Does anybody know the Cannonbal big bell bari?

[noethew]

Hi,

as I am with a Funk and Soul band I would like to double on the bari for some durup songs...

I have seen a Cannonbal Big Bell Bari on Ebay and would like to know if anybody has some experience with this horn. To me it looks like a solid pro horn. Any comments?

[Eulipion2]

A friend of mine owns one. I've held it, but never played. It felt good. From hearing others play it, it sounds wonderful. Probably worth every penny.

[shmuelyosef]

There is an excellent discussion group on Cannonball saxophones:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/cannonballsaxophones/?yguid=124700916
There has been a lot of discussion on the Big Bell baritones. I did not like the previous Cannonballs, but the Big Bells have impressed me; the assembly is a bit rough, but the horns are basically solid...count on having a major regulation done if you want it to play tip-top. I own a CB BB curved soprano, and it's real nice after I went carefully through it cleaning up rough edges (literally) and replacing all the corks...regulating, etc.

[gspiegel]

I tried one recently and thought it was very good. It was even from top to bottom, and felt solid and smooth. (I didn't have my tuner along, but intonation seemed fine.) Maybe the keywork wasn't quite up to Yamaha or Yanagisawa, but it seemed like a remarkable value for the money. A friend of mine has played one for several years, with no problems and loves it (sold his Selmer after trying out the C-Ball). Beware of Ebay, though. Condition is often less than advertised and shipping a bari is risky.

Glenn