The Martin vs. Super 20 (silver neck)

[Perfect Pitch]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3715005193&category=16 233

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3714308429&indexURL=2# ebayphotohosting


Which is the better: ergonomically
intonation
tone ???

[Dave dix]

Personally i would go for the martin but both are good.Martin will be a little darker with a fatter tone,better egos and intonation is good on the late martins not too sure about the S20 intonation.
Dave

[1saxman]

Neither one of them looks that great. The King is a relacquer and I can't tell on the Martin. All things being equal, I'd go with the Super 20, but you will pay a huge premium for the fact that it wears the Super 20 badge.

[1saxman]

To expand on that, the Super 20 will also offer a greater vaue, as it will continue to appreciate at a higher rate than the Martin. I play a The Martin #195xxx, and it's fine for me, but it's in original condition. These baris tend to go sharp in the high notes, but overall intonation is good. The Martin bari also doesn't have an aux. F# key for the right hand. The King Super 20 is really a dressed-up Zephyr, but the keywork is one of the things they improved. I've always liked the apparently improvised bell keyguard on the Super 20 which is shaped like the one on the tenor and alto, but hand-made of brass wire to provide a semblance of continuity with the other Super 20s. The silver neck is nice. Many of these baris had a brass neck. Some reportedly had a silver bell, but I've never seen a picture of one. I believe the King will be a more usable and normal-feeling bari for you. After looking them over again, I still like the King. The Martin clearly shows multiple resolders, some near the tone holes, which could have opened a big can of worms. Either one probably will need a professional overhaul to be decent horns. I also noticed the silver neck has been rather heavily and crudely worked. Improperly repaired neck damage can mess up the whole horn, but it looks fixable.

[Anonymous]

I have never played a bari of either The Martin or Super 20. But the Zephyr bari was always a wonderful horn (one of the best sounding ever but ergos not so good) and every Super 20 alto and tenor I've had was wonderful. The other post mentioned that the Super 20 bari was just a glorified Zephyr - I didn't know that but I've never seen a Super 20 bari in person, they seem to be in short supply.

I'm selling my Yanagisawa stencil low A bari and I'm just a few hours away from you. This is an older Yani and seems to be a very close copy of the older Selmer bari (SBA/Mark VI). The metal is a little softer than the newer Yani's and probably a lot softer than a Super 20 - but it has held up great for me while touring all over the South Island. It plays first rate and at $3000 NZ (about $2000 US) is about as cheap as you'll find anything comparable on ebay and you wouldn't have to pay for or risk the overseas shipping. Fresh pads and corks -- not much laquer -- fantastic sound and ergos. Just an option.

cheers,
Blaine