Here's an excerpt from the late great Tubby Hayes on King's intonation. I don't buy "it's not the horn, it's the player" for a minute.
http://www.jazzprofessional.com/Exchange/HayesNistico.htm
HAYES: Right So you've always played a Conn, eh?
NISTICO: Well, before that I had a Buescher. Which is a good sound but boy, it's a big feeling in the fingers, getting around it The Conn is the same principle blowing-wise-like, you blow and it feels like the metal is spreading. That's why I think it would take me some time to get used to a Selmer. If I could do it, I think I would dig it, man-if I could find a Selmer with a good sound like you've got you know.
HAYES: Yes I've practically always played a Selmer. A couple of times, when I have played a Conn, I enjoy that sort of vibrant feeling, as you say.
NISTICO: I think, maybe it only speaks so that you hear it better yourself when you play it. Because I've heard cats with the Selmer, and it sounds better out front. It seems to be more compact, or something. Dexter has a Selmer now, man. Yes-he had an old 10M Conn, and went right to a Selmer. That's a big change. I was talking to Ronnie Scott about changing from Conn to Selmer. He says it took him some time. Boy, he sure sounds good on it. And Dexter sounds the same to me. Even Gene Ammons-he made the same change, but he's still got that old sound.
HAYES: Well I think basically your own sound comes through. To yourself at first it may sound strange, but it must come round eventually. I could never get on with a Conn, because I've got very small hands.
I tried a King for a while-it had a similar vibrancy to the Conn and yet had the action of the Selmer. I liked it but I could not pitch the intervals-especially if I was going from, say, a top E or F down to G, or .something like that below. I gave it about two months try, but I just couldn't play in tune I don't know why.
NISTICO: Johnny Griffin used to play a King-he sounded beautiful. I heard Sonny's playing a Buescher now. He got it from some guy who passed away in Belgium. He wanted this horn real bad and took a special flight over there to get it. But, of course he's got a million horns I don't know how he does it man-trying all those different horns and mouthpieces every night I could never do anything like that-it's a little too much for me. But, I mean, Sonny-he's a fantastic musician. Like he knows the tenor inside out, and he's at that peak now where it doesn't matter any more. He's looking for something. I love 'Trane, but Sonny can generate so much swing, you know. He gets around so good, man.
HAYES: Personally, if I'm happy with the horn I've got, the mouthpiece the set-up the reed and everything-then I've got enough problems trying to create something different, playing-wise, rather than keep messing around changing mouthpieces, instruments and all that. I remember, whan Sonny was first here last year, he gave Ronnie a mouthpiece. I'd had this mouthpiece of mine for four or five years-I bought it off Dick Morrissey before he went to India. So Ronnie went on to this one that Sonny gave him and tried Ronnie's mouthpiece, which was much more open than mine. The first couple of nights I thought · 'Yeah-this is it-whee!' But there again your same sound comes through eventually. And I found that I was struggling, my lips were getting all cut inside, I had pains in the stomach, and all that! So I tried a Larsen. I've got a Larsen in my case there, if you want to try it.