Great video, though. Thank you very much. I've been mostly playing altos for most of my sax playing life. So, I'd have to spend time getting use to playing tenors for a while.
For me TWO20 was outstanding. I'm surprised by the Supreme output; kind of dull. I'm equally surprised by the Atlantic; nice contest though new to the race. No surprise with the brightness of the Cannonball. Surprised by the 'brightness' of the Keilwerth though. Overall, all played beautifully and it all boils down to preferences.
Listening through monitor speakers I liked the Yamaha the least but then again, apart from the 875EX models which I quite like, I have not been a fan of Yamaha saxophones, especially the 82Z. The Atlantic and the TJ Raw were similar but I think the Atlantic has a bit more depth and I liked it slightly more. The Rampone Cazzani R1 sounded like it was a bit deeper sounding than the others. I liked the Yanagisawa TWO20 and Keilwerth Shadow the most. The Supreme didn't stand out to me compared to the others.
Thanks, George! Finally someone compares saxophone sound by playing the same piece on all of the saxophones in the comparison instead of doodling around with different riffs on the different saxophones!! I was actually pretty surprised. I was thinking of selling my Yamaha 82Z and getting a Supreme but now I'm not so sure as the Yamaha 82Z and Yanagisawa TWO20 sounded best to my ear. Guess I'll have to try the last three in the video "live" for myself to finally decide.
Nice demo! I wish there was a magical little meter showing how much air you had to push through each one to get that sound and volume. I was listening to a few of these horns that I have played thinking, "Hmmm, I'd bet you're working a little harder with that one." I don't know if such a meter exists but it would add a cool dimension to the story.
Mmmmm, can you do it all again just blowing what ever the horn in hand inspires you to play in the moment. I’m serious 🙏 ps you sound great 👍 and also, what was YOUR fave to play on the day?
Thanks for this informative video! I'm interested in knowing which saxophone would be the best to start with-something that will help me get the basics down and serve as a versatile instrument before I make a bigger investment. I plan to dedicate myself to practice for the next six months. At this stage, they all sound similar to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
To me they all sound very similar, but not identical.. but very very small differences for the listener I think.. For me I think the winner is Eastman. Just a little warmer and also just a tiny bit more presence in the sound. Liked the Supreme and Yani as well. All the others were really hard to tell apart..
He has a pretty thin tone on all the videos I have seen him play, barely takes in any mouthpiece. The Keilwerth beefed up his sound considerably and was the most enjoyable to listen to…the rest all sounded about the same, including the Supreme…the Rampone didn’t sound good IMO
All saxes sound very close indeed. I was a bit disappointed by the Yamaha 82Z (same when I tested it in your shop end of last year). The Supreme doesn't stand out to me compared to the other options. For me the Signature Custom and Mauriat 66R have a certain clarity and crispness to the sound that I like. The Yani TW020 looks also like a very nice sax. I'll keep my Selmer SIII for the time being :) And BTW ... the mouthpiece is the most important part and the D'Addario Select Jazz is a must HR piece!
The serie III is a very under appreciated instrument. It is very good. Ihave found serie III more VI like than other modern Selmers . I have owned 9 VI altos and 14c VI tenors and repaired many many more . I still play a serie III alto and the only reason I'm selling my NOS serie 3 tenor is that I own an excellent 129k VI and 54K super and Silver 875EX that kicks butt when I need extra punch. Never sell a serie III short.
I think I can hear more differences in how you play the tune than I hear differences between the instruments. I'm sure you have a thing against Yamaha saxes! In that case you played that repeated first phrase without conviction and let the note die. When you played the Eastman, for example you played it with a distinct crescendo. You're not a machine, so I don't think this comparison shows up too much. Others, of course, may disagree with me.
I will clarify this situation. Here, all ten recordings are played on only one saxophone. Not on ten different ones, but on just one. This is the marketing focus of the SaxCoUK store. Several years ago I worked as a salesman in a specialty saxophone store. And I thoroughly tested all the available saxophones. Of the ten models presented in this video, I tested seven. I tested them when the saxophones were in excellent playing condition, having been adjusted by a saxophone technician. And I confidently declare that all seven had their own sound characteristics. An experienced saxophonist can always hear this - it can be heard and felt when playing. But in the video presented here, all the saxophones sound exactly the same. This is not true! Don't be fooled, gentlemen!
How did you know?! Synchronizing sound with the visual movements can be quite a task, so we hired top hollywood CGI specialists to line up the sound of each clip with the key movements of Georges hand in the video.... In all honesty, of course you are hearing the sound of each saxophone being played, your comment is beyond ridiculous
