I am so luving this new addition to the family instrument collection. The lows are so low the house rumbles. There are a number of items that I want to repair and tweak, but overall it is a very nice bass sax and the best of the five I’ve tried so far.

We have a number of sax quintet pieces that call for a bass sax and the jazz ensemble director has said there are some jazz charts that have bass sax parts. I figure it will take a month to get the repairs done and another month to come to terms with the vintage keyworks and unique intonation issues. For example although I can not get a D2 to sound with the normal fingering, it pops out sweet with a side D fingering.

I also have to find a stand for this beastie and a new case as the gig bag that came with it doesn’t protect it well enough. I’ve been researching new cases and they are very difficult to find. Three places say they no longer carry them and two other referred me to custom case makers. It is not made easier by the fact that I would like wheels on the case.

Suzy holding the instrument makes it look even larger. It actually isn’t much bigger than a baritone sax and only a few pounds heavier. But I will need to find a better strap to hold it–maybe I should use a harness instead.

I like the fact that the gold wash on the Buescher sax has aged so well. It has a dark patina that looks pretty cool. I will probably have the neck replated with silver as it is the most worn part of this sax. I would say the rest of the sax has about 80% of the silver still in place.

So the next time you see the Bis Key Sax xTet (where x = the number of players, here’s hoping we’ve integrated the bass sax to be a part of the show. With the sopranino, it would be a very interesting show for many folk.