Some weeks ago, I bought Milandro's Grassi "Wonderful" alto.
It is just that....simply wonderful; probably the best horn that I have ever played....effortless, & so comfortable to play with the rectangular keyboard style pearl touches. A super, chunky, & colourful sounding horn. For years I had a Selmer BA alto but that did not impress me to the same degree.
As a tenor player I have been weaned to the alto; I have played it continually since I received it.
Does anyone know the history of this model & is the tenor variant equally good? If so, I would gladly swap my Professional 2000 for one.
Shame about the naff name....perhaps "Meraviglioso" would have been more appropriate.
At one time they sold really many wind instruments, nowadays they only sell, mostly in consignment, second hand ones , sometimes very interesting and occasionally rare instruments. It is always worth popping in to have a look. There are not too many places in or around Amsterdam where you can find vintage saxophones.
Whereas various coffees can be described as robust, full flavoured, complex etc, the one I have in mind is best described as smokey.
Also the topic of this thread, " The Grassi Wonderful", is not inappropriate.
why don't you show us some pictures to explain what the problem is?
First of all the mechanics might not be Nickel plate but Silver-Nickel through and through which is a type of " finish" which was very much in vogue among many makers in the '60-'70 (Martin-King).
Even if the mechanics might be " only" plated it would be hell of a job to buff all that stuff off and you will almost certainly damage something in the process.
I would strongly advise against it!
And in any case what would be the point to do such a thing?
Grassi, great horn though they are, are very rarely very valuable and not incredibly rare. If you don't like what you see or have , just wait for the next one (in the finish that you want ) to come by. You will never ever recuperate that kind of money spent in removing (and possibly damaging and restoring) the key work of any Grassi.
It is also removable by simply reversing the plating process....but all the pads would need removing & the surfaces polished before re-plating.
Much easier to buy a Grassi in the condition that you require.
I believe that my 48XXX Professional alto has nickel plating on the keys. The palm keys, octave, etc. were showing some wear down to the bare brass, and during an overhaul a couple years ago I had Doc Frazier replate those worn keys with nickel. They matched the other keys very well, and to this day still do.
I don't think there is any difference in the bare metal, or in the way the keys are stamped or forged (I think that on the Grassi's, the keys are mainly stamped).
no, it was only what seemed to be a good idea in the '70 (other brands had that too) , for some reason, later, this was associated with student's horn.......... it says Professional, do you think they would have spent that predicate that cheaply otherwise?
Hi Flow, as I said in my article, I called these "no name" Grassi "Standard", simlpy because I was bored (and feeling disrespectful) of calling them "no-name".
Are they pro, are they not? This is exactly why I didn't say anyhting about this: you have to try the horn and make your mind up, I've heard about (and played!) horrible Grassis and some truly great ones! And as Johann said: if you're happy with it, who cares if others call them non pro!
Enjoy it!
M.
no, a standard horn had a non balanced action mechanics, also the jade rollers had non-balaced action mechanics, but at a certain point they introduced more modern horns. The wonderful model is one of these.
They sound & play superbly, & who really cares about arbitrary descriptions.
I have two, an alto & a tenor which are up there with the very best....a "professional" saxophone is rather like trying to define a sports car....there is no adequate interpretation.
By the way...Which mouthpieces do you play on your Grassis?
I heard that a Lebayle Wooden Alto mouthpiece could fit well...but I've never tried them...
Regards,
Flow
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