SS Medusa is here!

[Randall]

At long last it has arrived!
I am going to be giving it a good workout today, so I don't have too many detailed things to say about it sonically, except that the sound is simply HUGE.
I took the horn in to let my tech look at it and hear it. He was standing about 3 feet in front of me when I barely put some air in the horn and doodled for him. He literally jumped back 6 feet!
His first words were, " you certainly won't need a mic with THAT horn!"
I really didn't put any air into it all that I thought would result in that kind of booming sound.
Power out the wazoo.
Stephan Boesken had told me so, but I never expected THIS!

I am interested to see how it blends with the big band tonight and with the contemporary Christian band I play with this afternoon.

I have played a variety of Guardala flavors...this is quite different- and in a good way.
From my memory of the SS 2001 I previously played, this horn has a LOT more character and power. More on this after tonight's practices are over.

Fit and finish are superb....Stephan Boesken did his pro set up for me and the horn played like a million bucks straight out of the case. Not one adjustment needed. Springs are at the perfect tension to allow you complete freedom to play....
The feel of the pearls is flat; barely concave....very solid and for lack of a better word, "refined" feeling. Some of the Guardalas Ihave played had small, very concave pearls that gave the horn a "smaller" feel....
Ergonomics are perfect...I especially like the left hand palm key height. Right on the money for me.
The horn is HEAVY....but then, so am I! :wink: This isn't a problem for me (the horn's weight, not MY weight!) using a Codera neck strap.

I will be A/B/C'ing the horn with my TH&C and JK straight in the coming week.
Can't compare it with the 54 as Jason Dumars currently has it and is doing his magic on it as we speak (I hope!).
If my tonal memory of my other 3 tenors is correct, I believe I have a completely different animal here.... :)

[tonyg]

Randall,
Congrats, your description of the Medusa sounds a lot like the sandfinish medusa tenor I received a couple of months ago. Although my experince was a little more like Saxyacoustician's, the horn took a little getting used to. I was also going through a mouthpiece search at the time I received it, yet once I paired the horn up to a Ponzol M2 or a V16 T55 mouthpiece, the horn really sang for me, and a great tone. Unbelievable volume and I would agree that no mic would be neccessary under most circumstances. Interesting thing for me is the Medusa is definately lighter than the Selmer series II I own, maybe because of the ballblasted finished.

Tony

[newking70]

:twisted: YOU CALL ME THE DEVIL?! you put your ss medusa on the forum - its like teasing a hungry man with food....(ok maybe that was a lame analogy) but anyway how bout sending you sax to denver randall, so that i may give it my personal evaluation :wink:

[Randall]

Newk, maybe I'll send it to you- but I am afraid you'll have to pry my cold dead hands.... :lol:
Tony, I had an Earthtone (and I wouldn't have sold it if I had not ordered the Medusa)...the same horn really.... and this SS Medusa is 4~5 times more powerful, if you can believe that!

Well, I gave the horn a thorough playing on Sunday- first in a contemporary Christian band and then with my big band.
What can I say?
I am reminded of my MK VI in some ways....ergonomics are quite similar, neck angle....however the sound is just bigger and more powerful than anything I have played to date. It is so big and powerful that I am going to need a bit of time to learn how to "push" and not push this horn.
My band leader ( a trombone player), who is loathe to praise anyone's playing, just kept gushing over the great sound of this horn. He asked me questions all night about it. To be frank, I thought it odd...but this is a non sax players response to the sound of this horn.
Maybe that will give you an idea of how good this thing sounds.
I know that the physics of the issue of silver bodied horns are debatable, but I honestly feel this horn vibrating in my hands in a way I have rarely felt. It just comes alive when I play it.
It cuts well and I could blend perfectly with an all MK VI section....Admittedly I did have trouble with my volume....but by the end of practice I had it fairly well under control....I just had to relax.
Oh yes...the horn is HEAVY. You definitely need a padded strap for this thing!
On a technical note, the tone hole chimneys are quite high for a modern horn....this tends to make spit gather in them more easily around the upper palm keys. I found myself bleeding them off fairly often.

I will post more impressions against the 400 and straight and Ref 54 when I can get a bit more time. The 54 isn't here and the 400 needs some adjustment right now

[tonyg]

Randall,

Is the SS medusa you have ballblasted? I was playing my sandfinish medusa late last night, so I had to play it real soft, it was no problem, it played with ease, and still had a good tone.

[Randall]

Hi tony,
no...mine is actually bright silver plated over the sterling...this is the only way you can get a SS horn to polish up. i was surprised to hear that you have to plate a SS horn! Got that tidbit from the factory.
Part of my "large" sound is that I always have a big sound due to my set up...the Medusa is just that much more powerful than I am used to!

The tone is superb at all volumes...I have abslotuely no intonation issues with this horn either...

[newking70]

hey randall did you happen to try out the sandblasted medusa, before you bought the sterling model? has anybody tried the sandblasted model?

[Randall]

Newk, I had an Guardala Earthtone tenor, which is essentially the same horn. The real changes on the Medusa (from the 2001 model) occured in the alto, not the tenor, so I think my comparison is a fairly valid one with respect to the ballblasted Medusa.
If I hadn't ordered the SS Medusa, you can be sure I would have NEVER sold the ET!

[newking70]

hey randall - i talked to you along while back when you didn't have the medusa, what you had told me was that the medusa was modeled after the mark VI, that b&s had used lasers to get a precision "model" of the mark VI...... now that you have the medusa, would you say that it is a good copy of the markVI? or is it much better?

[Randall]

Answer a long time coming Newk.....
There is NO comparison. I prefer the SS Medusa for most venues over everything I have ever played.

This is not to say that other horns are not great. I gave up on the idea that MK VI's were the end-all-be-all a loooong time ago. It was actually a
B&S 2001 SS that first started me on the road to distancing myself from MK VI's.
Then the Conn 10M, JK's ....
My Buescher 400 TH&C is monster in its own right.
The Ref 54 tenor is fantastic...better than my killer VI that I traded it for.
I won't be turning loose of any of the other tenors I keep (Ref 54, TH&C, Straight JK), however. I find times when they provide the timbre I want or need.

I was like most players....I heard that the MK VI was IT and that I HAD to have one to be a serious pro.....I landed a monster of one and it so transformed my playing that I became a believer....and rightly so. I was playing a Bundy in epoxy finish before that.
But, like most players, I didn't have access to a variety of other horns that were in good playing condition, so I couldn't really compare.
Then I started teaching sax for a music store and suddenly that all changed. I had access to a lot of new and vintage horns, and this spurred me on to my quest of trying everything out there at least once.
I learned that other horns can be better or just as good as the VI.
Finally, I must add that your level of playing, technique, mp and reed set up are probably the REAL major difference in how a horn responds and sounds.
I sound essentially the same on all horns that are in perfect adjustment when I use my usual set up.
Also, I have found that in the last 20 years or so, since I got "good" on my horn, that I can notice the slight differences in a horns response due to maker, material, necks, reeds, mp etc. I couldn't notice those things earlier in my career.
I believe the experience factor (next to embouchure/reed/mp variance) is the LARGEST reason you see such widely varying opinions on horns :!:

[newking70]

No problem Randall, so when are you gonna get a ss medusa bari? :wink: :lol:

[Randall]

Newk, it has crossed my mind more than a few times in the last few months.
Thing is, I believe that B&S has not even made a prototype Medusa SS bari .
They would probably do it if I placed the order, though. I honestly don't know if I want to be the guinea pig or not. SS horns can be problematic on the first try, according to some industry people I have talked to.
Still, I can only imagine how it would sound!
And I can also imagine the hernia it would give me to lug it around. The SS tenor is VERY heavy!

These days I switch back and forth between my SBA and JK SX90R.....love the sound and grunt, but maybe I could retire both with a SS Medusa?!

[newking70]

hey randall, i have seen the pictures of your sba bari, i'd be afraid to play something that pretty 8) its like a work of art :!: i would love to see a ss medusa bari, come on randall take one for the team :wink:

[Morry]

Yeah, Randall, you get that SS Medusa bari going, and I'll take the SX90 off your hands. :D

[Randall]

How about a Medusa alto to get your horns selection all in the German column?! :!: :idea:
Right now you have a mixed, Axis power stable. lol

[Morry]

After much internal debate, I've decided that I'll be selling the YAS-61. I will then be all "deutschland". I'd love to have the Medusa alto, but every time I play the Keilwerth, I can't imagine ever needing another alto.

[barelytone]

How does this horn differ from the older B&S horns (pre Guardala). is the "2002" the oldest, by the way. I have an old, perfect tenor with great tonal and response charachteristics. Anyone to copmpare?

[Randall]

The 2006 Medusa TENOR is essentially the same horn as the 2001 B&S model. The 2001 is the base horn of the Guardalas.
As for the alto, another story altogether...the 2006 Medusa alto is a completely redesigned horn from the 2001.
These apparent "year" numbers have nothing to do with the year the horn was produced, obviously. :toothy5:

[barelytone]

hmmm ... so those older, silver B&S horns that show up on Ebay from time to time, have the potential to be in the same ballpark as the new Medusa horns? And they sell for around $600. Maybe that's the way to go!

[Randall]

The older horns (the ones with the blue B&S logo on the bell to body brace) are NOT the 2001...although some internet dealers would have you believe that they are.
Still I think they are certainly good horns....and the $600 price range is about the top dollar that anyone should pay for one, no matter what the dealers say.

[barelytone]

Thank you for the info . . . do you think that the neswest B&S necks would fit these old, blue label tenors?