Forum of the Saxes

WorstViceAdvice · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 15

It's been 9 years since I last played a bari sax. I still fiddle around with my clarinet and bass clarinet, but I miss the rich tones of the bari.

So, back in the day I remember much talk over not buying this brand and if you want to play jazz this is the brand of bari saxophone you want, etc etc. I remember Jupiter being a big deal, and one guy dropped 6k on one and went on to play in a professional orchestra.

So is Jupiter still top dog in the bari sax world? I do intend to play a lot of jazz and funk with it (oh it's been so very very long). How are Selmer and... the others doing by comparison? Has anyone tried all the brands recently and can give top billing to any particular one?

A bari sax is a heck of a lot of money, so I want to be sure I'm getting the most bang for the buck. So any pricing recommendations would be cool to know too (i.e. If you pay more than 6k you're throwing money away).

BariSax37 · Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 70 Location: Warren MI

well I personally like the selmer bari's but Ive never played with a jupiter. I suggest that if you do begin the bari again to try to get a vintage bari since they are WAY cheaper than the modern bari's which cost around 5'000 dollars, vintage costs arouind 500 - 1000 dollars in my experience
_________________
Jason Hamilton
Baritone Saxophonist
Warren Mott High
Warren MI

Bariman · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 5:03 pm Post subject:

The artist series Jupiter baris are quite nice, but anything lower is probably not worth it.

As far as Vintage horns, yes, way more bang for your buck, but make sure you play it first. There are some great finds out there, you just gotta look.

'Big 4' Modern manufacturers:
Yamaha
Yanagisawa
Selmer
Keilwerth

*There are many other great brands out there, but they are smaller and less known.

'Big 5' Vintage horn manufacturers:
Conn
Selmer
Buescher
H.N. White/King
Martin

If you want, I can post some ideal models and serial numbers for you.

I will also add you to the bari sax forum so you can learn what other saxers like you are doing. We are a colorful bunch indeed.

Bariman
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Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

JPSaxMan · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 5:51 pm Post subject:

You bet *blares low A*...excuse me.
_________________
JP
Student of Saxophone
Music Education (BME) Major-2011
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

WorstViceAdvice · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 15

[quote="Bariman"]
If you want, I can post some ideal models and serial numbers for you.

I will also add you to the bari sax forum so you can learn what other saxers like you are doing. We are a colorful bunch indeed.

Bariman[/quote]

Yes, I'd love some ideal models and serial numbers. That'd make me a lot more comfortable when I go into the dealer so I can sound like I know what I want. =)

Thank you for adding me to the Bari sax forum.
-WorstViceAdvice

Bariman · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 8:13 pm Post subject:

No problemo. I will come up with some good vintage models for each of the named makers above, but will leave judgement of the modern stuff up to you, as each listed modern maker has a website where you can research models. I'll try and have it up by tomorrow

Bariman
_________________
Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

WorstViceAdvice · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 15

Any luck with that list? =)

Bariman · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:20 pm Post subject:

Oh gosh, I totally forgot. It's been a busy couple of days around here lately. Anyway, ahem:

Conn- for most sizes of saxes, the New Wonder Series 2 saxes and what are called 'transitional' saxes. Those serials go from about 144xxx to 237xxx for the Series 2's, and 237xxx to 263xxx for the tansitionals. The M series horns that comes after are also very good players, until about the early 60's (about 850xxx), when most of Conn manufacturing went to Mexico, and general quality went down. Note that there are still many good horns made after the 60's (referred to as Mexi-Conns), but there value is significantly lower.

Selmer- I will ask you to talk to the forum co-admin JPsaxman here, for he knows way more about the Selmers than I.

Buescher- A favorite of mine in addition to the Conns, the Buescher horns are very close in design to the Conns, yet lower priced. The True Tones (0-262xxx) are nice players, but are early horns, and were replaced by a more complete version, the Aristocrat, which is broken up into 5 models: The New Aristo's (262xxx-267xxx), the Series 1 Aristo (267xxx-291xxx), The Big B models (291xxx-355xxx), the Series 2 Aristo (331xxx-355xxx), and the Series 3 Aristo (355xxx-405xxx). All of the Aristos are of good repor, with each model having different features.

King- The Zephyrs (cleary marked) and Super 20 and 21's are all great horns, as well as a name you might run across, 'Silversonic'.

Martin- Another major player, martin produced some very good horns. Any 'Handcraft' model will be good, and the very rare 'typewriter' models are very cool. A good source of innovation in the horn line.

Hope this helps, let me know if you want even more specific details on a particular model of manufacturer. Again, sorry for the delay.

Bariman
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Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

JPSaxMan · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:22 pm Post subject:

Yea, shoot something over at the Selmer forum if you wanna know more about Selmer bari's. Err...I can only tell you various models and prices, but not a whole lot else Embarassed

_________________
JP
Student of Saxophone
Music Education (BME) Major-2011
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania