Ever since I purchased the Ward Baxter arrangement of You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch (this sample played by Jay Easton, I’ve been jones’ing for this creature, a bass sax to low A. I can play this solo if I have my grandson stand by my Buescher bass sax and shove a round cardboard extension in just when I get to the part that requires a low A.  :o)

The first step was to visit Jay and try his Eppelsheim contra-bass sax. I was amazed to find that I could play the full range of the instrument without alternate fingerings or weird overtones to fight. Sweet!

I then found that Benedikt Eppelsheim customizes the instruments for his buyers. I also found out that he is really busy now with a number of new orders! Here are my asks for this bass sax:

1. Keyed to low A
2. Lacquered similar to my Selmer Ref 54 LE alto sax which is much oranger than pictures can capture (I’ve mocked one up below)
3. Hard and soft case (this is custom work because the low A necessitates a longer bell)
4. Engraved with a Botticelli Venus on the bell

I hope to see this instrument sometime this Fall and certainly in time to perform the Grinchy number for Christmas with the Woodinville Community Band. You can read more about and hear bass sax sound clips at Jay Easton’s Bass Sax page.

The intonation on Eppelsheim saxophones as witnessed by the soprillo I purchased this year and the contra-bass sax I tried at Jay Easton’s house is superb. I often will have two to four instruments at a time and I need to be able to go from horn to horn without having to remember that one of the saxes has an intonation problem for me to wrestle with.

Getting a stand for this beast will be very challenging too. Because it is keyed to low A the bell will be approximately six inches longer than a standard bass sax. I’ll have to talk to some of the good folks on the Bass Sax coop to see what they recommend.