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Resonators on Dolnet?

3K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  hornimprovement 
#1 ·
I have a wonderful mid-1950's Dolnet alto that I started playing again a few years ago after a long hiatus. I bought it new in the Netherlands at the time and it still has its original (red) pads. When I picked it up again, I had it evaluated and regulated by an expert who concluded that the pads were still in good shape and replacement could wait. (Overall, he thought it was a great horn!) But I think the time is now! My question is this: The original pads do not have any resonators and I am generally happy with the horn's sound. As part of an overhaul, should I chose to have resonators installed and, if so, what kind? Or should I stick to just pads and leave well-enough alone? Your input is appreciated! (If the purpose of resonators is just to make the horn "louder", I don't need them. Our band leader already "accuses" me often of being too loud!)

Henry

(Also posted in the Repair & Maintenance thread)
 
#2 ·
I had a '50's Couesnon that had old non-reso pads. It needed a repad and I had it done with metal reso pads. How much the resos contributed, I don't know, but the horn played far better, it was more alive and vibrant - though of course it was never going to play well with knackered pads of any type anyway. I think (though I am no expert either on vintage horns or a Dolnet in particular) that a horn from that era should have had resos from new and suspect it may have been repadded some while back with cheapskate pads.
 
#3 ·
I think (though I am no expert either on vintage horns or a Dolnet in particular) that a horn from that era should have had resos from new and suspect it may have been repadded some while back with cheapskate pads.

I owned the same horn for a while and it had the same red pads but with flat metal resonators. I don't know if the pads and resos were original but I understood at the time that they were original. Overall the horn had a really nice tone and good projection. The only negatives were the left pinkie keys and the fact that I found the horn to be very resistant as compared to my other altos. It took a lot of air to get the horn to come to life.
 
#5 ·
Henry, I own two Dolnet altos, two Bel Air models from the 50s. Both of them have no resonator pads. I believe, like Sigmund wrote, that non-resos were a choice of generally classical players who preferred a darker mellow sound. However, I use my saxophones for lead playing in Big-Bands and for more contemporary Jazz settings, and both work fine with these pads. What I find special about the Dolnet sound is the very dark sound quality specially when played very softly.

Pleas let us know how you decided about the new pads and, if it changed the sound, how.
Cheers, Uwe.
 
#7 ·
A resonator does more that give the sound waves a firmer surface. They add stability to the pads by keeping much of the pad area flat and uniform. On saxes that originally had no resonators, I recommend flat (not domed) resonators to maintain the same internal dimensions on cosed pads. A couple of years ago I rebuilt a silver-plated Dolnet tenor with silver-plated flat Resotechs. The horn played with a full, even sound.
 
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