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What the LefreQue?

152K views 597 replies 79 participants last post by  Angel Sampedro del RĆ­o 
#1 Ā·
Sorry about the pun...I couldn't resist!

However, I am obsessed with any accessory that might improve my tone, technique, or artistry with the saxophone. I saw this website and was simultaneously intrigued and amused:

http://www.lefreque.com/home

Has anyone here tried this item? Can you please provide an informed review?

Thanks!
 
#35 Ā·
Introducing 'Trane Juice' two swigs n you'll find saxophone love supreme!
Ok...
What I don't get is even if the lefreque thing was a concept that worked, surely strapping two pieces of plastic round a join would negate any resonation improvements, as they would act like dampers? Not that I'd be convinced either way... 200 euros for a bent (sorry beautifully designed) piece of silver with gold plating..... That's a great way to beat a recession, so back to Trane Juice, soon to be followed by Parker, Hawkins, and the extra special Young varieties, made from Molecularly extracted genetically reproduced resinous oils from the saxes of the great masters......
 
#39 Ā·
What I don't get is even if the lefreque thing was a concept that worked, surely strapping two pieces of plastic round a join would negate any resonation improvements, as they would act like dampers?
That's actually part of the beauty of the design. If they had used metal bands, it would have just given you more "emotion." But the plastic (or even rubber) bands act like miniature P-Ligs that "pimp your sound" at the same time. So if you ever wanted to sound like a highly emotional pimp, then the LefreQue is for you! Maybe they should have called it The Huggy Bear . . .
 
#38 Ā·
Well, cryo-treatment of the horn is old fashioned, how about cryo-treating the player? :mrgreen:

My tenor had some "resonace stones" (plastic fake diamonds) on it when I bought it, it was also sprayed with gold paint ang sprinkled with glitter. Did'nt notice any difference in sound when I removed the "stones" and stripped the paint. :bluewink:

I think these products are very similar to the fuel line magnets sold to car owners. Those are just (very expensive) magnets that when zip-tied to a fuel line are supposed to "alter the molecular composition of fuel" and improve mileage. No independent test or scientific evaluation has ever proved them to do anything but they have been on the market for at least 25 years (or that's when I first heard of them) and there are still people who buy them. About a year ago I found TWO of these things strapped to the fuel line of a used logging machine and I've always regarded loggers as quite pragmatic and sensible bunch of people. :cry:

By the way, how about strapping a magnet to the neck of a sax to "alter the molecular structure of the air flowing through"? :mrgreen:
 
#42 Ā·
yes, just wrap a piece of metal ( any metal, you must have some scraps at home .........Or plastic, why not plastic?........ Or cheese, why not cheese?........) to change your sound variations are practically endless.

Bronze gives you a bright yet warm sound like the bells of a church. Silver brightens up your life and emotions, Gold gives a rich and warm emotion to your sound. Carbon fibre makes it contemporary and high tech, ideal for those playing techno music. But please feel free to experiment with Platinum, Rhodium, Copper (plenty of copper plumbing anywhere)......

do that and then claim you hear it and despite the fact that others don't, staunchly affirm that it is because they hearing is not subtle enough to hear something that only the player (a good player that is) can hear. If you don't you are partly deaf and are not a good player, besides being a godless atheist who will no doubt be consigned to hell.

Remember the Emperors new clothes?
 
#43 Ā·
yes, just wrap a piece of metal ( any metal, you must have some scraps at home .........Or plastic, why not plastic?........ Or cheese, why not cheese?........) to change your sound variations are practically endless.
About the cheese... Are you talking Gruyere or Cheddar?. It has already been proven in numerous studies that the aging process has a discernible effect upon sonic quality.

I just got an idea. Need to get a copyright. An Otto Cheese? No, A Jody Cheese? Wait. The Bloo Cheese. Yeah. This'll be bigger than the Bloo Dog lint-free white linen gloves one-size-fits-all ensemble.
 
#45 Ā·
Why didn't I think of that? You're a genius!

So Asiago would be perfect for bright mouthpieces (because you need a jack hammer to cut it), and processed cheeses such as "American", Velveeta, Brie, and Camembert would be great for smooth jazz due to their gooey room temperature consistencies and low melting point.

I was thinking of Roquefort, Bleu, and Gorgonzola for blues, but they're too crumbly.

Any suggestions for pop music? I'm stumped here. I need your input.

Has anyone done any research on the viability of compressed civet-processed coffee beans because of their purported high caffeine content--- for really fast tunes? I've got "Giant Steps" and "Chasin' the Trane" in mind here. You know. Stuff for cool cats.

I await your answer, Guru Milandro, Keeper of Infinite Knowledge.
 
#46 Ā·
To be fair to the OP and his serious question, I should give a serious reply.

When all of the many different ligatures came out 25 years ago or so, I was skeptical until I started trying out different ones and found that some did have a positive effect upon response. Who knows? Maybe this new gizmo will work for a lot of people and catch on in time. People have a tendency to ignore innovation until it catches on.

Give it a try. It might work for you!
 
#47 Ā·
You are right. It all starts sounding a bit cheesy to me.

So back on topic and just to throw another bomb: the most dramatic
change in tone I got with the Lefreques tied to a Rico Metalite M7 on my fairly dark sounding Conn New Wonder.
And yes we are talking more emotions here (hey, don't get me mad). Why? Because the tone seems to get a little bit brighter and gets a
more 'singing' quality to it. And also in particular in the low end. The change is still very subtle though but it is undeniable there and audible.
And in fact I like it. This combination could easily become a permanent one for me.

Funny though when I use this same setup on my 10M I prefer the tone without the Lefreque. So my quick conclusion
here is the Lefreques are not for all mouthpiece - horn combinations. And my lucky guess is that it will
work best on dark sounding horns. But correct me if I am wrong.
I think is a nice asset to try. However it is real pain to get it installed for a butterfingers like me.
In case you might get ideas: I am not working for Lefreque.
 
#48 Ā·
ok, please, make a double blind test and publish the results, if you have any doubts about how to conduct such test ask Hakukani, Stephen Howard or Pete Thomas.
I stood in front of Hans demonstrating his le freque en no, I didn't hear anything. Maybe you can amaze us all, or amaze yourself on the power of the mind.
Claims to the effect be apparent only to the player are.........whatever one thinks that such claims are.
 
#50 Ā·
I've decided to let people have their talismans. I'm about to go out and try to prove the obvious fact that the Earth is the center of the universe. Just try to prove me wrong!
 
#53 Ā·
Of course when it comes to fancy, shiny lures, the real fish are the fishermen. They catch far more fishermen than trout or bass.

Nothing new, under the sun. Yeah the sun that orbits the center of the Universe--the earth. And of course the earth is only 6 thousand years old....prove that it's older (actually I can, but won't take the time here)! And there's no such thing as evolution.... etc. :) :)

I put in the smiley faces, but it's a sad state of affairs when so many "believe" all this. Never mind the factual data.
 
#57 Ā·
Can't access those clips. Msg: Access Denied! This file is not available because you are either not logged-in or do not have the owner's permission to view it.
 
#65 Ā·
There first has to be a difference in order to have any hope of hearing it, and just reading the B.S. "scientific" concept behind this "device" in his ad copy you know there isn't any. Sound breaches, indeed!

Saxophonists man the battle stations! Your sound is breaching the confines of your horn and mouthpiece!



This is the scariest type of breach. Can the LeFreak contain it? I sure hope so!



Heeere's Johnny! You and your sound are gonna be history when I get outta here.

And if you have a whale-size breach (usually in a bari) it looks like this:



Those puny treble hooks don't stand a chance against Moby Grape, better break out the P-ligged harpoons men.
 
#66 Ā·
Dear Sax At the Web forum readers.
I will shortly introduce myself.
My name is Hans Kuijt professional Dutch Saxophonist and Flutist.
All my live I am studying to improve my playing. Because of my technical education I had before I went to the conservatorium I also try to find the scientific reasons why things are sometimes difficult and even won't work.
That is also the reason I made a sound connection(bridge) between my mouthpiece and the neck of my saxophone.
The difference I experienced was that big and exiting that I decided to evolve this sound connection. The sound bridge was at that moment (five years ago) still very impractical has to become more easy to use and more universal. Because of my passion and enthusiasm for sound improvement I really wanted to share the benefits of playing with the sound bridge with every fellow musician.
There was nothing like making money involved!!!
The brand name I wanted to give it was soon clear for me, "lefreQue" from the frequency, because it conducts all the frequencies made in your mouthpiece to the rest of your instrument.
After four years of trying the most different variations I am now really convinced about the model that will work best for all wind instruments.
And it really works for all wind instruments!

Some reasons you wrote in the above discussion why lefreQue should not work are (excuse me when I sound offensive) from the time Fred Flintstone played the sax somewhere in the stone age.
We now know much more about acoustics and materials.

I will give you a few comment of really good professional players.

Johan van der Linden www.johanvanderlinden.nl (The Aurelia Saxophone quartet) "LefreQue, the most remarkable discovery of recent times. A simple way to enrich your sound. Better intonation and greater flexibility."
Henk van Twillert www.saxunlimited.com "The lefreQue to me is a miracle! From the first moment all I could clearly hear the difference so that I no longer want to play without! The sound is clearly deeper and richer, and the legato is improved. In any instrument whatsoever, at any level whatsoever, the lefreQue a big step forward for your sound! "
Henk de Graaf www.henkdegraaf.com (formal solo clarinetist of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra)" From the first minute I was really addicted to the spatial sound. The clarinet sound was richer, more dynamic, surrounder, even clearer, smoother, more open, brighter and rounder. Moreover, all bonds between the low and high register are fabulous established. I hear myself in a sort of stereo sound. Truly a superb and ingenious invention since the invention of the Bƶhmsysteem."
Emily Beynon www.emilybeynon.com solo-flutist Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest "The lefreQue is a miracle to me! From the first moment on I heard the difference so very clearly that I will never play without it anymore!! The sound is much deeper and richer and you get a much improved legato. For any instrument, at any level, the lefreQue is a major sound improvement!"

Cian O'Mahony solo bassoonist at The opera orchestra De Munt in Belgium " Lefreque works like a magic-wand. Wind-playing will never be the same after this revolutionary invention."

Please contact me If you are really interested in lefreQue and want to have some more details about this invention.
I believe writing about something you did not try or maybe even don't understand is not so decent. I will invite everyone to come and try lefreQue in Frankfurt at the fair in March this year.
Next year we also plan to be at the NAMM show but that is a long time.
We are now busy with some distributers in the US so maybe you can try it soon in the US also. I will keep you informed.

Best regards,
Hans Kuijt
hans.kuijt@lefreque.nl
 
#67 Ā·
well, Hans, welcome on SOTW, as I said, I believe of your honest belief in this gizmo but I am not still convinced it does anything.

If you are convinced , as I Im convinced you do, that Le freque does do something to sound .........why don't you participate to a scientifically controlled and double blinded test independently organised and led by some leading acousticians?

I am afraid that accounts by famous players are subjective accounts and not scientific reports or observation. No matter how famous the player is!

Same stuff for Cryogenics . many players swear by that while science tells us that brass is left completely unaltered even by freezing to a point close to the absolute zero. But many players object..........:bluewink:

Did any scientist examine your product and made double blind tests?
 
#69 Ā·
Hello again.
I am not planning to write every day because I am al little too busy to have the time for it.

But I can tell you we have tested lefreQue very well. We did our blind tests. All with success.
And even with small children the difference is amazing. They cannot play more beautiful and easier just by knowing there is a lefreQue on their instrument. They are just not good enough to influence their sound just by believing their instrument has become better with a lefreQue.

We also had our test with a whole wind orchestra. They played a whole concert with lefreQue.
They removed it at the end of the concert and played their last number again without lefreQue.
The audience and the orchestra noticed a big difference. Please check with the orchestra Wilskracht Amersfoort www.wilskracht-amersfoort.nl send them a mail and ask them.
They were all convinced!!

In May we will do the same in England with a wind orchestra that did not play with lefreQue before and we will have independent music reporters to write down what they hear. Please follow me at twitter and you will know details when we have the date.

We certainly will have our scientific research but we will wait till we have finished making our last lefreQue family member for double reed.
I studied electronics and have three degrees at the conservatory, have my own recording studio for about 15 years.
So I know something about acoustics and about materials and the way waves are conducted through material.
One thing I really don't understand is the negative approach of some of you about things you did not try and certainly did not study yourselves. We are all lovers of wind instruments and on this forum especially the saxophone. I just cannot believe that you believe all instruments are perfect and it is impossible to improve them anymore. So when you think they cannot be improved any more don't react on new things and when you think they can be improved, try them and give new things the opportunity to prove themselves.
I can reassure you that we will have our independent technical scientific research as soon as possible and if we can also scientifically proof it will work, then maybe some will suddenly hear it also.(what about placebo here???)
I am convinced about the benefit of such a research but I am also convinced about the fact that the human ears are much better than any recording equipment that is available now.
 
#72 Ā·
I can reassure you that we will have our independent technical scientific research as soon as possible and if we can also scientifically proof it will work, then maybe some will suddenly hear it also.(what about placebo here???)
Hi Hans, do you mind answering this one question:

The advertising says "more emotion" How do you scientifically prove your claim that this device increases emotion? And which emotion does it increase?

Would I get my money back if I get no increase in emotion? If not, that would make me sad... Aha, I get the point now.
 
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