Straight bari
Here's a picture of Jay Easton's straight saxes:
Soprillo, bari, sopranino, tenor, and C soprano
Here's a picture of Jay Easton's straight saxes:
Soprillo, bari, sopranino, tenor, and C soprano
Straight baritone
- Thread starter Groovekiller
- Start date
Uh, that'un don't look too straight to me. There's a one and one-half foot section folded over at the top, plus an eight inch or so crook.
Me, I want my straight baritone to be completely impractical. Mouthpiece on a cork with a completely straight run of tubing sticking out in front. Never mind that the only vehicle you could get it into would be a Dodge "Sprinter" commercial van, or that you'd take up the seating spot in front of you up on the stage. And, none of that bell-tipping that you see on an alphorn.
I wonder how many play such a monster with a neckstrap?
Me, I want my straight baritone to be completely impractical. Mouthpiece on a cork with a completely straight run of tubing sticking out in front. Never mind that the only vehicle you could get it into would be a Dodge "Sprinter" commercial van, or that you'd take up the seating spot in front of you up on the stage. And, none of that bell-tipping that you see on an alphorn.
I wonder how many play such a monster with a neckstrap?
I'm 6'4" and I don't think I could even reach if the horn was completely straight. I think he just undid the first coil. Nice looking horn on both accounts, but completely impractical since you can't sit and play it. Oh well, something to think about.
The straight saxes are cool looking, but I keep thinking that a bass sax curved into a sousaphone or helicon shape would have some real practical applications. I'm sure the engineering would be difficult--curved rods obviously would not work, so the mechanism would have to be reconceptualized. The bell, without as much flare as a modern sousaphone or helicon, would probably look a little like those old European bass horns, some of which were built in the key of F and were pretty small.
Uhhh, that wouldn't work at all. The bores aren't large enough to support the key system while leaving enough bare room on the horn for body contact. Consequently, the metal would have to be made much thicker to keep it from bending under the weight, and I don't think the length of even a bass is long enough. Remember, it has to wrap completely around your body almost twice. Cool idea, wrong type of horn to do it with.
Hmmm...maybe a contrabass, then.
Straight rods used on a musical instrument could be replaced with Bowden cables, allowing the force to operate key cups to be transmitted any distance (subject to frictional losses, of course) without having the runs to be arrow straight.
Bowden cable are common on bicycles (for the brake and shift cables) and automobiles (where they often transmit forces in throttle, speedometer and A/C - heater control situations). They consist of a central steel wire (or cable) running within a wound steel enclosure (some would call it a spring). The enclosure is fastened securely at both ends, and as long as the fastenings are firm, the central wire will transmit a straight line push or pull relative to the fastening points.
While falling out of favor in recent years (except for bicycle applications), they still remain the best choice (in weight and effort terms) for applications where shafting would not fill the bill. Mind you, such a horn would not be bright and shiny - Bowden cables are not solid things of beauty like brass rods - but it would work, and would be less of a load on the little finger than would some of the Bb mechanisms on baritone saxophones.
Bowden cable are common on bicycles (for the brake and shift cables) and automobiles (where they often transmit forces in throttle, speedometer and A/C - heater control situations). They consist of a central steel wire (or cable) running within a wound steel enclosure (some would call it a spring). The enclosure is fastened securely at both ends, and as long as the fastenings are firm, the central wire will transmit a straight line push or pull relative to the fastening points.
While falling out of favor in recent years (except for bicycle applications), they still remain the best choice (in weight and effort terms) for applications where shafting would not fill the bill. Mind you, such a horn would not be bright and shiny - Bowden cables are not solid things of beauty like brass rods - but it would work, and would be less of a load on the little finger than would some of the Bb mechanisms on baritone saxophones.
There have been curved basses and baritones. They just aren't in production anymore. The current curved low horns would be the Tubax series from Eppelsheim -- if you want contrabass.
1. A fully curved baritone/bass is probably more difficult to transport because they're kinda like oversized bassoons -- which are somewhat difficult to march with (although it's amusing to watch people try).
2. There is some discussion that the Tubax isn't a saxophone because the proportions are different from a sax. IMO, after you get down to a certain range, all low instruments sound the same, so it doesn't matter to me from that perspective -- and the Tubax has sax fingerings, so it doesn't matter to me from that perspective, either.
Benedikt uses a cable for the altissimo assist key on his bass saxes. Since it connects to the neck, it has an alternate screw-in place for shipping. I don't do altissimo on bass sax and when I did it was rather easy compared to other saxes with alternate fingering, so it mostly stays screwed in the stow position.
There are also the compact horns from J'Elle Stainer which might meet your definition. There's the compact contrabass, as well as a number of other compact designs you can check out. They don't wrap around you, but they are certainly smaller then the conventional ones. Stainer also makes the regular-sized horns, and they're on the site as well, so you can see the design differences from the same manufacturer.
I just remembered that one of our members, gilbertosl, has a couple of photos of the compact contra in our albums. I believe that gilbertosl works for Stainer, or is in some way involved with the business. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I just remembered that one of our members, gilbertosl, has a couple of photos of the compact contra in our albums. I believe that gilbertosl works for Stainer, or is in some way involved with the business. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
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I watched the UMASS Minutemen Marching Band march 16 dancing bassoons in a field show one year. They were all mic'd of course, but they did it.
Even with the cables, the sax would have to be about twice as thick as it normally is to support it's own weight. Remember that all of its weight would be consolidated on one of your shoulders underneath a relatively narrow part of the bore. The way a sax is designed just doesn't lend itself to being wrapped like that.
Even with the cables, the sax would have to be about twice as thick as it normally is to support it's own weight. Remember that all of its weight would be consolidated on one of your shoulders underneath a relatively narrow part of the bore. The way a sax is designed just doesn't lend itself to being wrapped like that.
Probably there have been ten thousand or more who have played bassoon in a marching band situation, for they were once part of every European military band, with a theoretical distribution of one per regiment. They are mostly long-time dead these days, of course.
Can't say that it was the best way to go, and part of the reason for Sax's perfection of the bass clarinet, and later invention of the saxophone, was that the bassoon and the serpent were deemed inadequate for "outdoor" music.
Can't say that it was the best way to go, and part of the reason for Sax's perfection of the bass clarinet, and later invention of the saxophone, was that the bassoon and the serpent were deemed inadequate for "outdoor" music.
I didn't know you could get a patent on looking ridiculous. I'm gonna be rich!
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Dat ist so. You hold the bassoon much like a flute, one of the reasons why it is more tiring to play than other woodwinds - you are actually pushing and pulling on the horn while you are playing it. I find that posture is much more critical when playing the bassoon and flute than it is with sax and clarinet. (Oboe and English horn also seem to require this good posture, although I've not played much but English horn, and then only for a six month period.)
That new bracket that fits over the right thigh might take all of this out of the equation. It looks like the horn is suspended primarily from the bracket, and the hands only need to balance it in place (like a bass clarinet on a peg). It's too expensive and hard to get (about $200 or $300 in real money, and I've not seen them for sale here) to take a chance on, however, particularly considering how little bassoon I play these days.
That new bracket that fits over the right thigh might take all of this out of the equation. It looks like the horn is suspended primarily from the bracket, and the hands only need to balance it in place (like a bass clarinet on a peg). It's too expensive and hard to get (about $200 or $300 in real money, and I've not seen them for sale here) to take a chance on, however, particularly considering how little bassoon I play these days.
According to my daughters, I appear to have that patent, already
.
How about a tubax reconfigured to ride on the shoulder, like the marching contra-bugle?
I just put my bari up next to my contra and it should work. key systems would be a little funky, but other than that, no modifications would have to be made. My contra is HEAVY though. yikes. 43 lbs. Yay DCI
I have tried one, once. Peter Jessen had it in for adjustment. He let me try. Very strange, yes it has sax fingerings but you hold your hands at a completely different angle. I am sure that the sense disappears after a short while for the lucky owners, but it gave an odd sense of disconnect from the instrument. BTW, what marvels they are!