Tenor Trials

By Kevin Danenberg | Published: December 8, 2008

I went down to Rayburn’s to try out some tenors yesterday.  Just to get a feel for how modern horns play.  Someday, I’d like to have a legitimate front line tenor to complement my Mark VI.  Mainly, something easy to replace if something happens to it, but also to reduce the wear and tear on my VI over the years.  I have a backup tenor that’s okay (a Yanagisawa T-800 stencil with a custom neck), but it’s really just for worry-free travel.

Having played a gig the night before, I was in good playing form and had a few really nice reeds.  So I dropped by with my VI to do some comparison.  An unfair comparison, at that.  I keep my horn in tip top shape, whereas the typical display horn languishes in semi-disrepair.  So my horn blew circles around all of these.  I had to use my imagination a little to guess how they’d sound fixed up.

Model/Finish Comments
Selmer Series III
Gold Lacquer		 From everything I’ve read, I thought I’d like this horn a lot. Turns out, it was my least favorite of the lot. Just goes to show that you can’t judge a horn without blowing it. So don’t pay attention of any of what I write here! Just go play some horns!

The keywork was very comfortable, but I did not find it as nimble as some of the other horns. The low end was huge, and the high end and altissimo were powerful. What turned me off was the huskiness of the mid range. I love the focused power of my Mark VI, and this horn was far from it.
Selmer Reference 54
Antique		 This horn was quite a bit out of adjustment, so it was difficult to compare fairly with the other horns. By design, the keywork mimics that of the Mark VI, right down to the not-so-ergonomic palm keys. (I would definitely put a riser on the D…) I really liked the keywork. Very similar to my VI.

True to it’s marketing, the horn sounded like a darker, early Mark VI. I like the later, brighter ones, though, so it didn’t win me over.  I’ve played better VI’s, though also worse.  Had that Selmer feel, though, and I wondered what it would sound like properly overhauled, perhaps with some Noyek resonators like my horn.
Selmer Reference 36
Gold Lacquer		 I’ve heard that many players prefer the 36 over the 54 because of the fatter low end. The keywork felt identical to the 54, except for the shiny texture of the lacquer. This horn is supposed to mimic the Selmer Balanced Action, a vintage horn preferred by many jazz players over the Mark VI. I’ve never played a Balanced Action I liked, and not suprisingly, this horn didn’t do much for me.

Indeed, the low end was huge. But the upper octave, especially around the palm key range, was kind of too sweet and pretty sounding. The altissimo didn’t pop for me, either. Out of the three Selmers, I prefered the leaky Reference 54!
Yamaha Custom Z
Gold Lacquer		 The keywork on this horn was speedy and ergonomic. Perhaps a little too ergonomic, in the sense that the keys seemed a little too close together for my hands, but I can’t fault the design because playing was effortless. It was like my ideas jumped out of my head through the horn.

I was quite surprised that this horn projected the least of the bunch. Surely, this was an adjustment issue! The scale was clinically even. Part of the beauty of vintage horns is the tonal variation throughout the registers. The modern Selmers seemed to preserve some of those spots, like the way my 123 -2- F# pops out. I’m planning on going to the Yamaha showroom sometime to try out some more.
Paul Mauriat PMXT-66R
Antique		 This reasonably priced horn has Mark VI inspired keywork with fabulous abalone pearls and true rolled tone holes. This and the Reference Selmers felt most like my Mark VI, though the palm keys seemed oddly located. Despite the familiar keywork, I fumbled a little bit actually playing fast passages. I think the response was a little different than I’m used to, which threw off my timing.

The horn has a nice tone overall, perhaps a hint velvety. It didn’t seem to push very well, though. I tend to move a lot of air through the horn when I play, so I didn’t think this would work for me. I could see this being a steal of a horn, though for the right kind of player.
 My general conclusions were:

  • The Selmers had that familiar Selmer feel, but priced too high to justify for my purposes.  They seem like a great choice for someone looking for a primary instrument who doesn’t want to bother with the headaches and price of vintage horn shopping.  I liked the Reference 54 best, but it was still too dark.  I’d love to see them produce a Reference 72 ;)
  • I was intrigued by the Yamaha Custom Z, but this particular specimen didn’t impress me.  I’m very curious about the unlacquered no high F# version.
  • Most importantly…  I don’t need to worry about this anytime soon!  I’m quite happy with my Mark VI, and my backup tenor at sub $1000 still has me smiling.
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