Any news on Phil Barone's new necks or cases?

[Dr G]

Regarding the necks - I'd love to learn of trials on the Selmer Ref horns. Do they play in tune? "Opening the sound" is great but I had such a bad experience with the Selmer Sterling thinwall that I'm leery of aftermarket necks.

Cases - I'm always eager to learn of an alternative contour gig case that will protect the horn. I'm using a Walt Johnson now but it is a little on the heavy side. I've seen pictures of the new Philsey case and can't help but wish for optional matching boots!

[Roger McWilliams]

I'm pleased to be using a new Barone neck on my Selmer Serie III tenor. With a little more experience I will be able to compare and contrast with the stock Selmer neck and the Selmer aftermarket red brass neck (which I like so well). I really did not like the Selmer thin-wall sterling silver neck for my genre of jazz playing. So far the Barone neck seems quite good to me for sound and appearance. Sorry I can't add the comparison on the Reference horn that you will seek. Will you want to hear of any specifics in what I learn?

[Dr G]

You bet, Roger. (I'm waiting for the next draft of your paper too.)

All Philsey would tell me is that the new neck has More in all of the good categories. It if fits the III, it'll fit the Ref. That's great news. Next on the list is whether it's intonation is good. After that - and this is where I understand less and less - is whether it is mouthpiece sensitive with respect to intonation. Does it accent the midrange? I'm assuming that translates into "punch". The Ref is already strong there, I don't know that it needs more. What's left to have More of? Hmmm, maybe not much...

BTW, that King-Marigaux has already moved on because it's intonation was very sensitive to chamber size. I've got another horn on the way - more news as that develops.

[Morry]

I have several Barone mpcs and, although I like them very much, I would offer this caveat. Purchase them from WW&BW, or some other vendor, as they will provide a refund if you decide they aren't for you. Phil will happily swap a piece for you, but his general policy seems to be "no refunds".

[Dr G]

This isn't about mouthpieces, Morry. I, too, have had several of Philsey's mouthpieces and enjoy what Phil has done for the development of my sound. This is about new products and I'm just trying to get some feedback from people that have used them.
Since Phil is the sole distributor for these cases (so far), there's little sense in watching WWBW for them. In my experience, WWBW's policies of incomplete orders, shipping year-old backorders without notification, etc. are pretty shaky.

[rollen]

Dr G.
where did you see pics of the case? Did Phil email them to your, or did you see them on the web?

[Gregg W. Jackson]

I play a Phil Barone neck on my Mark VI tenor. I think that the neck improves the sound over the stock neck. Phil's opens up the sound of the Mark VI, giving it more focus and more volume.

I haven't checked the intonation formally, but I haven't noticed any problems. When I have some spare time, I'll sit down with my horn, a tuner, and a pencil and paper and collect some data. I'll share what I learn.

[Dr G]

Rollen - Phil sent me the pictures. They are, as I recall, made by a company in England. Looks like zippers all 'round and a latch near the handle. There's an accessory pouch on the side.

Ask him the price if you e-mail him. I seem to put too many questions in a single e-mail. :)

[Dr G]

Thanks, Gregg. I look forward to hearing about it.

Silly me, instead of waiting to get another neck, I just bought another horn - not another Ref tho'. Will share details as news develops...

[adamsax]

I've also been palying a Barone tenor neck on my Mark VI (gold plated). It really seems to even the tone out on the horn alot more than the stock neck. It's also quite a bit warmer (though not darker ) than the stock neck. Probably the silver neck would be brighter but I didn't want a brighter sound. Intonation is just as good as on the stock neck, which was just fine. Phil said the cases are being made in Italy but he's having trouble with the company so the case project is on hold for a while the last I heard.

[Gregg W. Jackson]

adamsax, I asked Phil whether the finish would affect the sound of his neck. Phil said that as far as he could tell the finish made no difference in the sound.