DixieSax
08-14-2008, 04:40 AM
My MK VII has been in the shop getting some adjustments made, a couple of pads replaced and put back in registration for a couple of weeks, and I went to pick it up today. I took the Kessler alto with me since I've been playing it, and my mouthpieces and reeds were in the case anyway - thought I'd get my tech's opinion of the horn.
Dominick was across the room when I opened the case, and he looked back over his shoulder and saw the brushed finish and his initial impression was that I had bought a new burnished Reference.. Then he walked back to look over the horn. It really wowed him. He's also a very good pro sax player, so I told him to go ahead and play it. He was blown away by the look though, called it an absolutely beautiful horn.
Naturally he immediately noticed the cork that was missing under the low Bb trigger and he asked if I wanted to go ahead and take care of it - so I said why not. He asked if I had to be anywhere quicky, and when I said no, he did a really thorough exam on the horn (adjusted and reseated low D, replaced the neck octave pad - it was starting to tear, and filed a small burr off the neck vent that was causing the tear, made a few adjustments to fix a slightly bouncing G# and on the C# hold down, then started to play it.
In short, he spent about an hour admiring and tuning up the horn, and wouldn't take any more money from me for doing it. He was blown away by the sound, the build quality and the look of the horn - he had never seen a Kessler sax before, but hoped he would see more of them.
I took both horns with me to a gig tonight, but I decided to play the Kessler since I've been playing it for the last couple of weeks and wanted to give Dominick's work a workout. It was my turn to be blown away. I liked this sax before, but now it's gonna be real hard to get it out of my hands. It compares very favorably now with my VII when using my Link STM 7, although I still prefer the big dark sound of the VII with my Meyer hard rubber piece. I'm completely sold on these horns, and my tech agrees wholeheartedly.
Dominick was across the room when I opened the case, and he looked back over his shoulder and saw the brushed finish and his initial impression was that I had bought a new burnished Reference.. Then he walked back to look over the horn. It really wowed him. He's also a very good pro sax player, so I told him to go ahead and play it. He was blown away by the look though, called it an absolutely beautiful horn.
Naturally he immediately noticed the cork that was missing under the low Bb trigger and he asked if I wanted to go ahead and take care of it - so I said why not. He asked if I had to be anywhere quicky, and when I said no, he did a really thorough exam on the horn (adjusted and reseated low D, replaced the neck octave pad - it was starting to tear, and filed a small burr off the neck vent that was causing the tear, made a few adjustments to fix a slightly bouncing G# and on the C# hold down, then started to play it.
In short, he spent about an hour admiring and tuning up the horn, and wouldn't take any more money from me for doing it. He was blown away by the sound, the build quality and the look of the horn - he had never seen a Kessler sax before, but hoped he would see more of them.
I took both horns with me to a gig tonight, but I decided to play the Kessler since I've been playing it for the last couple of weeks and wanted to give Dominick's work a workout. It was my turn to be blown away. I liked this sax before, but now it's gonna be real hard to get it out of my hands. It compares very favorably now with my VII when using my Link STM 7, although I still prefer the big dark sound of the VII with my Meyer hard rubber piece. I'm completely sold on these horns, and my tech agrees wholeheartedly.