I played a Grafton for years, and it was joy. The tone and intonation was great, and it handled my bebop style of playing really well. Sadly, after several years of playing, the little coiled springs got weaker and weaker, and the screwed in pads gradually gave out. I managed to contact (by telephone) the long retired man who actually assembled them in Grafton Way. He told me he still had many parts, probably enough to make one more! However, I was offered a fair sum for it, by a collector who lived in Germany, so I sold it and bought a Mark VI.
@@boomkruncher325zzshred5 try it if u do and it works u got a new brand of sax that might be cool cause you could make a carbon fiber one or use wood or metal infused print filament
The first wooden saxophone was a bass clarinet! Adolf Sax filed patents for the tenor sax and bass clarinet almost simultaneously. One cylindrical and the other conical. You will notice that they have the same length, same general form and same key.
That's true, that you can play reeds from saxophone on bass clarinet and on the other way around. But it depends if you play the French or German System on the bass clarinet due to the fact of the different width the mouthpieces are made with.
@@loganricherson My Trumpet Player obvlisousness is kicking in here, but aren't all reeds compatible across woodwind instruments like the clarinet and sax?
George made the curved sopranino sound nice, which I think very few people could do. A local music store used to have one on display; the owner joked about making it into a tie-tack.
The Casio DH100 is the one that got me back to playing the sax again. I sold my alto sax from my HS days, the Selmer Bundy from the mid 70's. and then I started repairing Yamaha Synth and ran across a Casio DH100, and found out that there is a thing called wind controller synth instrument. I now have a Aerophone AE-10 and a Yamaha Alto sax YAS-23.
@@Heterandria4mosa feels like you're being a little unreasonable. they're not being that selfish, just asking if they could get some classical music every now and again.
I own one of the Casios. Never had much success playing it and it’s been in a box for about 25 years. 😂 Also recorded on a Keilwerth straight alto owned by the studio in the late 90s. Great horns.
Saxophone Journal featured a reproduction of an old photo of the vaudeville performer playing the straight baritone (it still had the loop in the top of the horn) back in the '90s. He used to stand on a small stool while playing it. The bell was about an inch off the floor.
I have two of the Casios, and they are fun. It’s interesting to plug in a WIDI master Bluetooth output and play some really good voices with them. Years ago I took one to makers fair and hooked up the midi to my iPad moog synth. I carried a speaker in my backpack and had a lot of fun.
That Casio works great as wind controller with synth modules. I still have mine, bought from Manny's in 1987. Years later I bought an EWI. The Casio feels much more like a saxophone.
I have been using a saxophone since I was in fourth grade, I am 11 years old, I am already in 6th grade and I have been watching your videos and every time I watch your videos I feel freer and with more memory, I have already been in countless presentations and the truth is I just love them, my saxophone is the alto saxophone but I would also like a fear, I mean two 😬
I have one of those Casio DH, mine does have the black mouth piece. It does not sound good but it is sensitive to pressure, so using MIDI you can get a better sound.
St. Louis has a great sax player right now by the name of Kendrick Smith. Dude is a legend, and he plays on a straight alto... with a tenor mouthpiece... with a bari reed slapped on it. It is NUTS, which makes his sound super funky and recognizable and honestly it sounds pretty awesome
As soon as I saw the black ruby finish I KNEW it was a Cannonball! My dream sax is their raven finish with dark marbled stone keys 😍 I had the pleasure of getting to play one when I was 16 and I’ve been dreaming of owning one ever since!
I played a Selmer S80 I got new in high school played 7 hours a day for 20 years. I tested out all kinds of other Saxes even Mark Vi s but nothing compared to my S80 until one day I walked into an Atlanta music store and say a Cannonball Raven on display. I’d heard great things about Cannonball Saxes but never tried one out. I assumed it was going to be no contest compared to my Selmer but I was wrong. The Raven had the fullest boldest sound by far of any sax I’d ever played and it was so flexible I could bend notes and Growl without any effort at all it was almost like the notes played themselves the minute I thought them. I had to buy that horn on the spot. I still have my S80 but for pop and Rock music gigs it’s the cannonball all the way , not to mention the strikingly beautiful black finish . They are the best Saxes for solo rock music work in existence.
My name is Cornelius, and this video made me look up who almost everyone relates me to Cornelius Bumpus. I am not disappointed, I love hearing that man on the sax.
All were amazing, plus we got a little bit of history. Loved the wooden saxophone. It was my favorite, thank you. Great video 👍 cheers from America 🇺🇸 🍻
Have a straight alto myself (toneking). Really like Roland Kirk playing it (as well as the saxello) I can understand him using it, as the balance of the straight sax is easier if you play it one handed (along with other saxes as he is doing)
My little review on how the horns sounded to me: I’ve played one of those Graftons and they’re nice if a bit on the mellow side for me. The Vibrato sounded squirrelly and terrible. I play Cannonball Vintage Revival alto and tenor and a curved Big Bell soprano. They’ve shelved my MKVI and Yamaha. The straight alto, like a straight soprano, have a tone that I’ve always mentally categorized as “eggy”. I can’t explain that other than sounding oval or round. I played a straight sopranino and really liked it but again it was squirrelly. I like curved saxophones so I’d like to try a curved one. I own a Casio Digital Sax. For the money it was fantastic. I still have the mouthpiece and it would make all the difference in your ability to operate. I moved on to a Yamaha WX11 and eventually I became an EWI player. I was surprised at the saxophone quality of sound to the wooden sax. The mechanism work-arounds fascinate me. Is it…teak wood?
I also started with a Casio dh100. Had to repair the electronics and replace the internal breath tube with something (don’t remember what). I still have it and it still works.
Years ago on the streets of New York City, I met a street musician playing a Buescher straight alto, with whom I had an enjoyable conversation. Soon after that I played a new straight alto made by Keilwerth, which I found superb.
I owned a Casio back in the 80s! And yes, it is a toy. But a really great toy. Mostly I used the midi connection to play my Roland Sound Canvas synth. The built in tones are useless. Thanks for the comparison. Loved the black ruby Cannonball look and sound.
Great vid, gents! I’m not a great sax player, but have been a massive fan for decades. Cheers from California. And hey, side note: if it doesn’t already exist, I propose November 6th as “International Saxophone Day”, in honor of the b-day of inventor Adolph Sax!
As a combo breaker here, my fave was actually the sopranino. It has such a great rich sound for such a high pitched instrument. And that's amazing considering I always favor the lower ranges of instruments to both play and listen to (bass clarinet, bari sax, trombone, etc.).
The wooden one sounded constipated. The Grafton sounded fine, though, and the Straight Alto. But I think my favorite, soundwise, is the Dragonball. Depends on it use, though, and sometimes I would probably prefer the Grafton for its softer sound.
I've got a Cannonball and I agree! The sound cuts through and it's still smooth! I'm still shopping for a good mouthpiece to make it sing more. The metal Jody Jazz I have is good but I know this horn can blow! I'm thinking a rubber mouthpiece might be better for it. Thanks for the review of these different saxes! If I ever see a wooden sax, I wanna play it! 😄
I think I have to go with the straight alto, it has a very special timbre, and I like it. Not a sax player myself, bassoonist, though the family intrigues and maybe I should try it some day.
Thank you guys! very nice to see and to listen also! 👂👂 I was surprised at the end of the video how the plastic Sax was sounded like the Baritone at most time 😳 But obviously the Baritone smoother at the end. The sound I most liked was the wooden Sax. May if the mecanics were by metal insteed of wood will resolve many problems. Tuning with this wood mecanic will be really a mass. Great Job!
🤣🤣 I still have two of the Casio horns, I used them to control samplers in the 80’s and even in a silver bucket headed robot band! 🤖 I have several of the black mouthpieces and the fingering is based on Recorder.
I am partial to the cannonball. I've played the Big Bell series since 2002 with the black nickel. Love the cannonballs. After seeing that ruby finish maybe I should get one in a tenor?
I have a Casio that I have had to hack in order to get it working again. I like the modern sounding horns but the straight horn has a charm. The sopranino would be awesome but you can tell the struggle to play it. Time for that overhaul.
I love that you gentlemen use the neck straps. They were shunned in my music classes because our teacher wanted us to develop good arm strength. Which is important sure, but so is not letting a 13 year old drop a $2000 dollar (beginner) instrument. Its not like they're adjustable or anything😅 Personally, I play another woodwind, B flat clarinet, but I still use a neck strap because my instrument is precious to me. Accidents can happen you know...
A hybrid brass sax with standard keys and ligature, but with a wooden bell, bow, and mouthpeice would retain that nice slightly dampened breathy sound while staying as reliable as a regular instrument. No more burying it in silica to travel with it.
finally.......a saxophone that really is a woodwind instrument
i was trying to think of a similar joke 😭
I got wood just thinking about it
@@Chris-sv8tyAYO
@@Chris-sv8ty ayo u got wood for wood? or is it bc sexyphone?
When I first started playing tenor, I thought it was a brass instrument
I played a Grafton for years, and it was joy. The tone and intonation was great, and it handled my bebop style of playing really well. Sadly, after several years of playing, the little coiled springs got weaker and weaker, and the screwed in pads gradually gave out. I managed to contact (by telephone) the long retired man who actually assembled them in Grafton Way. He told me he still had many parts, probably enough to make one more! However, I was offered a fair sum for it, by a collector who lived in Germany, so I sold it and bought a Mark VI.
This makes me wonder:
Could you 3D print all the parts for a saxophone? Would it sound good?
@@boomkruncher325zzshred5 try it if u do and it works u got a new brand of sax that might be cool cause you could make a carbon fiber one or use wood or metal infused print filament
@@boomkruncher325zzshred5 The only important question is: who's going to stop you?
i believe johnny Hodges played one of these but I'm not sure. does any one know?
When playing a ballad, what type of tonality, in your opinion, does the Grafton create for you?
The first wooden saxophone was a bass clarinet! Adolf Sax filed patents for the tenor sax and bass clarinet almost simultaneously. One cylindrical and the other conical. You will notice that they have the same length, same general form and same key.
And their reeds are cross compatable
That's true, that you can play reeds from saxophone on bass clarinet and on the other way around. But it depends if you play the French or German System on the bass clarinet due to the fact of the different width the mouthpieces are made with.
Interesting.
@@loganricherson My Trumpet Player obvlisousness is kicking in here, but aren't all reeds compatible across woodwind instruments like the clarinet and sax?
@@Bean_Soup not really
George + Michael = Best Duo ( iykyk )
The grafton is absolutely easily the best sounding of all of them. Not joking.
….at least as much as the recording setup conveys.
Sounded great!
The fact that nobody is making a serious plastic horn is a shame.
I agree 100%
Yup, that's the one I liked the best too. It's from an era when things were still made with pride.
George made the curved sopranino sound nice, which I think very few people could do. A local music store used to have one on display; the owner joked about making it into a tie-tack.
I love hearing about people so incompetent that they make their own product jokes. Please tell us more. Was he your father?
That see-through one is a bong and you can't tell me otherwise
I can't imagine the face of the sax repairman who opens up the case for a regular adjustment and finds a wooden saxophone.
can't imagine open an electronic one..
As a former repair tech, it'd begin as ecstatic delight but soon warp into abject terror. If you've ever seen The Lighthouse, you'd know the look.
@@gregornolzen570 Those we send to the keyboard tech!
I love the sound of that Grafton. Nothing quite like it. It definitely gave 50's jazz vibes.
I like the curved sopranino one, because its so cute and has a beautiful high pitch, but the canonball was cool too!
This would genuinely be my dream career. Just a room of saxophones, getting to play constantly... Heaven
The Casio DH100 is the one that got me back to playing the sax again. I sold my alto sax from my HS days, the Selmer Bundy from the mid 70's. and then I started repairing Yamaha Synth and ran across a Casio DH100, and found out that there is a thing called wind controller synth instrument. I now have a Aerophone AE-10 and a Yamaha Alto sax YAS-23.
Cannonball is in my neighborhood. I have a straight soprano brute. Really nice. I have been really intrigued by the straight alto.
As a classical saxophonist i would love someone play some classical music on these saxophones too, so you can compare also how that sounds!
world doesn't revolve around you!
@@Heterandria4mosa feels like you're being a little unreasonable. they're not being that selfish, just asking if they could get some classical music every now and again.
I actually use a black nickel cannonball alto. I’ve had it for maybe 4 years now and absolutely love it
Wow, black nickel on a sax looks sharp!
I own one of the Casios. Never had much success playing it and it’s been in a box for about 25 years. 😂 Also recorded on a Keilwerth straight alto owned by the studio in the late 90s. Great horns.
It would be really cool if y’all found a straight baritone saxophone I’ve only seen one in person it’s really freakin cool.
@@hampter2407 why hello Hampter
I've seen one at a saxophone museum in Rome.
@@mangocane8977 nice that must’ve been cool I got to see one in a sax shop that the owner was making
You have to stand on the second floor while you play for audience on the ground floor
Saxophone Journal featured a reproduction of an old photo of the vaudeville performer playing the straight baritone (it still had the loop in the top of the horn) back in the '90s. He used to stand on a small stool while playing it. The bell was about an inch off the floor.
I have two of the Casios, and they are fun. It’s interesting to plug in a WIDI master Bluetooth output and play some really good voices with them. Years ago I took one to makers fair and hooked up the midi to my iPad moog synth. I carried a speaker in my backpack and had a lot of fun.
I’ve had two of them since the 80’s, back in the day we played them in a battery powered robot band! 🤖🤖🤖
That Casio works great as wind controller with synth modules. I still have mine, bought from Manny's in 1987. Years later I bought an EWI. The Casio feels much more like a saxophone.
I have been using a saxophone since I was in fourth grade, I am 11 years old, I am already in 6th grade and I have been watching your videos and every time I watch your videos I feel freer and with more memory, I have already been in countless presentations and the truth is I just love them, my saxophone is the alto saxophone but I would also like a fear, I mean two 😬
I have one of those Casio DH, mine does have the black mouth piece. It does not sound good but it is sensitive to pressure, so using MIDI you can get a better sound.
I have the DH-100. Thankfully, it still works and has all of its components in the box! I got it as a child, and I still love it❤
I love the way the straight alto sounds. I'm glad the algorithms recommended your channel. I'll see you next time I'm in London.
I would have liked to hear the wooden saxophone unedited.
St. Louis has a great sax player right now by the name of Kendrick Smith. Dude is a legend, and he plays on a straight alto... with a tenor mouthpiece... with a bari reed slapped on it. It is NUTS, which makes his sound super funky and recognizable and honestly it sounds pretty awesome
As soon as I saw the black ruby finish I KNEW it was a Cannonball! My dream sax is their raven finish with dark marbled stone keys 😍 I had the pleasure of getting to play one when I was 16 and I’ve been dreaming of owning one ever since!
I played a Selmer S80 I got new in high school played 7 hours a day for 20 years. I tested out all kinds of other Saxes even Mark Vi s but nothing compared to my S80 until one day I walked into an Atlanta music store and say a Cannonball Raven on display. I’d heard great things about Cannonball Saxes but never tried one out. I assumed it was going to be no contest compared to my Selmer but I was wrong. The Raven had the fullest boldest sound by far of any sax I’d ever played and it was so flexible I could bend notes and Growl without any effort at all it was almost like the notes played themselves the minute I thought them. I had to buy that horn on the spot. I still have my S80 but for pop and Rock music gigs it’s the cannonball all the way , not to mention the strikingly beautiful black finish . They are the best Saxes for solo rock music work in existence.
My name is Cornelius, and this video made me look up who almost everyone relates me to Cornelius Bumpus. I am not disappointed, I love hearing that man on the sax.
We had a DH 100 in the 80s. DH stands for "Digital Horn" there was a black mouth piece originally. Really cool seeing it again
The Grafton sounded lovely
I used a Cannonball alto in college. Loved that horn. It had such a bright, beautiful tone but it could still blend very well.
The acrylic one sounded just that little bit better than the others, but that cannonball was very close.
But let's face it all saxophones sound sweet.
Wooden sax really does have a tinge of clarinet to it. Very cool to hear that. Thank you for sharing.
All were amazing, plus we got a little bit of history. Loved the wooden saxophone. It was my favorite, thank you. Great video 👍 cheers from America 🇺🇸 🍻
The wooden model is sooo sweet. As the horn into a fairy tale
Indeed, adding some color changing LEDs would be a blast on that see-through sax! Especially if each note has a different color...
My favorite looking is the Grafton, favorite sounding is the Cannonball.
That curved sopranino sounded beautiful!
The cannonball and the acrylic both sounded so nice.
Have a straight alto myself (toneking). Really like Roland Kirk playing it (as well as the saxello) I can understand him using it, as the balance of the straight sax is easier if you play it one handed (along with other saxes as he is doing)
Obviously, the Cannonball was the most playable, but I’m always impressed with the Grafton’s capabilities! Very fun video guys!
My little review on how the horns sounded to me:
I’ve played one of those Graftons and they’re nice if a bit on the mellow side for me. The Vibrato sounded squirrelly and terrible. I play Cannonball Vintage Revival alto and tenor and a curved Big Bell soprano. They’ve shelved my MKVI and Yamaha. The straight alto, like a straight soprano, have a tone that I’ve always mentally categorized as “eggy”. I can’t explain that other than sounding oval or round. I played a straight sopranino and really liked it but again it was squirrelly. I like curved saxophones so I’d like to try a curved one. I own a Casio Digital Sax. For the money it was fantastic. I still have the mouthpiece and it would make all the difference in your ability to operate. I moved on to a Yamaha WX11 and eventually I became an EWI player. I was surprised at the saxophone quality of sound to the wooden sax. The mechanism work-arounds fascinate me. Is it…teak wood?
..shelved...MKVI? BLASpHEMY!! :)
I fell in love with that see-through sax!
Wooden Saxophone portion starts here: 13:25
Thank you king
You’re my saviour
I also started with a Casio dh100. Had to repair the electronics and replace the internal breath tube with something (don’t remember what). I still have it and it still works.
The cannonball sounded the best by far I think… followed fairly closely by the acrylic one.
This was fun! Thank you for sharing.
Years ago on the streets of New York City, I met a street musician playing a Buescher straight alto, with whom I had an enjoyable conversation. Soon after that I played a new straight alto made by Keilwerth, which I found superb.
The sopranino is adorable!!! I thought it had a very sweet tone. Not a sax player, but if I were this is the one I'd choose.
I owned a Casio back in the 80s! And yes, it is a toy. But a really great toy. Mostly I used the midi connection to play my Roland Sound Canvas synth. The built in tones are useless. Thanks for the comparison. Loved the black ruby Cannonball look and sound.
The cannonball was my favorite saxophone....second place grafton
Great vid, gents! I’m not a great sax player, but have been a massive fan for decades. Cheers from California. And hey, side note: if it doesn’t already exist, I propose November 6th as “International Saxophone Day”, in honor of the b-day of inventor Adolph Sax!
Thanks for the last comparison!
It's my first time to see a plastic saxophone that sounds so good! I also like the mild sound of the wooden one👍
the plasic one really has something nice to it. i really enjoyed that
The straight alto is a delight!
There’s a brilliant video somewhere of Peter King playing Charlie Parker’s Grafton - very inspiring.
The woodie sounded great, as did the straight sax.
wow
the cannon ball gets me
and the acrylic sounds nice
I love the Casio because I love chiptune.
The straight alto is soooooo airy. The curved sopranino is so full! The historical info was so educational!
As a combo breaker here, my fave was actually the sopranino. It has such a great rich sound for such a high pitched instrument.
And that's amazing considering I always favor the lower ranges of instruments to both play and listen to (bass clarinet, bari sax, trombone, etc.).
The wooden one sounded constipated. The Grafton sounded fine, though, and the Straight Alto. But I think my favorite, soundwise, is the Dragonball. Depends on it use, though, and sometimes I would probably prefer the Grafton for its softer sound.
We need a crystal and glass one.
OH, a CONCRETE one!!! :P
I've got a Cannonball and I agree! The sound cuts through and it's still smooth! I'm still shopping for a good mouthpiece to make it sing more. The metal Jody Jazz I have is good but I know this horn can blow! I'm thinking a rubber mouthpiece might be better for it. Thanks for the review of these different saxes! If I ever see a wooden sax, I wanna play it! 😄
I like the Dukoff mouthpieces, it cuts through and has a crisp and sharp sound. Check out my latest short, I used it.
@@nathan_found_it_interesting will do!
I have a Conn C-melody saxophone. still works well 1923, never out of family...
its the wooden one for me
cool video first time watching the channel, keep it up
I have a Cannonball Big Bell Stone Series Raven alto. It's a beautiful horn and has served me well.
I think I have to go with the straight alto, it has a very special timbre, and I like it.
Not a sax player myself, bassoonist, though the family intrigues and maybe I should try it some day.
06:55 I NEED TO KNOW THE MUSIC FOR THE STRAIGHT ALTO B-ROLL INTRO OMD!!!
The plastic one reminded me of the plastic recorders that we all have from elementary school music classes 😂.
I love the tone of the wooden one. I wonder if there are more playable models available?
My friend owns a canonball big bell, and that thing is HEAVY!!! Its an alto, but it weighs just about as much as a tenor...or more!
Thank you guys! very nice to see and to listen also! 👂👂 I was surprised at the end of the video how the plastic Sax was sounded like the Baritone at most time 😳 But obviously the Baritone smoother at the end. The sound I most liked was the wooden Sax. May if the mecanics were by metal insteed of wood will resolve many problems. Tuning with this wood mecanic will be really a mass. Great Job!
🤣🤣 I still have two of the Casio horns, I used them to control samplers in the 80’s and even in a silver bucket headed robot band! 🤖 I have several of the black mouthpieces and the fingering is based on Recorder.
Grafton Acrylic and the straight alto!
What’s the track been played at 4:59 during the cannonball B-roll? Love the groove
silent love by ritchie everett
The saxophone is my favorite instrument and I would love to have a whole collection of them
Cannonball: great looking great sounding .! 🎶💕
I like the wooden sax tone
That Cannonball sound is really rich, especially for an alto.
I wasn't sure what you meant about the second plastic sax until I heard it... somehow it sounds like a VST "sax" played with a keyboard!
The Cannonball is honey. Though I have not listened how the rest sound, I am sure this CB is going to be my pick.
great stuff guys
The black plastic one sounded like a hybrid between an alto sax and an abs clarinet.
I am partial to the cannonball. I've played the Big Bell series since 2002 with the black nickel. Love the cannonballs. After seeing that ruby finish maybe I should get one in a tenor?
Great vid. Had to watch twice.
I have a Casio that I have had to hack in order to get it working again.
I like the modern sounding horns but the straight horn has a charm.
The sopranino would be awesome but you can tell the struggle to play it. Time for that overhaul.
I think the midi sax and the mini sax both actually sound really cool.
What was the song played as the controls for the different feels, specifically on the graft on lol
Think we need to talk more abt the straight alto and straight saxes.. also the other matierals like acryllic
Well, hard to say for sure by a video, but for me the red-dragon and the straight one, had the best sounds.
I love that you gentlemen use the neck straps. They were shunned in my music classes because our teacher wanted us to develop good arm strength. Which is important sure, but so is not letting a 13 year old drop a $2000 dollar (beginner) instrument. Its not like they're adjustable or anything😅
Personally, I play another woodwind, B flat clarinet, but I still use a neck strap because my instrument is precious to me. Accidents can happen you know...
The Grafton has that retro futuristic vibe. Like it should be in a Cowboy Bebop episode.
I like the first horn
Now that's what I call a woodwind!
Is it possible for someone to come by and try their hand at the curved sopranino in the shop? It looks and sounds incredible!
I need to know what the music y’all used in the background was. It sounds super peaceful and I’d love to see the full thing.
Hearing a saxophone that sounds so much like it was made in midi is really surreal.
A hybrid brass sax with standard keys and ligature, but with a wooden bell, bow, and mouthpeice would retain that nice slightly dampened breathy sound while staying as reliable as a regular instrument. No more burying it in silica to travel with it.
Like all🎷🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
10:57
The curved sopranino is so small and cute. Baby saxo! :D