The other day, while in my friend Ray’s studio, I did some photography. Some of the sculptures, microphones that he has on display, and saxophones kept me busy taking photos before, after, and even sometimes during our jam session.
Ray has a very nice selection of tenor saxophones, and my personal favourite—right after his Mark VII—is his unlacquered Cannonball. This Mad Meg T5 was the subject of quite a few of my pictures last Monday. This is one of my 2 favourites.
Can You C Me Now?
Unlike me, Ray does occasionally sell a horn when he gets a new one. He’s promised that he will give me first offer of refusal on this T5.
…this is just my blog. My “real” website is www.bassic-sax.info. If you’re looking for sax info, you should check it out too.There’s lots there!
This is one awesome sax! I obsess over these kind of saxophones ever since I procured a Conn Naked Lady from 1947. These kind of saxophones have great tone quality and the reaction is incredible. I totally recommend it 🙂
Hi Megan. Welcome to my site.
Yes, the Mad Meg tenor has a great sound. (I can’t speak to others, since I haven’t tried the alto or other varieties.) I must say I’m spoilt though, my 307XXX King Zephyr from 1950 has an even better tone, and its key action is just as good. (It got restored in 2009.)
However, the one thing that the Cannonball might win some people over on is its ergos. While the Zephyr has good ergos, the Cannonball does have better ones. I don’t care that much about the ergos, and would rather have the slightly better tone than the better ergos.
I should mention that the Mad Meg is the modern horn that I have played that is the closest in sound to my Zephyr.
Well I never intended to end up with three tenors. I bought the Aristocrat so I’d have a backup, but it was in terrible condition and feels NOTHING like the Yamaha. I left it in the case for months and planned to move it as is, and at cost. The Mercury is (as you have probably guessed) yet another Chinese horn, but one with a name chosen by the factory (not stenciled). It’s modeled off an S80 Serie III, and not surprisingly has a completely modern feel. This would also explain why it played well with an Oleg neck made for S80s.
It has been my experience that low-end Asian horns are typically bright. The YTS-21 is an exception, it’s moderately dark. The Mercury is quite a bit darker than the YTS-21; I’d go so far as to call it stuffy. It absolutely needs the kick in the pants of a high-baffle, aggressive piece. It turns out these also seem to be the only pieces it likes to play in tune with too.
Anyhow, because I plan on meeting up with another SOTWer who is looking for a tenor, I decided to see if the Aristocrat could be rendered playable, aside from the bell keys which are going to be hopeless because of the warped tone hole on the bow. It turned out that I had to replace ONE pad (palm F) and hunt down a bunch of leaks, but it plays again. I can even force out the bell notes if I really work at it. Unfortunately, it HATES the bright, aggressive pieces. It likes the Drake Contemporary, but that isn’t all that bright of a piece (think Super Tone Master with a little wedge in it). At the top end, it sounds almost identical to the Yamaha. At the bottom, it’s really dark, which I attribute to the complete lack of resonators. It’s actually a very good sounding horn, if you can get around the funky ergonomics. I think it would benefit greatly from pads with resonators, since it is not amenable to brightening up with mouthpiece selection.
The Buescher is not going to stick around, as I have no purpose for it that one of the other two tenors cannot acceptably fill. However, since I know it’s a more than adequate player, I feel duty-bound to make sure it gets a decent rebuild. In the long term, the YTS-21 may not be sticking around either. I have never figured out how to get around the gaping hole in the range caused by the lack of a high F#, which I use for both F# and G. I can squeeze out F# without it, but it sounds like I’m strangling a chicken. G gives me no end of difficulty without a high F# key (on tenor, that is — no such problem on alto or bari). If only the 21 was a 32 or 52, or even a 275, I would not have bought the Mercury.
I have already modded the Mercury to my taste — a mixture of soft mods, tweaks, and hard hacks. Soft mods are things like slip-on key risers or cork that can be reversed with no damage. Tweaks are things that can be reversed, but only so many times before something snaps off. Basically this means bending keys and setting spring tension. A hard hack is something that can not be 100% reversed, because it involves drilling a hole, or loss of lacquer, or some other irreversible procedure. My one hard hack was to add a roller so that when I press the high F# key, the side Bb opens automatically as well. I did this because both the F# and G naturally run flat on this horn and this brings them up to pitch without having to contort my hand to take an extra key. I tested all the other notes that require use of the high F# to see if also opening the side Bb would adversely affect any of them, and it did not.
Overall, the Mercury is your basic, modern intermediate tenor. It has some rough spots, but I will be able to tame it. The part that should make the big names get the shivers is the price. I paid $350 for it, and that was not a discounted price. I saved the $30 shipping because I was THERE, but I paid full price for the horn. The seller benefited because he doesn’t have to eat any eBay or PayPal fees. I benefited because I got to play it first, and saved $30. My only real disappointment with the horn is that it’s so wildly out of tune with the Drake Contemporary, which has proven to have very good intonation on the Yamaha, the Aristocrat, and the Buescher C-mel. If I can’t find a way to remedy this, I’ll just have to have a “screaming” tenor and a “ballad” tenor.
Speaking of screaming tenor, I got the Saxscape Studio Slim in the mail today. It LOOKS cheap, and has had some chamber work done that looks rough, but boy does it scream! I’d say it’s very similar to a Dukoff D, whatever number equals a .112″ tip. It doesn’t feel like .112″, and I haven’t measured it yet. It may well be smaller but I’m pleased with it just the same. I was able to run a full octave of altissimo on command… on TENOR, which I would consider my weakest horn aside from soprano. Now I’m wondering if I should have bothered to buy the Dukoff D7 at all… but I’m sure I can find a good home for it if it proves redundant. I seem to remember someone around here likes them. 😈
Those tiger eye touches do look really nice. I can get tiger eye stones pretty easily, but making them into key touches would be beyond my abilities.
It’s also interesting that you like his Mark VII tenor. Many people consider the VII to be inferior to the VI, especially the tenor. The conventional wisdom is a bit friendlier with the altos, and I’ve played some good VII altos myself.
I’ve got another case of G.A.S. — for tenors this time — and now have three where I used to have just one. (OK, I’ve had the Aristocrat for a while, but it wasn’t playable. Now it is, so I have to count it.) I bought a Mercury tenor brand new for $350. I still have a ways to go on taming the intonation, but I think it can be whipped into shape. I probably wouldn’t have sprung for it, except the eBay seller (richardsaxross) is right here in Los Angeles and had no problem with me coming over to play it or any other horn he had available. It would benefit from a better neck — it liked the seller’s Oleg (for an S80) neck, but that costs more than the horn!
I’ve also gone in search of the elusive perfect funk/fusion mouthpiece. I have a very clapped-out silverite Dukoff D9 which isn’t a 9 any more (it’s more like a 7). In spite of its poor condition, it has some attributes I really like. I have three mouthpieces on the way — a Dukoff D7 (one of the modern ones with the nickel plating), a Saxscape Studio, and a Runyon Bionix. Only the Bionix was purchased new, and even without seeing it I have the feeling it will be getting sent back. I had no idea the Saxscape and Dukoff would fall into my lap at the time I ordered it.
RSR also makes some fine MBII-style mouthpieces, but has ceased production for the time being. I played the last prototype he hadn’t sold, and it is positively SMOKING on the Mercury. This is what set me on the chase for something like it.
Although I’m a Mark VI player through and through, I do see the value in other saxes: including other Selmers. That is perhaps why I am open to the Mark VII. Don’t forget I’ve customized my VI with an after market neck, and with Series II style resos to give it a more modern or “brighter” sound. Played with its Masterpiece neck, and my Dukoff, my VI sounds very much like Ray’s VII, which is probably why I like his VII so much. And the ergos, well I play so many different horns that the spatula keys aren’t an issue for me. I wouldn’t mind getting a VII at some point down the road… Like I need more any more tenors! 🙄
Speaking of more tenors: What’s up with you? By your own admission you’re not even a tenor player. Having 3 of any sax that isn’t your main axe is just excessive… 😉 Says the woman who has 4 altos, and isn’t an alto player. 😳 BTW, what the heck is a Mercury anyway? Never heard of it. I’m assuming it’s Asian of some stripe.
Interesting mouthpiece choices you have coming. I remember trying a Bionix before, but don’t remember anything about it. It was many years ago, when I was in New Orleans picking up my bass. I play tested and bought a whole bunch of Runyons through Paul Coats. I ended up going with Customs with spoilers for all my horns. The only exception was the bari. For that I got a plastic Quantum (with spoiler). It rips, but I no longer use it at all.
Mouthpiece technology is such a rapidly changing business, that I’ve stopped even trying to keep up. I’m always amazed by the new things out there–not to mention their prices! 😯 I’m just glad I’m happy with my sound, and have found something that I can play across all of my horns, in virtually all of the settings I find myself in. If my Dukoff S7 is too much, say for example in a jazz setting, I use my D7 or my D*7. For bari I’ve got my 2 or 3 pieces as well, and for my other horns, well the pieces I have cover all the ground I need them to.
Who knows, perhaps one day I’ll end up with a horn that will require me to set off on a mouthpiece hunt. I dread that day. 😮