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Inventory of Bari Players & Their Horns

I started playing bari in 8th grade marching band. It was a conn. In high school, I played the schools MkVI low Bb bari in pep band.

At university, I played in the symphonic band on bari (a school low A MkVI) one spring.

At IU, even though I wasn't a music major anymore, I played for a semester in a quartet on one of the school's low A MK VI bari's. A young Steve Stusek was in that quartet.

Two years ago, I bought a YBS 62 from Peter Fluck. Nice horn. I don't get to play bari very often these days, though.
 
Whoa, this is weird!

I play a B991 with a soloist style D mouthpiece and Rico Royal 3's.

I also picked up an SX90, what a totally different sound! Sadly I can't keep'em both and I am VERY attached to the Yani so after a brief romance the Keilwerth is up for sale!

I really liked the King Tempo I have (which is an earlier JK horn) but a) it's a b flat and b) the Yani gets me to the sound I hear in my head. I just love the smoothness of the Yani. Most guys who are looking for a more aggressive sound would prefer the JK . . . I think.
 
I own a late New Wonder II bari in silver plate that is in incredible condition. It is beyond me how a horn this size has survived like this for now 80 years. I think the only silver plating that is missing from the entire horn is on the tenon of the neck, which after multiple adjustments had to be polished in order for the neck to fit despite neither socket nor tenon being out of round. Initially, I could not get it play in tune in the upper register with the highish baffle mouthpieces I first had access to. Instead, I bought a couple of Yanagisawa mouthpieces inexpensively on ebay and sent them to Brian Powell to have the chambers enlarged but he said Erik Greiffenhagen was the right person for this. The pieces not only look great but more importantly play in tune throughout the entire register with a full, round, and warm tone. I mainly play tenor but it is always a real treat to play this old bari from time to time.
 
Here's mine... both Yamaha 62s.

heavy-metal.jpg


I bought the lacquered horn on the left in about '02. Brand new, still it its plastic wrap. I loved playing it from the first moment I laid eyes on it. Years later, it's showing some lacquer wear and a couple dings, but it's the one horn I still won't let out of my sight, period.

The silver horn is one I stumbled across on Craigslist when I was looking for a backup, and it turned out I knew both the sax and its previous owner. He'd had the keys gold-plated and a bunch of extra engraving added, as well as replacing all the resonators with Noyeks, top to bottom. That seems to give it a wee bit more edge, which makes this horn especially well-suited to R&B and Latin Jazz gigs. It's not quite as velvety-smooth to play as the other one (I'm still trying to work out some octave key slop that was created, I think, during the overhaul), but it's a good alternative to taking my main horn out to play rock and roll in clubs and festivals.

My setup is a Berg 110/1 with Bari "star" reeds, and it's the only horn I *never* have mouthpiece or reed issues with. Wish I could say that for everything else I play...
 
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I have two baritones I use for performances. Both are Selmer Mark VI saxes, one from the early 1960s and one from the early 1970s.

The older horn is red. Don't ask, long story. Photo attached.

I've been using Ponzol 120 baritone mouthpieces for quite some time.

I also have a baritone saxophone made by Adolphe Sax in 1861, an Adolphe Sax baritone made by Selmer in the early 1930s, and a straight (sort of) baritone custom made from a normal Amati low Bb baritone.
Is the red factory or did you have it repainted to match the Amati?
 
I own a late New Wonder II bari in silver plate that is in incredible condition. It is beyond me how a horn this size has survived like this for now 80 years. I think the only silver plating that is missing from the entire horn is on the tenon of the neck, which after multiple adjustments had to be polished in order for the neck to fit despite neither socket nor tenon being out of round. Initially, I could not get it play in tune in the upper register with the highish baffle mouthpieces I first had access to. Instead, I bought a couple of Yanagisawa mouthpieces inexpensively on ebay and sent them to Brian Powell to have the chambers enlarged but he said Erik Greiffenhagen was the right person for this. The pieces not only look great but more importantly play in tune throughout the entire register with a full, round, and warm tone. I mainly play tenor but it is always a real treat to play this old bari from time to time.
Hi, Steen! Enjoy the party here!
 
I've had this Martin Handcraft gold plate for the last three years. This is the pic (with the upside down mouthpiece) from ebay when I bought it. It has a monster sound, but I don't get around to playing it much. I've been temped to sell it. Don't know if I can let it go though. She's a beauty.

Handcraft-82899-baritone-3.jpg
 
A late Conn 12M bari made south of the border. I'm looking for a good image of a dancing Latina to have engraved on the bell. I haven't taken any pics yet.

The setup is a 120/1/M stainless steel Berg Largsen with stock lig and Vandoren classic #3 reeds. I wanted something strong and powerful and this is just the ticket so far. ;)
 
Hello Jacques. Welcome to the Woodwind Forum. We hope that you enjoy your time here. I'm also glad to see another bari player here!

When you get a chance, perhaps you might want to drop in on the WF New People Introductions thread, and say "hi" to everyone (we're a friendly bunch here). This way the others, who don't hang out in the sax board, will know you're here too.

Anyways, welcome again. Oh, I meant to ask, what kind of music do you play on your bari?

Helen,
Thanks for this warm welcome. I'll make a hop to the Intro thread asap but to quickly answer your question, at 61, I've been playing bari as an amateur for years and years in typical more or less modern big bands in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. I am now active in two bands: one 13-piece gang (where I'm playing tenor these days btw) heavily centered on the swing period and a much more interesting 5-sax + rhythm outfit, called Le Saxtet where we mostly rely on standards but profoundly revisited by the leader-arranger. We have the luck to play with an American singer living in the vicinity and you can have an idea of the outcome at http://www.myspace.com/saxtetchinois . One remark: don't ask were the "chinois" (chinese) comes from. It's a former private joke which came into the original name of the band; we try to get rid of it but you know how branding is a tricky matter...
J
 
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Swiss baritone

Ah, un compatriote! Bonjour!

On ne doit pas être beaucoup dans ce sympathique forum. Je suis de Corcelles (NE) et toi ?

Promised, this is not the unofficial beginning of a French-speaking forum. We'll go on in English (or Swiss-English).
J
 
Guess I'm the first one to say 1977 Yamaha YBS-61. That horn rocks harder than any other I've played and I've played early VI's 12ms and many others. There is just something about this horn. I use a early 90's Link metal 8* and plasticover reeds.
 
I have (will have as of tomorrow) two baris. A lovely Yamaha YBS52 that I bought new some four years ago and from which I've learned a lot. I will definitely keep her as both a treasured friend and good sounding back up horn. UPS phoned this morning and told me to stay home tomorrow so I can sign for the delivery of my new Yanagisawa B992P (the beautiful bronze bari with the floor pegs :-D) from ProWinds.

[I may neglect my 'nino, which I can still play without a harness/strap or weight bearing device for a while :geezer2:...]
 
Except for the ergonomics (particularly the left hand little finger cluster), I much prefer my current YBS-62 horn to the old Selmer Mark VI equivalent that I owned in an earlier life.

(I sold all of my saxes to pay for a Ford Granada for my then-wife. I no longer have the car, the horns or the wife. Live and learn.)

I have always liked the intonation and the action (save the little finger keys) of the Yamaha horn. And, I found significant differences between the tone and intonation of the YBS-62 over the less-expensive YBS-61, a horn that I have spent quite a bit of time on in the past.

Like most other things produced by Yamaha, their saxes are well made, quality products. You might do a bit better with something else, but it's far more likely that you won't do as well.
 
I have (will have as of tomorrow) two baris. A lovely Yamaha YBS52 that I bought new some four years ago and from which I've learned a lot. I will definitely keep her as both a treasured friend and good sounding back up horn. UPS phoned this morning and told me to stay home tomorrow so I can sign for the delivery of my new Yanagisawa B992P (the beautiful bronze bari with the floor pegs :-D) from ProWinds.

[I may neglect my 'nino, which I can still play without a harness/strap or weight bearing device for a while :geezer2:...]



Welcome, Old Dick. My baritone is a low A selmer mk6 that I bought new back in '71. I really haven't been in the market for a bari since I bought my horn, so I don't know too much about the current new models. But your new horn sounds like a pretty interesting piece. Bronze eh? And floor pegs! None of that was available back in '71. You could slide your horn into a stand, and play it that way if you desired, but no pegs back then. And if you wanted bronze, there was always a can of paint.:eek:

I'm sure that you're anticipating the exiciting moment when the big brown truck draws up the the front of your pad. Hope that everything arrives fair and square. Please keep us posted!
 
Here's mine... both Yamaha 62s.

heavy-metal.jpg


The silver horn is one I stumbled across on Craigslist when I was looking for a backup, and it turned out I knew both the sax and its previous owner. He'd had the keys gold-plated and a bunch of extra engraving added, as well as replacing all the resonators with Noyeks, top to bottom. That seems to give it a wee bit more edge, which makes this horn especially well-suited to R&B and Latin Jazz gigs. It's not quite as velvety-smooth to play as the other one (I'm still trying to work out some octave key slop that was created, I think, during the overhaul), but it's a good alternative to taking my main horn out to play rock and roll in clubs and festivals.
.

The horn on the right is now mine, and I love it. Traded for my Bb Mark VI bari. Will be getting a Rampone and Cazzani R1Jazz bari in the upcoming weeks.
 
I told you it was a long story. O.K. - Here goes

Around 1972-1973 when I was on the road, I stumbled upon a Selmer Mark VI baritone sax in a pawn shop - I think in Memphis. It had been overhauled with new lacquer and it looked great. It was an early 60s model. Old horn, good overhaul, good price - I got lucky. It was exactly what I was looking for when I walked into the pawn shop, and I loved the horn.

Fast forward 20 years. I played that bari with everybody - Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Jaco Pastorius. I played it every night. It looked like hell, but it still played great.

I didn't want to buff the horn again, but it was time to do a LOT of work on my baritone.

I have a 1928 Buescher straight alto that was finished at the factory in green Duco enamel (not lacquer.) It is in very good condition and plays vey well.

I decided to finish the Selmer baritone like the old Buescher straight alto - in enamel. I didn't have to buff the instrument because I could remove the old lacquer with chemicals. The horn didn't need to be shiny, because enamel is opaque. It just had to be very clean.

I tested sveral enamel finishes to see what was best for resisting chips, scratches and wear. I settled on Rustoleum. Today, there are acrylic finishes that are better, but this was 1990.

First I polished and lacquered the keys, body ferrules, strap ring, key guards, and bodyguards and braces in clear lacquer. This required masking off the areas to be lacquered, polishing, cleaning and lacquering all the "shiny" spots.

Then, I masked off all the "shiny" stuff, and shot the red enamel finish on the neck, upper bow, body, and bell before they were assembled. Enamel takes some time to "cure" so I did all the color just before I went on vacation, When I returned, the enamel had dried for a week. I had red body parts, gold lacquered keys, gold inside the bell, and gold highlights on the body of the saxophone.

If it isn't obvious by now, this whole operation was a giant pain. I'll never do it again.

Anyway, after vacation, I repadded the saxophone with waterproof pads and oversize resonators. It turned out great. It's still my best baritone. I have to keep after the red finish so that it looks nice, and it still does look nice.

Is there a difference in sound between the lacquer finish and the enamel finish? In my opinion, not much. The horn plays better than ever now, but I attribute that to a very careful overhaul, excellent Prestini pads waterproofed a/la Saul Fromkin with polyurethane, large Selmer screw-on resonators, and no short-cuts.

For practical purposes, colored finishes are silly. Clear lacquer looks best a few years later when the finish starts to wear. Buy a horn to play instead of trying to be a media star. I was only trying to avoid buffing my sax a second time.
 
Got a silver-plated Bettoney today, looks quite similar to tjontheroad's Martin, I have no idea from when it is.
Will have to polish it a bit, and do some minor adjustments to bring it back to speed.
Can provide pictures if anyone's interested. (Edit: did so)
 
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Since posting last year, I bought a box of reeds. Things got a lot better. :emoji_relaxed: Everything else is still the same.
 
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