The Vintage or New Musical Instrument Decision

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Gandalfe

BuescherBaby1I tried to like vintage instruments, the price was right and they are beautious to behold. I even saved some from the trash heap like my Conn C soprano that Sarge of Worldwide Sax was able to revive. Truth be known, I played a 50s ‘crat alto sax all the way through school.

But for me, every vintage instrument I played was eventually replaced by a modern instrument. The most common reason was the inherent intonation on the new horns was vastly superior to that of the vintage instrument. The second most common reason was the ergos on the vintage instrument bothered me in some way like the right-hand pinkie keys on that gorgeous Buffet SDA.

DSCF0105Maybe if I wasn’t a doubler, spent more time practicing, and really learned the instrument I could have gotten past these issues. But I found that every time I replaced the vintage instrument, the new instrument was so much better that I ended up selling the vintage. Here is my odyssey:

  • Alto/Tenor: Couf Superba to Selmer Ref 54 (before the Ref series I really disliked the Selmer stuff)
  • Clarinet: Leblanc Paris to Buffet R-13 Festival
  • Bass sax: Buescher to Eppelsheim
  • Soprano: Antigua to Yani 992
  • Soprillo: Mason to Yani 981
  • Bass clarinet: Leblanc to Selmer Privilege
  • C sop: Conn to ER (Eppelsheim)

I got smarter as I went along too buying new and best in class vintage from the get go:

  • DSCF0288Bari: Yani 991
  • Soprillo: Eppelsheim
  • F Mezzo: Conn
  • Contra (bass & alto): Leblanc Paris paperclip
  • Flute: Gemeinhardt 3SHB with Chris McKenna head

I am not a pro. If I were I could make any sax sound great; gawd knows my instructors can. But I luv playing in the community band, my big band, and my quartet. And I get paid gigs all the time. I think I have made the right decisions for me. If vintage works for you, great. But I *always* recommend getting the best instrument you can afford, for a student or hobbyist. At least then you have a chance.

Posted in Band, Clarinet, Flute, Hobbies, Music Instruments, Saxophone, soprillo, Vintage | 5 Comments

What Girls Want

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Gandalfe

WhatBoysWantAnyone ever wonder about how men and women are wired? Yeah, probably all the time. I was thinking about my daughter and her new husband and my grandson and his girl friend. How does this fit into their situation/equation?

Although I find this editorial cartoon humorous, I don’t think it is necessarily true… all the time. Just most of the time. But I’m guessing what both sexes want is someone they can trust to be there when the need is the most. Now that can be a hard person to find. But sometimes you can get lucky and find that kind of person who can be or grow into your soul mate.

Who was it that said all humor is based in some part upon pain. That rings true for me. But I couldn’t prove it mathematically.

Posted in Everyday Science, Health and wellness, Heroes, Humor, Infographic, Lifestyle | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Allen Loomis C Melody saxophone

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Gandalfe

bellScott Granlund of Granlund Woodwind Repair is a world class musician and repair tech. Recently he shared this story on Facebook and I wanted to get it out to my many friends who are not Facebook users. Those readers on Facebook can LIKE GWR on Facebook and view many more pictures with detail of the instrument as it is taken apart and repaired.

Scott sez, “A woman called, wanted me to rebuild her great-grandfathers C melody saxophone. I said I’d look at it, see what could be done. She shows up later, opens the case and I exclaimed “So, your great-grandfather was Allen Loomis?!?” to which she replied, “Yes, he was”. And so began the odyssey of re-padding the Loomis C melody. Take a look, you’ll never see another one.” Pictures owned by Scott Granlund, click on picture for enlargement.

LoomisAllen only made one C Melody which was more or less the prototype for the altos. The family has been asked a few times and at the present has no interest in donating to a collection. Here’s a link to info researched by Prof. James M. Borders and Stearns staff who report that Allen actually made eight instruments in total including this C Melody. Here is what they say about the alto sax in the Sterns collection.

Description: This instrument, patented by Allen Loomis of Toledo, Ohio, in 1920, was intended to serve as a prototype for the production of a new type of alto saxophone by the Conn musical instrument company. Of the several designers employed by the Conn design laboratory, Allen Loomis was known for his innovative, often outrageous instrument design. While his models often did incorporate many mechanical and acoustical improvements, they were frequently dismissed as too impractical to be put into production. It is speculated that Loomis never played a musical instrument in his life. Loomis was born in Jackson, Michigan; as an inventor, he received an 1899 patent for an automobile transmission, again, without any experience in the field.

bow   Engraving2 

InCase1   InCase2

This Alto Saxophone in E Flat (curved) is made of brass with silver-plated touches and rollers. He called it the “Double Resonance” model because it allows two or more tone holes to open below the key pressed. It is also known to technicians, due its mechanical complexity, as “The Watchmaker’s Dream”. Weighing 4 pounds more than a modern Saxophone, it has twenty-six brass keys including third octave key and low A extension (L4 roller). The instrument incorporates numerous mechanical and acoustical improvements including relatively small diameter tone holes and many keys having been relocated. The serial number is 6 (Loomis is known to have made eight instruments in total).

rHpalm Palmkeys tone holes2

I’ll leave you with some more pictures to remind you that there are many more like these on the Granlund Woodwind Repair site on Facebook.

Posted in Collectable, Facebook, Hobbies, Music Instruments, Repair, Saxophone, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

RIP Steve Jobs

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Gandalfe

A real visionary with an unbelievable work ethic, you will be missed Steve. You left the world a better place than when you arrived.

Posted in Computers and Internet, In the news..., YouTube | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Did cha forget something?

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Gandalfe

I bet this lady will never forget doing this. Talk about exposure. Can’t remember who pointed to this from the European humour.com site, but there was a write-up about the fellows below her having to catch her shortly after the picture was taken.

Dunno if I believe it or not. It could be Photoshop’d. Still there is some joy just imagining it actually happening. Would you like to see the rest of this young lady’s bucket list?  Smile

DidChaForgetSomething

It never ceases to amaze me what people will do. I saw a fellow climbing hundreds of feet up a steep slope with no safety line or fail safe. The experts say that it is just a matter of time before the unthinkable happens, he will eventually fall. I don’t know whether to admire these folks or feel sorry for them. But it sure makes for a great photo opportunity.

Posted in Health and wellness, Heroes, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Nude, Photograph, Too Spicy for some | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Son Aaron sings in a World Class Choir

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Gandalfe

Aaron sang in 370 member men’s choir this weekend and shared this clip with us. We are so proud. Click on the picture below to start the video.

AaronChoir1

This performance was at the General Conference in Salt Lake City, if I’m not mistaken. General conference is a semiannual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During general conference weekend, Church members and others who are interested gather worldwide in a series of two-hour sessions to receive inspiration and instruction from Church leaders.

AaronChoir2Suzy saw him in this video before I did and I clipped a picture from the video. There he is second from the left in the middle row of this picture. I sang in choir from my youth through 8th grade in school and in church. Singing is a hobby that can stay with you your whole life.

I am happy that Aaron enjoys singing as well as playing sax, clarinet, trumpet, drums and piano. I can’t wait until he moves back to the Seattle area so that we can play in bands and ensembles together again.

Posted in Chorus, Health and wellness, Hobbies, Music, Vocalist | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Best Guitar Secret I know…

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Gandalfe

My brother is a luthier, a luthier who once repaired a guitar for Rod Stewart. So when he recommended Elixir guitar strings I gave them a try. The nano coating feels good to my touch and lasts sooo long. I recommend them to all my friends, hobbyist or pro.

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The Reason: Uncoated strings do not have any protection from the direct contact with your fingers, and as gunk builds up in the string winding, the string is unable to vibrate as freely as when it was shiny and new.

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            Uncoated String                                              Elixir® Strings

The pictures above are examples of what might happen to your strings after 15 hours or so of play. You can see why your uncoated string is sounding lifeless. Tiny bits of skin and dirt become trapped in the windings, and sweat and skin oils have caused the metal to corrode.

With Elixir Strings, the patented polymer coating covers the entire string and forms a barrier against tone-killing gunk.

A string is made of a metal core (usually steel), and includes a metal winding on the heavier gauges. As you play your guitar, bass, or other stringed instrument, the uncoated string will quickly accumulate oils, dirt, sweat, and bits of skin that get trapped between the windings. The lack of coating also hastens the corrosion of the metal, and the feel of the dead string begins to hamper your playing performance.

With Elixir Strings, a protective fluoropolymer coating is added to the string via a patented process. The coating forms a barrier between the string and the environment. Since the entire outer surface of the string is coated, the gaps between the winding are protected. As you can see in the photos, after just a few gigs, an uncoated string shows the debris and corrosion in the winding, while the Elixir String remains nearly pristine. Result: With Elixir Strings Players report with Elixir Strings their tone lasts longer than any other string, uncoated or coated. You’ll spend less time and frustration changing strings, and more time playing.

Posted in Advertisement, Guides, Guitar, Hobbies, Music Instruments, Repair, Theory | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Then she’ll leave you…

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Gandalfe

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Posted in Humor, Music | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Keeping Millions Out of Work

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Gandalfe

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Buy one of these stickers here.

Posted in Government, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

LOVE: Windows Phone “Mango” Update

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Gandalfe

Joy, joy, happy, happy. First it was the Android and then a Windows Phone 7 that finally made my cell phone an Internet accessing wonder. Sometimes it’s crazy how much I luv new, high tech gadgetry. In this case, I don’t have to buy a new device to take advantage of the new features offered by Mango. Note to my readers, I work for Microsoft.

imageThe Windows Phone “Mango” update process began this morning as the Windows Phone 7.5 becomes available to users around the world. Most customers will have an opportunity to update their phones within the next four weeks.

To get the latest visit the Windows Phone Blog which includes a “Where’s my Phone Update” section with info for US and International users. Being on the Verizon plan, I will be very curious to see how long it take me versus those on other carriers to get the latest and greatest.

Oh, and in case you are wondering why I am acting like a kid in a candy store, here are some of the new features that Mango will provide.

Posted in Cell phone, My World, Technology | Tagged , | 1 Comment