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Super 20 Fan Club

318K views 1K replies 236 participants last post by  Instrument Attic 
G
#1 ·
We're baa-aaaack! Super 20 players, stand up and be counted.

Super 20 tenor, 364xxx, silver neck, brass bell, no pearls on the side :(

I've had this horn since 1974 (sophomore year high school). Dad paid $75 for the horn, then another $100 for a complete overhaul/relacquer (it needed it).

Despite what you may have read, these are very flexible horns, adaptable to all musical styles. The combination of the sterling silver neck along with bore taper/neck curve/bow curve allows the Super 20 tenors to bring out the best in a variety of mouthpiece setups.
 
#153 ·
No, in fact I got it from Gail Fredenburgh, who while I have never done biz with her before, seems to be really assembled right as a person and a company.

Her price? $3400 for a mint Super 20 Silversonic made (my guess in 1973). She has put in Ferree's DeJour leather pads and installed a slightly domed metal resonator as the original super 20s had, set the horn up with light action (my preferred). The pictures of the horn are on her web site at vintagesax.com and I must say, it sure looks to be what she says it is: near mint. Yes there's a tiny dent on the bow, but that's required isn't it?

My understanding is that since it's coming from Gayle I ought to count my blessings. Let's see...that two blessings for every dollar paid. Right?

What do you guys think?
 
#156 ·
The Silversonic just arrived!

Oh my god!!!

What regret!!! That I didn 't get a Super-20 in my life earlier!!! Gayle did a superb job. She's the queen of rebuilds!!

This horn! This voice! This keyboard! The action!

I can tell you one thing. Gayle is NOT getting this Silversonic back. What a gorgeous horn in the hands, what a sound!!

Need to find the right piece. Any suggestions? Going for pure sex here. Anything less would not do this kitten justice. Can you guys tell me what your preferred pieces are for this horn?
 
#158 · (Edited)
-88- said:
Need to find the right piece. Any suggestions? Going for pure sex here. Anything less would not do this kitten justice. Can you guys tell me what your preferred pieces are for this horn?
Super 20 tenors are very mpc friendly, probably more so than any other tenor I've ever played. Just a pick a good, quality mpc, and have fun.

fwiw, I played the Link STM/Rico combo for a good while. Still do, on occasion. It's a lush, fat sound, but it may not project as well as you like. The Ponzol M1 is a good alternative. If you want more cut, try a Ponzol M2. The rubber Ponzol Custom (hard rubber version of the M2) is also great, imho.

Or, you can go another road, and try to stick with round chambered mpcs. The trick is dialing in the chamber size. I went from my Florida Link STM to a Hite 128 hard rubber, and found that the Hite retains all the round-chamber fatness of the Link, but the smaller chamber gives a better tonal center, and tunes better across the horn.

Since I prefer round chambers, I've always wanted to try the Morgan Excalibur. That would really kick on a Silver-Sonic tenor.

Of course, if you have any money left :wink: you could always try one of Fred Lamberson's mpcs. I'm sure any of those would work great.
 
#165 · (Edited)
Also FWIW, I tried several Supers and a couple of Silversonics a few weeks ago. I played them both with a JJ ESP 120 (Older Model) and a HR Barone "Vintage" model 8*. For me I actually preferred the Barone on the Kings. Again, that's the way "I" heard it and I only played each horn for a few minutes. They didn't seem too picky with either piece.

Glen
 
#166 ·
Mike Ruhl said:
Keep it clean. We're probably under surveillance as it is...
Shhhhh, Kim and Jim have too much fun with me as it is.

I really wanted to say piercing instead of penetration, but the vision of impalement still applied. Oh well.

BTW Mike, Getz fan, Did I ever tell you how Stan was described upon putting on a towel after a shower? E.T.!
 
#167 ·
Those all sound like great suggestions! You guys are making me wish I also had a Super-20 tenor, BUT this Super-20, however, is an Alto. I am trying out some modern pieces; a Jody ESP 7, DV (he now has them for Alto), HR 7, Barone HR 8L, Paul Tenny Meyer medium chambered.

By the way, saxmanglen, where did you EVER get that avatar?
 
#169 ·
saxmanglen said:
I used google images and searched for ugly/funny looking cats
Don't tempt me!

Back on topic:

I don't have a Super 20 alto, but almost bought a silversonic as old as my tenor last year. Damn, I should have. My Meyer 5 medium sounded sweet on it. I should have bought it.
 
#170 ·
Thanks guys. Before you said anything, I tried a Jody DV 8, newly done for Alto and a Meyer Tenney 6M. The Meyer is okay, but it's like trying to breathe through a soda straw...and this was Paul Tenney's personal recommendation too! Proves that everyone experiences things differently.

Think I'll send the Tenney back and try your recommendations. The DV8 from Espina is kickin' and a keeper.
 
#174 · (Edited)
Upawholestep - welcome aboard!

Another great freeware graphics tools is Irfanview www.irfanview.com

It's been around for a long time. It handles all graphics formats, and has a boatload of features, including image resizing.

Irfanview lets you specify transparent colors in .gif an .png files, so that you can change something that looks like this:


To look like this:
 
#176 ·
Zephyr and an S20 for an 8th grader?

Hi guys, I'm new to this group and I don't play sax ... but my 13yo son does (tenor). He's been playing a rented Yamaha YTS-23 which was OK, but when he joined the jazz band this year it seemed time to buy him his own. I picked up an Eastlake Zephyr (437xxx) in decent condition on eBay for about $700. No noticeable dings or dents and lacquer is near 100% with sharp engraving. After some minor repairs, pad replacements, recorking, and adjustments (another $100) this horn really sounds good and my son loves it.

Then just when I thought this was settled, we were given an Eastlake Super 20 (568xxx) which had been owned and played for many years by a recently deceased friend of the family. Also came with 2 metal mouthpieces - a well-used Otto Link 3* and another that just says King on it and looks brand new. The horn itself has a couple of small dings in it and the lacquer is gone where it rubbed on the owners clothes when it was played (I consider these more to be evidence of honorable use than defects). I'm guessing that the former owner bought this horn new - possibly direct from the Eastlake plant or a worker there (would you believe he was an Eastlake city councilman for several years?). The horn is in the shop for minor adjustments right now, but I could not believe how excited the repair tech got when he opened the case and saw it was a Super 20!

So now my kid is fully armed with two vintage King tenors (and the Yamaha is rented through June). I'm not sure what we are going to do with all this, but the Zephyr looks and sounds great so I'm reluctant to part with it. Of course, the Super 20 is a legacy inheritance that we would never sell. I'm thinking he could use the Zephyr for traditional concert band and solo/ensemble competitions, and save the S20 for jazz band (which is his main interest right now). Would you let him use either one for marching band, or is a 3rd tenor in order for that?

BTW - we also bought him a bamboo saxophone on a recent trip to Thailand, but that's a soprano.
 
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