Tully
06-24-2006, 06:47 AM
I just received my Unison 2000 from Kessler Music this afternoon, and I've had a chance to play it for a couple hours. In a nutshell, I am absolutely blown away by the horn. I bought it looking for something with the keywork of a Yamaha or Yanagisawa, but a bit more warmth and character to the sound, and as far as I'm concerned, it has exactly that. I was rather sceptical as to whether a horn selling for well under $2000 could actually hold its own with Big 4 horns as Dave Kessler claimed, but he was right on--I would definitely take it over any Yamaha I've played (three or four each of the 62, 62II, and 82Z), and compared to Yanagisawa (at least the 901 and 991), I would describe it as very similar in feel and response, but slightly warmer and more complex in sound. I haven't played enough Selmers or Keilwerths to make any comparisons there.
Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, was the Kessler Custom 50/50 mouthpiece. I basically decided to get it so as to have a mouthpiece with which to try out the horn when it arrived, but it's a fantastic mouthpiece--only a "student" mouthpiece in price. I had quit playing tenor about a year ago, and having dropped a few hundred dollars up to that point on all sorts of mouthpieces from assorted Links to a Jumbo Java, I had never found anything that suited me. Ironically, this mouthpiece, the cheapest one I've tried to date, is actually my favorite thus far. It has that big, dark-but-lively sound I've been after all along, and it plays very easily throughout the range of the horn and at all dynamic levels. Whatever the reason(s) it plays so well, this mouthpiece is worth checking out!
Finally, Kessler Music's service was great. Dave was very helpful and patient, and altogether, it was truly a pleasure doing business with that store; I couldn't recommend them any more highly.
Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, was the Kessler Custom 50/50 mouthpiece. I basically decided to get it so as to have a mouthpiece with which to try out the horn when it arrived, but it's a fantastic mouthpiece--only a "student" mouthpiece in price. I had quit playing tenor about a year ago, and having dropped a few hundred dollars up to that point on all sorts of mouthpieces from assorted Links to a Jumbo Java, I had never found anything that suited me. Ironically, this mouthpiece, the cheapest one I've tried to date, is actually my favorite thus far. It has that big, dark-but-lively sound I've been after all along, and it plays very easily throughout the range of the horn and at all dynamic levels. Whatever the reason(s) it plays so well, this mouthpiece is worth checking out!
Finally, Kessler Music's service was great. Dave was very helpful and patient, and altogether, it was truly a pleasure doing business with that store; I couldn't recommend them any more highly.