How versatile can you be on the same setup?

[winston pro]

Hey all!

As an avid reader of the forum in the past 4-5 months i've been absorbing tons of info. I'm thankful. I stumbled more than once on threads with members mentioning that all we do is talk about gear and not about playing. I believe this is not true, lots of info on technique around here, and even if it weren't true, what the heck, i would be glad for the info anyway. But that kind of thread, and other ones, with comparisons between mouthpieces or saxes, or whatever, gave me an idea.

I've been playing for 4 months or so, and lately i've been able to change my sound drastically with the same setup (different reeds, from time to time, of course). So, what would you all think of a thread where a member could post a number of recordings showing the different sounds one can achieve with the same setup? You know, what one would play on a dreamy ballad, and in comparison what you would play on a straight from the gutter blues... I'm posting here because the ideia is to post audio files, right, but maybe, if it turns out a cool ideia, an admin could move it to a general discussion sub-forum, i don't know...

This ideia came to me also as a cool thread for begginers, maybe. It's not that i despise the search for better gear, but the thing is, well, i don't have economical conditions for that search, at least now, and i believe there's other people in the same situation. Being so, a thread like this could help, showing what we can achieve as players and not what we can achieve with specific gear (again, really not against better gear, and gear that helps our development).

I would love to be the one to start, unfortunately, my only recording device is a mp3 player that also records .wav files, but it distorts the sound so much that i would have to edit the files, and the purpose of this thread would be lost.

I'm all open to ideias on this, well, i'm actually open to anything you feel like posting!

Thanks to this incredible forum and all the members!

[MyMartinTenor]

I've done that, sorta, here:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=113435

Two videos linked with the same model mouthpiece (Wanne Durga) with (slightly ) different sounds. Good idea. I'm sure others with better recording equipment and chops have more of the same.

[silvin]

With my Selmer SA801, with STM7* and Rico Royal 3, I can go on many direction, from Jan Garbarek style to Dexter Gordon's, through Joe henderson's
Do you believe it?

[winston pro]

MyMartinTenor, I'm at work, no speakers on the computer, i'll check the videos when i get home. I'll take the oppurtunity to say that i always enjoy your posts!

Silvin, yes, i surely believe you! Can you find some time to post some examples? I would love to hear lots of different sounds that lots of different people can make. The amazing thing is that i really don't have a personal sound yet, it's just that i kind of learned to sub-tone, and it's waaay on the other side of the road when compared to the sound that i get without sub-toning, wich is wide open and honky! On top of that, i'm not even sure that what i'm doing is really sub-toning, i'm just gently pressing my tongue on the reed and the sound comes out "fatter", i bit less loud, and i get that breathy noise just before the note comes out.

I'm just having too much fun! Thanks for the replies, fellas!

[winston pro]

MyMartinTenor, just heard the videos. I can surely notice a difference! It seems to be an amazing mpc, of course in good hands!

[Nefertiti]

I don't go to extremes but on my site I do try to offer some different styles on the sound clips of the mouthpieces. If the mouthpiece has a certain dark sound the clip usually stays mellow and jazzy but if it's a brighter piece usually I'll try to play some jazz and some funkier type stuff just to show what it can do.

[modman]

I use the same tenor set-up for swing as I do for rock unless I play gigs where I need really loud volume for outdoor work, and then I use a metal ponzol .110.

There was a time in my 20's way before the internet that most people picked a horn and a mouthpiece and then went and played PERIOD.

The only time you ever changed mouthpieces or horns is because you played some other persons horn and liked his/her set-up.

But now even I am victim to GAS. Damn internet!

B

[SaxPlayer1004]

It depends on the setup. Changing saxes doesn't do much, I still sound like me. Changing reeds doesn't do a whole lot although going from one extreme to the other *Vandoren to Bari star synthetics* offers a bit of change. Having a smaller tip allows me to get a lot of different tonal qualities and I do this regularly on a Meyer 5m on alto and Slant Sig 5* on tenor. If I have a big tip opening I just seem to sound the same regardless, I can get minor changes, just not a whole lot.
Bari I don't really bother, I have a couple of mouthpieces if I need them, although I really do sound pretty much the same, just a bit brighter or darker depending on baffle.

[nitrosax]

From Ibert to Junior Walker on one piece...