P Mauriat vs Kessler vs Cannonball Tenor

[Dave Collins]

I'm still in the market for a new tenor, and I'm thinking of getting one of these. Tim at Sax Alley is giving P Mauriat a big plug, and I have been looking at the gold and bronze Kessler tenors, too. I have always like the Cannonball Mad Meg, too thogh. Just wondering if you guys have had any experience with these. Thanks a lot.

Dave
sigasax@hotmail.com

[Stacey]

Tim may not be able to advertise it on his web site, but he is also a dealer for Cannonball. He should be able to give you quite a few comments on side-by-side comparison between Cannonballs and P. Mauriats.

Of the three, the only one I've played is the Cannonball, so I can't address the differences between them and the others. I do like my Cannonball, though.

[BigDaddyJ]

Well, I've been up to Sax Alley a few times. He's got some really great playing saxes there.

I played 2 different Cannonball Big Bell tenors. One was lacquered brass, the other was silver plated. Huge, booming sound is how I would describe the sound; the silver just a touch brighter.

I just tried the P. Mauriat last week. I was very impressed. A more refined sound than the Cannonballs I had tried previously. Of the other reasonably-priced top end "Far East" horns I've tried (Cannonball, Unison, Jupiter), I would have to say the Mauriat tenor had the darkest tone. The ergonomics were great, intonation was excellent, and it had a great sound. What more can I say.

I tried it with 2 different mouthpieces: Zagar Cool School and a metal Ponzol Super 110. With the Cool School, the sound of the Mauriat was a little too polite; this is my reference piece with The Martin tenor. With the brighter Ponzol, the Mauriat really came alive. Great sound!

I also thought the sax looked cool. It has a Ref 54 look to it. I think Mauriats will get a reputation pretty quickly if the quality stays consistent. On top of that, Tim at Sax Alley gives it his pro set-up. His work is the finest I've had in my 20 year experience.

[DanY]

Hi, are there any pictures of the P. Mauriat saxes available?
I haven't found any on a quick Google.

-Daniel

[Dave Collins]

www.pmauriat.com if I'm not mistaken. Big pictures of all of their horns and equipment.

[Bigfoot]

Can we trust a sax manufacturer that puts an inverted photo of their sax on their front web page? :)

[prince]

Ahh!

That's a lefty version. :wink:

[sax_rules]

I traded Tim my series 2 for a P. Mauriat tenor. Greenberg was my prof at UNC and I loved the sound he got out of it. I like it for jazz and worship too. I feel the Mauriat has a much richer dark sound. And for the price I couldn't beat it. As for cannonballs, I had an alto during high school and was not much of a fan. Sold it and got a Yamaha.

Hope this helps someone