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Zephyr Fan Club!!!

55K views 185 replies 81 participants last post by  JimD 
#1 ·
I absolutely love my 323xxx 53' Zephyr Alto! When I went shopping for a new horn I chose it over a King S20 and a Conn 6M. At the beginning I thought it would still be nice to have one of the S20s I had tried out more than 5 years ago when I was living in Port., OR. Now that I have this horn under my fingers, I'm glad I didn't choose another one. While the 6M's a great horn, my Zephyr has such a range of sound possibilities. It sound great when I play dark, bright, and in the mulit-phonic range. There's nothing this horn isn't well equiped to do! I play on a Lakey mpc too, but I've no problems conrolling this horn (well, except when my lip starts going numb and blown out.) Who else loves their Zephyr?
 
#172 ·
I picked the horn up from Mike Manning last night and got a few hours in on it today. We just went for the "get it sealing well enough to see if I like it" service. Amazing what a difference that makes. Mike also took a few minutes to cut a few pieces of foam and glue them into the Gator case for me so that the horn can at least get around town safely.

If I'm honest, I was a little worried that the "warm, fuzzy" tone that I was enjoying when I first unpacked the horn was just because the thing was so resistant with all of those leaks adding up. I didn't have to worry, though. It still has a fantastic warm tone, with a nice edge on it. I wasn't quite ready for exactly how free-blowing it was going to be, though. It's very responsive, for sure, but it took a few minutes before I was used to the resistance level enough to know how to shape my tone. My Selmer and Conn both are more resistant to varying degrees. Not necessarily a good or bad thing, just different.

The overall sound is really nice. It feels like there's a very warm, spread core sound with a nice high-partial "sizzle" on top that gives it tons and tons of character for me, especially as I push it. That sizzle is a lot like my Mark VI, but the core sound of the VI is much more focused and "dense", if that makes sense. It's a very usable kind of edge on the tone. It might be the more diffuse nature of the tone, but the sound doesn't seem as big and booming as my 10M. Again, not a bad thing, just different. The 10M's edge feels to me a little harder and brassier (both traits that I LOVE about that horn).

It feels like the King has a more laid back vibe than either of my other tenors for me, but it's got its own kind of quiet intensity. To me, the Selmer has this feeling like it's got so much focused energy in the tone, it's almost like I need to hold it back. The Conn has this brash, booming, brassy tone that feels like it just immediately takes over a room. The King, by comparison, is more like smoldering embers. That heat is there, but it's not quite so obvious about it. I wouldn't say it's any more restrained, though.

Intonation is about as good as the other two, maybe a small step below, but I also didn't get a proper setup on this one like I did the Selmer, so I suspect there's still some improvement to be found. The Conn probably has the best intonation of the three, even with minimal setup work done. It's all pretty close, though, and all well within an acceptable range.

Keywork is manageable. The pearls are located well for my hands, though for whatever reason I keep missing the right hand pinky keys entirely. I think they are a little smaller and rotated a little further away from the RH stack than on the other two. I'll get used to it. The pinky cluster is also a little strange and foreign to me, but nothing I won't figure out with a few more hours on it. It doesn't have the super light, positive action of the Conn, but I don't think anything else does. It certainly has the Conn beat in terms of touchpiece placement in the upper and lower stacks, for me at least. I'm confident I'll be able to get around this thing no problem once I have a little more time to get familiar.

Could this end up being my main horn? Possibly, though it's up against some stiff competition.

Will I dither around endlessly with these three tenors for months to come? Almost definitely.
 
#177 ·
The Zephyrs are like the Super 20.
Later horns have fewer features, e.g. no double socket neck.
But that doesn't have to mean that they are worse than the earlier horns.
You can also get a very good horn on newer Zephyrs or Super 20s.

For example, I have a Super 20 from 1972 without a Silver Neck.
It's probably not as good as a Super 20 from 1950.
But i love it.

Mike
 
#178 · (Edited)
I tried out a Zephyr Special the other day, full pearls, the works, and I really wanted it to play. First off the action was a bit heavy but I thought that was probably just me getting used to it, I play a lateish 50s Super 20 that plays light and easy. Running over the horn the pads popped nicely and I figured it was sealing well. Next problem was Eb that didn’t speak well, again I blamed myself, the horn is a bit beefier than the S20 and layout felt a bit more stretched out. Last and by no means least the bottom end. Here, of course, the pinky table is quite different, I could get the notes to play with enough air but I’ll be damned if I could play it as quietly as I thought it should and the layout seemed to catch me out however much I practiced it. The in house tech had a look and found a leak around the G and lightened the action a bit on the bottom. The Eb problem was gone but the pinky table and the low end generally still evaded me.

In the end I had to call it quits and decided it was my failings. Since then, and reading the post above I don’t know. Are these common problems with the Zephyrs or was it the setup? Can the bottom end be set up lighter so that it plays easy, indeed can the whole horn be made to play easy? I was expecting some difference but expected it to play generally like the S20. I can’t get back to the shop without a fair amount of effort but I’d be interested in hearing from regular players if they find the Zephyrs and S20s handle that differently.
 
#179 ·
Well, I'll be out of the Zephyr club shortly. I picked up a first series Zephyr alto on ebay years ago for very little, as it was being sold by someone without feedback. Turned out, they were a pawn shop and I could check their rep, so I bid and won. With the square key touches, its original silver plate, the art deco engraving and beveled rods, it cleaned up rather nicely. I bought it for my son and he played it in school before giving it up. Now my son is buying a house and every bit helps. Though the Zephyr is simply stunning and has a nice bark to it, it's just not my preference. But it's perfect for the alto player in my brass band, and he's had it on approval for the last couple of weeks and is going to buy it from my son. For me, it's just nice that it'll be played again and will no longer reside on the shelf; and the gift I gave my son years ago is going to help him buy a home.
 
#183 ·
I tried a general forum request but only got answers from Grumps and Milandro, perfectly good answers and thank you, but I was hoping for more. At least here there may be more chance. Here it is again, unless all you guys are using sports bags or gunnysacks there must be someone with some experience of these things.

I just got a new Zephyr Special that came in a well beaten Hiscox that needs replacing. I’ve mainly been looking at BAM cases and had my eye on the Hightech but according to an old thread on here it doesn’t fit which seems odd. I use a BAM trekking with my S20 that the Zephyr sits in pretty comfortably and I will go for another of these if there’s nothing better but I would prefer something different. I would prefer a flat bottom case that will stand unaided and I’m particularly interested to know about the Hightech but any suggestions welcome.

Availability is a problem even in London but you never know.
 
#184 ·
I rescued a Zephyr tenor last week off the eBay. Serial number 325xxx makes it 1952-ish maybe 1953. The lacquer isn't bad except on the front of the bell where the engraving is :( I am trading our COVID stimulus check for a complete rebuild. I expect it to be my new favorite tenor when it comes back. The competition is my '53 Martin Indiana which I really enjoy.
When the subject of pads and resonators came up I asked that it will sound like a Zephyr, whatever that means.
I am also a fan of vintage HR mouthpieces. Would a 1950's King piece be a good choice? I have an old King "2" that is my favorite on my Zephyr alto.
Have a great 2021 everybody!
 
#186 ·
I'm vaguely interested in a Ted Klum New London HR piece for my Zephyr Special but wonder about the medium chamber as people seem to say that they need, or are better with, large chamber pieces otherwise intonation can go out the window. Trying and sending back isn't so easy 'round here so I'm not inclined to get into that. Has anybody tried one?
 
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