"Quaf!", said The Cannonball Raven.

[Rayjo]

I saw an add on a magazine for "The Raven", a new sax in the Cannonball Big Bell series. I think it's pretty, but does anyone know how well it plays?

[Jack W.]

Do you mean the finish that looks like a sandblasted black nickel? I saw it at the recent Sax Congress in Minneapolis and it looked stunning. 8)

I played a tenor and soprano in this finish and thought they played well, but I don't remember any of the details. Unfortunately they did not have an alto in this finish, which would have been very interesting to me as well.

[Rayjo]

Yes, it is black nickel. It's very pretty and has an engraving of a raven on it.

[cammster]

WELL!
i recently got the raven i was going to get a Pro Black Yamaha becausi couldnt find anythin to my liking and it had a good sound and i asked the seller do u have any other finishes on the alto cannonball and he brought otu 3 cases they were the ice finish the gold was scary lookin EWW lol the silver had great sound but wasnt itno it too much the Raven Oh so beautiful such an awesoem sound
the finish on it makes it sound so much different from any other sax ive played one reaosn for choosing it but it has an awesoem sound completely different very nice sax Paid a bit of money for it lol
traded in my old student model yamaha and my intermidiate silver Black Laqeur tenor on it
so its expensive but its so worth it:!: :!: :!: :!: if u still havent boughten or tried it id go get it lol

[Randall]

The Raven bari is a killer~
Kind of JK meets Conn 12M. Veeeery nice!

[altosaxguy1]

i have the alto its awsome

[DukeCity]

My local Cannonball dealer/ repair tech. has a Raven bari at her shop. I'm going to check it out ASAP. I'll report back...

[DukeCity]

Just got back from the shop and trying the Cannonball Raven bari. The horn is gorgeous, with the black satin nickel finish and black nickel keys, the keys, including side keys and palm keys have black/gray stones that complement the look of the horn. I've been playing a Keilwerth SX-90 for a few years, so the Cannonball felt a little more compact in my hands (not a bad thing), and the shop owner had set the horn up well. I tried it first with the black satin neck (with a Rousseau JDX6 HR and Rico Jazz Select 3H) and the response was really good. Low register spoke easily and freely and had a big. open sound. Ergonomics on the horn felt good; in some ways more comfortable than the Keilwerth. More similar to the Selmer SA-80 Series I that I have also played for years. The middle and upper registers also felt good, pitch locked in well and altissimo felt very comfortable up to about a high D (that's about as high as I go on bari). I switched to the silver neck and immediately heard the shop owner/tech exclaim from the next room, "Wow, did you just switch necks!?!" The silver neck was more brilliant/edgy/bright. I could see using that neck in an R&B situation, or possibly in a really loud big band. I would probably use the black satin neck for (Jazz)Sax Quartet and big band/combo stuff. Even with the black satin neck and the Rousseau HR I was able to move the tone around and get some of the 'bark' that I used to get with my Lawton 8*B mpc.

Overall I really dug the horn, and am in the process of selling some things in order to make it mine.:D (I'll probably be posting the Selmer and Keilwerth baris for sale soon, so keep an eye out...)

[wpgrad74]

I play the Cannonball Raven Stone Series Bari. Agree with everything good said about it. Easiest playing bari I have owned.

[saxmasta89]

I have the Raven tenor and soprano. I've had the soprano for 2 years and it is very nice. My old teacher and a lot of other people have really liked it when they play it. I just got the Raven tenor in January and to me it plays better than any tenor i've touched. VERy nice response and timbre qualities in these horns.