John thanks so much, my Ishimori Custom is remarkable, the craftsmanship and tone are second to none. Always a pleasant experience visiting your shop. You guys are Tops.
Love what you are doing. Not only in setting up your own line of horns, but then play-testing them up against other horns. All with no fuss and bluster. "Here they are...whaddya like?"
They all sound great. You seemed to play a little louder on your Custom saxes, so we didn't get a real comparison at the correct volume levels for some of the playing... or maybe you did play at the same level, but the Ishimori saxes have more resistance. They all sounded fantastic at the soft volume in the low range. I love how your Custom saxes had some good focus when you played a little loud. If the Ishimori saxes don't get as good focus when you push the volume, then I would prefer your Custom saxes. I would love to hear the Ishimori saxes played with more volume to see if they get some good focus in the sound, besides that good warm spread sound that I hear. Of course, different saxes and necks require different setups in mouthpieces and reeds to get the best out of them... the Ishimori saxes might need a brighter mouthpiece or brighter reeds to get some good focus in the sound. And of course, many saxophonist would love to have a sax with a beautiful spread, warm sound.
Even though listening with good headphones I can hardly hear any difference! Maybe you’re horns have little little bit bigger and louder sound? I think I like you’re unlaquered one best.. but the Ishi cognac had a very warm sound that was nice.. close call. You have a great sound!
Il sont tous excellent,le talent du saxophoniste est incroyable et je ne serais dans l’impossibilité de choisir lequel est meilleur. Pour cela il me faudrait les essayer… Il me semble que l’ishimori unlacked ,a plus d’expression et un timbre plus Dark ,qui me conviendrait parfaitement
I noticed that the unlacquered Ishimoro tenor REALLY sang. Being unlacquered it opened up the harmonics to a great degree. Your custom unlacquered horn has a great tenor sound. It’s a little darker than the Ishimoro; but it might be preferred by most tenor sax players because, although darker, it is quite clear. My favorite sound right now is with a 1917 Conn.
Great horns, really love the unlacquered sound, seems smoother and rounder. I'd say you horns sound a little more conn like against the selmer vibe of the ishimoris.
Hey there Rob! I appreciate the time you took to have a listen! They all play great for me no doubt! Thanks very much for your valued feedback and input!
Hey John- I came to this way late, but thought I'd give my .02. Your horns sound more like a Selmer to me, like a VI more than say, a SBA. The Ishimoris sound a bit "blasty" to me, maybe a tad bit less refined, core seems more spread. Not a bad thing, just different. And of course, how can one really tell with a brief play test? They all sound excellent with you behind 'em. I don't think a person could go wrong with any of them-great tools at a great price! I would love to hear you stack one up against a solid VI-not a total roaster, that wouldn't be fair, really. Just a very decent garden-variety VI. Thanks for the side by.
I like your horns better than the Ishimoris. They have a bigger, more robust tone and seem to sing that bit more? Really great sounding horns. The Ishimoris sound great for sure but your horns are no slouch at all!
I just recently saw another video how well you repair them and very amazed how detailed you are. Would like to have you work on mine hopefully someday. They all sound great here and almost identical. The second one is a little bit brighter than the first. The unlacquered resonates a little deeper and a slight richer in tone ( audio from my 55" LG flat screen valued at $350 from what I'm going off of :).
Thank you so very much for the kind words! I work very hard at my saxophone shop and it’s quite nice to be recognized for my efforts! 🙏❤️ I appreciate it!
I am a tenor saxophonist since year 1975 until now my tenor saxophone have a lot of too many defects!..and it is not suitable to play in the public!..because I ashame and it's hard for me to join in the band!..sometimes if there's a vacant instrument not use from the other groups of the band orchestra I may ask for renting the amount of 8 US DOLLAR per used!........!!!!!!!
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Love these comparison videos. I preferred your custom horns and would consider getting one! Great job!
They all have great sounds, maybe I like some more the first one.
Thank you for comparing them and sharing it!
Vintage laquered sounds darker and maybe rounder than others to me.
That's my favorite one
Nice! Thanks for having a listen 👂!!
John thanks so much, my Ishimori Custom is remarkable, the craftsmanship and tone
are second to none. Always a pleasant experience visiting your shop. You guys are Tops.
Love what you are doing. Not only in setting up your own line of horns, but then play-testing them up against other horns. All with no fuss and bluster. "Here they are...whaddya like?"
I like the JL unlacquered best.
Amazing review! Thank you!
Had to come back and check this video again. If I ever have to replace my Mk VI it'll be a toss up between an Ishimori and one of John's.
John, sounds great as always. Super impressed with your horns. I think they sound more resonant than the Ishimoris.
Thanks so much for taking the time to listen and comment on our videos! We really appreciate your support! ❤️🙏🎷
They all sound great. You seemed to play a little louder on your Custom saxes, so we didn't get a real comparison at the correct volume levels for some of the playing... or maybe you did play at the same level, but the Ishimori saxes have more resistance. They all sounded fantastic at the soft volume in the low range. I love how your Custom saxes had some good focus when you played a little loud. If the Ishimori saxes don't get as good focus when you push the volume, then I would prefer your Custom saxes. I would love to hear the Ishimori saxes played with more volume to see if they get some good focus in the sound, besides that good warm spread sound that I hear. Of course, different saxes and necks require different setups in mouthpieces and reeds to get the best out of them... the Ishimori saxes might need a brighter mouthpiece or brighter reeds to get some good focus in the sound. And of course, many saxophonist would love to have a sax with a beautiful spread, warm sound.
Love them all!!
Thank you very much for listening! 🙏❤️
Great one
Even though listening with good headphones I can hardly hear any difference! Maybe you’re horns have little little bit bigger and louder sound? I think I like you’re unlaquered one best.. but the Ishi cognac had a very warm sound that was nice.. close call. You have a great sound!
Thank you so much for your feedback we really value it! It’s nice to know what others hear! ❤️🙏🎷
Hi John,
My favorite is 4,1 3 and 2.
Enjoyed are talks, informative and fun.
Best Wishes,
Richard from Naples
Hey Richard! Wanted to thank you again for your feedback and taking the time to have a listen to our comparison videos!
Il sont tous excellent,le talent du saxophoniste est incroyable et je ne serais dans l’impossibilité de choisir lequel est meilleur.
Pour cela il me faudrait les essayer…
Il me semble que l’ishimori unlacked ,a plus d’expression et un timbre plus Dark ,qui me conviendrait parfaitement
The Ishimoris have a surprisingly good sound in both lacquered and unlaqered. But the Customs have a pretty good sound projection.
Sound Great All of them Great Tone
Thank you so much for listening following along and commenting! I really appreciate it very much! ❤️🙏🎷
Maybe Ishimoris a bit more sweetness, yours a bit louder and slightly more focused, overall you sound great on all four horns, great tone all around.
I noticed that the unlacquered Ishimoro tenor REALLY sang. Being unlacquered it opened up the harmonics to a great degree. Your custom unlacquered horn has a great tenor sound. It’s a little darker than the Ishimoro; but it might be preferred by most tenor sax players because, although darker, it is quite clear. My favorite sound right now is with a 1917 Conn.
Great horns, really love the unlacquered sound, seems smoother and rounder. I'd say you horns sound a little more conn like against the selmer vibe of the ishimoris.
Hey there Rob! I appreciate the time you took to have a listen! They all play great for me no doubt! Thanks very much for your valued feedback and input!
your laquered one sounded the best to me
Hey John- I came to this way late, but thought I'd give my .02. Your horns sound more like a Selmer to me, like a VI more than say, a SBA. The Ishimoris sound a bit "blasty" to me, maybe a tad bit less refined, core seems more spread. Not a bad thing, just different. And of course, how can one really tell with a brief play test? They all sound excellent with you behind 'em. I don't think a person could go wrong with any of them-great tools at a great price! I would love to hear you stack one up against a solid VI-not a total roaster, that wouldn't be fair, really. Just a very decent garden-variety VI. Thanks for the side by.
I absolutely love your sound. Your tone is amazing. I was just wondering what mouthpiece are you using in this video?
What's up man. I'll have to visit your shop one day. I'm not far from the city
Thanks so much for listening!! Yes please come visit our shop! I would love to meet you and show you all the horns haha 🎷🙏
I like your horns better than the Ishimoris. They have a bigger, more robust tone and seem to sing that bit more? Really great sounding horns. The Ishimoris sound great for sure but your horns are no slouch at all!
Good sound of two saxes, but abouth the mouthpiece, reed and clamp or ligature can you comment. Thanks for tour answer.
Maybe if I become an instrument technician, I will play better....!!! Very good tone my man. I like the sound of them all.
Hahaha you are too kind! I am thrilled that you enjoyed my video! Thanks for following our stuff!
Probably a weird question but why no high F# key on your horns?
So where are horns coming from? I get that you are setting them up.
Ishimori from Taiwan
I just recently saw another video how well you repair them and very amazed how detailed you are. Would like to have you work on mine hopefully someday.
They all sound great here and almost identical. The second one is a little bit brighter than the first. The unlacquered resonates a little deeper and a slight richer in tone ( audio from my 55" LG flat screen valued at $350 from what I'm going off of :).
Thank you so very much for the kind words! I work very hard at my saxophone shop and it’s quite nice to be recognized for my efforts! 🙏❤️ I appreciate it!
Is that horn still available?
Hi there! Please send us an email:
JLWoodwindRepair@gmail.com
ishimori
I am a tenor saxophonist since year 1975 until now my tenor saxophone have a lot of too many defects!..and it is not suitable to play in the public!..because I ashame and it's hard for me to join in the band!..sometimes if there's a vacant instrument not use from the other groups of the band orchestra I may ask for renting the amount of 8 US DOLLAR per used!........!!!!!!!
Huh??
I am glad you are playing saxophone! Keep it up! Saxophone has been my whole life since I was 9 years old! 🙏❤️🎷
You’re unlaquered has richer sound than the ishimori; but Ishimori has a richer tone on the lacquered version
Hi there Moshe! Thanks so much for taking the time to have a listen to our videos! We appreciate your feedback and input!