{"id":30211,"date":"2012-02-04T09:26:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-04T17:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=30211"},"modified":"2024-05-29T11:34:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T18:34:20","slug":"new-mezzo-soprano-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2012\/new-mezzo-soprano-really\/","title":{"rendered":"A New, F Mezzo-Soprano. Really?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Conn<\/a><\/p>\n

     Conn 24-M Mezzo-Soprano Serial # 213735   Source: SAXQUEST.COM on eBay.com<\/h6>\n

At the end of last month, a fellow by the name of Jay left a comment<\/a> on this site asking about F mezzo-sopranos. Specifically, Jay was wondering if a company like Aquilasax were to start making the horns again, would there be a market for them? Or were they just a historical curiosity?<\/p>\n

My reply<\/a> to this was simple: Yes, they are just a historical curiosity. No, I don’t see a market for them.<\/p>\n

Well, little did I know that Jay’s dropping of the name Aquilasax, was more than an abstract example. Yesterday morning I happened across a thread on SOTW<\/a>, that a fellow named JayAyliff started 2 days ago.<\/p>\n

JayAyliff posed the following question in a thread titled, Who wants an F Mezzo?<\/em><\/p>\n

Does anyone actually want to own and play one of these? Aquilasax are considering having some made if enough people want one. They’re expensive because they’re not expecting to sell many, but go here to register an interest. Who knows, if lots of people want one maybe the price will come down. http:\/\/aquilasax.3dcartstores.com\/F-Mezzo-saxophone_p_414.html<\/a><\/p>\n

All the best,<\/p>\n

Jay Ayliff<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Since Jay posted his question, the responses have been\u2014to my mind anyway\u2014quite predictable. So far 6 people have responded. Of the 6 respondents, 5 didn’t own an F mezzo.<\/p>\n

The 1 person who did already own one, paulwl, offered up the following:<\/p>\n

They do have a unique tone – they are tonally to the alto what the C melody is to the tenor. But it’s nothing you couldn’t try to get on a conventional soprano with a dark setup.<\/p>\n

They might be handy for playing English horn parts if an e-h isn’t available. But again, not worth the $5k-plus one will cost you.<\/p>\n

They’re best as an investment rarity, to be appreciated first and foremost for themselves.<\/p>\n

Mine is extra cool ’cause it’s got a factory-add-on high F# key!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

None of the 5 players, who didn’t own an F mezzo yet, appeared to be poised to sign up on Aquilasax’s website. Their answers ranged from: “While I find the F-mezzo an interresting horn with a beautiful voice, I also find it is too similar to the Eb-alto to justify the investment.” To: “I have only played 2 or 3 Mezzos (Conn) and I feel it is the least marketable horn of the saxes.”<\/p>\n

Another interesting point raised, was that “…unlike the old C-Mel, which is usually a real bargain, you would still have to transpose. Plus, for orchestra, I really like what french horns add to the mix. I don’t see a need to put a sax in that position.”<\/p>\n

The most promising response was: “I don’t know that I want one (transposing from Bb and Eb horns in one tune taxes me me enough), but if Aquilasax can match that old Conn sound, I would be interested.”<\/p>\n

The next day the same poster came back and wrote: “I was somewhat interested until I DID go to the linked website and saw the price. Best of luck with this project but I think I’ll pass on it. And I’m NOT trying to be negative, it is just at that price, I am not motivated to sign up for one.”<\/p>\n

I think my friend Milandro summed it up quite well when he wrote:<\/p>\n

The musical merits or demerits (range, need to transpose, use in the orchestral context ) are rather more the icing on the cake to add motivation to the possible buyers, most will buy an horn like this (if affordable and therefore made in China ……..the Jenssen sax is not only expensive because is hand-made but because is made in Denmark with a limited possible market!) for the novelty content. ( the SOTW audience and users pool is the perfect example of how some people collect saxophones (for not too many logical reasons) way above their ” needs”, or, for some (I am one), even capabilities….).<\/p>\n

Which will give a surge of sales (so to speak……) in the beginning and then there will be very few sales after that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All in all, the fact that this thread has been up for just under 60 hours now, and only 6 people have responded\u2014and only the original poster was enthusiastic about the project\u2014tells me that a new, F mezzo-soprano is unlikely. If Aquilasax does proceed with the project, early buyers are going to be paying a premium, since they will be covering the R&D, start-up costs, etc. etc.<\/p>\n

\"Conn<\/a><\/p>\n

     Conn 24-M Mezzo-Soprano Serial # 213735   Source: SAXQUEST.COM on eBay.com<\/h6>\n

Currently Aquilasax is projecting the price to be just south of $3,000<\/a>. Quite honestly, if I wanted an F mezzo-soprano, I’d buy a Conn.<\/p>\n

This is a thought echoed by Bill Baily who writes:<\/p>\n

At a college where I taught, we had a Basset horn in F (like an alto clarinet) which was purchased to play french horn parts in woodwind ensembles due to the lack of the FHs. That would be a use for the mezzo but I still feel it is more of a collector horn and I would just spring for a Conn if I were interested.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the last while there has been a bumper crop of Conn F mezzos for sale or auction. At the moment, there is only 1 on eBay<\/a>, but it is quite the beauty that Quinn is selling.<\/p>\n

Now, if you are indeed interested in signing up for a new F mezzo-soprano, I’m sure Aquilasax would like to hear from you<\/a>. (Since it seems it won’t be winning many of us SOTW old timers over any time soon.) \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

\n
…this is just my blog<\/em>. <\/span> My \u201creal\u201d <\/strong> website is<\/span> www.bassic-sax.info.<\/a> If you\u2019re looking for <\/span> sax info<\/strong>,<\/span> you should check it out too.<\/span>There\u2019s lots<\/em> there! <\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

     Conn 24-M Mezzo-Soprano Serial # 213735   Source: SAXQUEST.COM on eBay.com At the end of last month, a fellow by the name of Jay left a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[191],"tags":[150,387,209,638,163,182,183,644],"class_list":["post-30211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-modern-horns","tag-american-saxophones","tag-aquilasax","tag-asian-made-saxophones","tag-conn","tag-f-mezzo-soprano","tag-modern-saxophones","tag-new-horns","tag-photos"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t