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You know you are a C-Melody player when....

43K views 230 replies 39 participants last post by  Sax Repair Crew 
#1 ·
A pad falls out of your saxophone while you are playing it. :bluewink:
 
#144 ·
I just opened my AquilaSax CMel mouthpiece from a .075 to a .100 tip opening using a Meyer 10M alto facing curve as a guide. That left a tip rail of about 3mm, plenty of material for a baffle. It now has a "delta" baffle more like a Link STM. Open and edgy (for a CMel). Played it until my lip hurt last night. Good fun.

Mark
 
#145 ·
For what it is worth, I recently had the opposite experience.
Alan Tucker kindly gave me a handful of his favourite mouthpieces...all pretty well identical. The tip openings were, for me, too small at about 0.098".
I opened one to 0.120" & refaced to give an elliptical, as opposed to radial, facing.
This resulted in a very wide tip rail...as yours....about 3mm.
The piece was very stuffy & hard to blow.By filing the tip rail down to about 0.060" a transformation took place.
It is now, by a large margin, the best piece, for me, that I have ever played....it does absobloodylutely everything....& so easy to play.
Closest equivalent is an M9 Metalite, but a much thicker sound...the Metalite whines by comparison.
 
#149 ·
Nicest playing? It really depends upon the type of music that you favour.
As a general rule the sweetest of the ubiquitous makes is the Conn....alto-like.
The most tenor like is the Martin.
The Buescher and the King somewhere between.
The Conn has the most ergonomic keywork.
 
#152 ·
csax.
Your new avatar seems to shew your Martin in an abandoned position...not even a mouthpiece fitted. Is this a natural progression from using an alto mouthpiece? :bluewink:
I remember, years ago, when we both played C Mels with the hairiest tenor mouthpiece...we must be ageing.
Now playing mainly with amplified guitar bands I too have pretty well abandoned my C Mels in favour of the more powerful Bb tenor....Hey Ho. :cry:
 
#153 ·
Beeflat - sorry that the avatar gives off such sad vibes, the Martin C is (in fact) far from being neglected, it's currently being overhauled. I just liked that avatar because, out of the subdued picture, there is - centrally - the LH handspan of pearls, including the front-F, shining out...

The edgy 'wedgy Couf' tenor piece is still in the C accessories compartment, along with Plasticover and RR3 reeds - and should anything more severe ever be required, the Lawton 8*BB is close at hand in the (Bb) tenor case. I just love the fact that the alto Jody/LaVoz bass-clari setup gives the C 'tenor' its own distinct identity, it's not a 'Bb tenor substitute' any more, I'm happy to play both.

As you also say - and with which I agree absolutely - if ever I was in the company of anything more severe than a gently amplified jazz guitar, or a subtle Fender Rhodes, the Bb tenor or even alto would be a more useful horn. I have to hear my own sound acoustically, regardless of foldback. and I think I can just about still remember how to fly in F# on tenor, or in C# on alto, for bloody guitarists who are addicted to playing in E !
 
#154 ·
I think I can just about still remember how to fly in F# on tenor, or in C# on alto, for bloody guitarists who can only play in E !
Or even, when the mood takes them, in B.
To emphasise that their keys are not, ideally, our keys, just watch the expression on a bass player's face when you tell him that the next number is in concert Eb.
Their first instinct is to detune a semitone.
 
#155 ·
Yes, isn't it a real shame that a High Pitch Bb tenor, with the mouthpiece pushed well on, doesn't quite make a 'B' tenor...
 
#158 ·
The mouthpiece I modified was a Bb tenor piece & I had the flat shelf, and drop off baffle, to begin with, therefore not having to alter anything internally. I too used a riffler file...but to reduce the tip rail. No roll over baffle on mine either....simply a concave drop down to the shelf.
My facing length is unaltered from the original......circa 24mm, but with the curve tightening towards the tip.
 
#175 ·
Hello Randy - great to know that all of our critics haven't 'gone soft' on us... I miss young Grumps occasionally popping in to slag us off ! :mrgreen:
 
#179 ·
Always was Cap'n Beeflat, dontchaknow....never Cap'n CeeMelody, despite still owning, and enjoying, three C Mels C/W either M9 or M11 Metalites.
My wife, in particular, is very fond of them....as, compared with the tenor, they are so quiet when played indoors. :bluewink:
I like to play what is appropriate for the prevailing conditions....shall I get my coat?..my cab is at the door. :)
 
#174 ·
Yes cv, there are some things in life you can really rely on... And those two gentlemen livening up a flagging thread is one of them - heehee !

No offence meant guys, you're at the opposing ends of just about every spectrum I can imagine... ( except of course for your mutual respect of vintage C saxophones :bluewink: )

Vive la différence !
 
#183 ·
Captain,
I play mostly Brazilian bossa-nova, samba, choro, and jazz on my C-melody, and I don't disagree that the Bb or Eb saxes would have a more powerfull cutting sound for rock and roll. From this standpoint they are more natural choices.
Of course, you can always utilize technology to compensate, like Ian Anderson and his flute, if one likes the sound of a Conn C melody better for what they want to do.
As it has been stated before, vive la difference.

Now, what is this G thing after the names now?
 
#184 ·
...Now, what is this G thing after the names now?
:dazed:

------

Danny - interesting, what's your 'C' mouthpiece / reed setup ? (i.e. make, tip opening etc.)
I assume you used the same setup on both tenor and C when you did the decibel tests ? Otherwise it's meaningless...
If not, what was the setup on the tenor ?
 
#187 ·
Hmmm... On Chrome it's a small circle after the name, like an led, sometimes green, sometimes white - seems to bear no relevance to 'Distinguished' or not. Beeflat and I seem to be white one minute, green the next, maybe a friendly admin could give us a hint ?

Maybe on-topic is green, off-topic is white, and downright provocative is red ? Nah, that'd mean artificial intelligence is alive and well !
 
#198 ·
Csax- It was tried with my Metalite M7 and a Vandoren 2.5 Blue Box, both on the C and the tenor. My teacher has a metal mouthpiece he tried as well that was even edgier in the tone on his tenor... but it was still the same db as the Metalite. I am going to speak with him about repeating and recording the test on video so that more can enjoy the results than his other students and I, if he is up for it. If not I'll try to borrow his Tenor again and do it myself. Sorry I can't recall what type of metal mpc he uses ... :(

Mark- Absolutely love the Django, such an inspiration! Thanks for sharing!

Captain- it doesn't take a 900W amp to make a rock band. Most venues on this side of the pond have a house system with far more watts than that anyways, allowing the guitarists to bring comfortable and convenient combo amps to mic up. I for one still use my 450W Behringer half stack but considering the hassle of packing it up I may downgrade to a 200W combo amp, really all that is necessary now days.

I see that you and Csax tried to make the C-Melodies work in your respective rock bands and found that you still prefer your tenors... no problem with that, tenors of course sound great! To say that C-Tenors don't make the cut though is folly, have you ever heard of the Trans Siberian Orchestra? They use clarinets, oboes, flutes, violins, cellos, and other "wimpy" instruments and turn classical music into heavy metal and rock. Even Christmas music! Saw them at the Pepsi Center last year at a sold out show (18000+ seats)

I think I have explained this to you before but I have a very open mind when it comes to music. I believe that any instrument can play in any style... why limit the possibilities? How else does new music come about?

Someones got to put a stop to the trend of acid dropping teen dolts who listen to EDM and Dubstep because they think that is where music should head.... and what good music sounds like. I could whip up some Dubstep on my computer in a matter of hours, absolutely no instrumental skill required. Ugh....

Technology has allowed musicians like myself and the like-minded fellows of my band to enjoy a rippin' ocarina solo in a heavy metal song, and crowds really respond to it too! Especially my own ceramic hand-made double chamber mutant two headed turtle effigy harmony ocarina! Its new, its different, it sounds good.

Thank you for keeping such a close watch of my spelling,
I suggest you just let me go a ahead and make an @r$e of myself if thats what I am actually doing :scratch:
 
#200 ·
I think another important point is what type of pads you have on the C-Mel. Resonators make a huge difference. When I repadded mine I used resonators. The sound is very strong, especially with a tenor MPC. My teacher loves the way my C-Mel sounds with the resonators and the tenor Graftonite B5. Really a HUGE difference than without either.
 
#201 ·
I wholeheartedly agree with this... repadding my 1919 Conn with white RooPads with oversized domed metal Resos really took the projection to another level. My other 2 Conns with the stock Conn Res-O-Pads don't do half bad with a meaty tenor piece either but if I am really trying to play the raunchiest of ska-punk or rock then its my 1919 hands down.
 
#204 ·
I should add these three. You know you're a CMel player when you spend 40 minutes locating the Zappa album/song/solo that features a CMel. You know you're a CMel player when you spend 30 seconds checking out the YouTube link (actually, it's an obligation for everyone reading this thread). But you really know that you've got it bad when you recognize that the Grand Wazoo album cover art prominently features a vintage silver CMel used by the point man in the "battle of the bands" that was Zappa's conceptual theme for the album.

Mark
 
#206 ·
Yeah I see it now, its very distorted in the style of the picture but it says "Mystery Horn" on the bell and it is a silver C-Mel. Awesome!

I guess I'm a C-Mel player because all three of those things apply. (Fortunately I didn't have to spend 40 mins because you supplied me with the exact location, thank you!)
 
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