What finish of the R&C should I order?

[xuanvu]

Hi all,
I'm about to place an order of the R&C R1 Jazz curved soprano from saxforte, but I don't know what should I go with... Hopefully who owned an R&C can help here, or any suggestions from others:

1. I LOVE the ASU finish, which is sandblasted (matte) heavy silver plated for the bell & body, polished silver plated for the keys & guard, and gold-plated bell interior... This is the "look" that I like the most. But this is what Mathew @ Saxforte said:
"We do not recommend the sandblasted finishes. They are very, very difficult to clean and will show marks quite obviously. They look great when new but change as they tarnish in ways that are not reversible."
and,
"For AS, AUS and ASU finishes, you must agree that the saxophone may arrive with small cosmetic blemishes, small shiny spots, or oxidation
marks and that this will not be a cause for return or warranty repair or
replacement."

That really SCARED me!

The other option, is of course, heavy-silver plated or heavy-gold plated. Which I really don't like... I know, I know someone will say that the finish/look doesn't matter! But please, nothing like that :) I just want to know from those who own a sandblasted-silver plated can tell me the expeience, and is there a way to keep them from tarnishing?

Thank you so much and sorry for the lengthly post,
Kenny.

[Joe Jazz]

Kenny-

I liked the look of the sand-blasted finish also, but when Mathew wrote that you can't polish them without messing them up I crossed it off my list. At least he's surprisingly honest about the negatives of the various finishes. I think the old fashioned gold plate looks better than the silver, but to each their own. Due to economic problems I have had to get used to the idea of being sopranoless for a while.... :cry:

[Dave Dolson]

Kenny: I recently owned a Unison alto with the matte-gold body and shiny gold-plated keywork finish (Rob Fleming has it now). It did not tarnish nor did it show fingerprints or other blemishes. I know, some say gold does not tarnish like silver but I also have a shiny gold-plated Conn alto that shows some tarnishing, so I guess it may be possible. Jim Scimonetti once said they'd had some trouble with the Unison matte-silver finishes, but I did not experience that with my GP Unison. The contrasting matte-body with shiny keywork (gold or silver) makes for a very attractive instrument, in my opinion.

My shiny silver-plated horns generally do not tarnish, but a Yamaha YSS62S did. One of my Buescher TT sops has a matte-silver finish and was once clear-lacquered before I bought it. It does not tarnish nor show blemishes, but the lacquer coating has deteriorated and is easily seen up close. A similar shiny silver-plated TT sop does not tarnish, either.

I once owned an R&C tipped bell sop in the 24kt gold-plate and it was GORGEOUS (played well, too).

Bottom line - go with what you like and accept the frailities if the horn plays (and I suspect it will). Don't worry the heavy gold-plate - it will be striking. DAVE

[Jorns Bergenson]

I don't see why the sandblasted with heavy silver plate would be any different than vintage silver plated horns. There are plenty of threads about proper care of this type of finish. Anti-tarnish strips in the case are very important.

All of my vintage horns with that type of finish look great after 60 or more years.

[Morry]

I had posession of a Conn 6M in satin silver finish while I was selling it on ebay for a friend. I can tell you that every drop of spit makes a permanent mark on the finish. Because of its texture, the sax can never be cleaned well. I like the look also, but would never own one, unless it had a satin lacquer coating over it.

[xuanvu]

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions... I think I'll go with the sandblasted gold-plated instead of silver plated so that I don't have to worry about tarnishing.

Thanks again,
Kenny.

[Jorns Bergenson]

I had posession of a Conn 6M in satin silver finish while I was selling it on ebay for a friend. I can tell you that every drop of spit makes a permanent mark on the finish. Because of its texture, the sax can never be cleaned well. I like the look also, but would never own one, unless it had a satin lacquer coating over it.
Morry, I respect your opinion and don't doubt your experience, but my experience with the satin silver horns that I've played over the last 25 years is nothing like you describe with the 6M. I have 8 satin silver horns and have no trouble with spit stains. Never.

For me, the satin finish cleans easily with a damp cloth. No trouble with tarnish, no trouble with dirt, no trouble with spit stains. I've never had to "polish" the body or keys - just wipe with a damp cloth. I could see that a dry cloth would not work well on the satin finish.

On the other hand, I have a couple of bare-brass horns that are used as backups that show spit stains and finger prints very easily.

[Morry]

I don't know if it is the quality of the silver finish then, but the 6M showed every mark. It was a replate from Anderson Plating, so maybe that has something to do with it. Nice to hear a dissenting opinion.

[Jorns Bergenson]

I don't know if it is the quality of the silver finish then, but the 6M showed every mark. It was a replate from Anderson Plating, so maybe that has something to do with it. Nice to hear a dissenting opinion.
A replated horn - that indeed may be the difference. Thanks for that info.