Posted by Rick Denney on July 11, 2000 at 02:06:59:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Tick, tock, tick, tock... posted by BBS Fan on July 10, 2000 at 14:35:15:
In the previous discussion on what it is that I was looking for in another horn, I mentioned several factors. One was that the new horn would complement my current Miraphone, which I enjoy owning and have no intention of ending that association. For a new horn to complement the Miraphone, it would have to have a quality of sound unlike it, which I always defined as being Germanic. When asked what "Germanic" meant, I could only bring up a comparison of the sound of one really good player on two instruments. I took a few lessons, once upon a time, with a Symphony pro who most of you have heard of. I won't mention his name, because some of you might hear me play someday, and I don't want to discredit his teaching.
He now owns a York-o-phone, but at one time owned an Alexander. I heard him perform on both many times, and in both cases before I knew him personally. The differences were startling. The Alex had a commanding, powerful sound with a lot of presence and intensity. Think Roger Bobo. It was a sound that commanded respect. It was beautiful, but in a severe sort of way. When he started playing the York copy, his sound acquired a sweetness, warmth and easiness that was not there with the Alex. Think Floyd Cooley or Chester Schmitz. When I asked him about that some time later, he said that the hardest thing he'd had to learn on the new horn was to relax and let the horn do the work.
The difference wasn't in quantity of sound--I wasn't interested in a horn with a "bigger" sound. The difference is in the quality of sound--not the value of the sound, but the character of the sound. Both have value in the right situation, and I can't really say one is better than the other.
Rick "That didn't sound any less stupid than when I said it before" Denney