Walter Grabner Clarinet Mouthpieces

Walter Grabner is a super nice guy who makes some outstanding clarinet mouthpieces. I use his pieces on all my clarinets. I did some research on the internet a couple of years ago, frustrated by the mediocre clarinet mouthpieces I was playing. I kept getting hits for Walter's products, so I gave him a call and we spoke for over 30 minutes about all the variables that are involved in the making of these pieces. I explained what I was looking for in my sound and he listened and made recommendations. Walter is a professional clarinet player as well as an expert repairman. So I was in good hands. I first ordered a bass clarinet piece and when I got it I was very satisfied. It was better than anything I had played up until then (Vandoren, Selmer, Bill Street...). It was so good that I decided to ask him to make me another one as a backup. Well, as often will happen with hand made products, the second one wasn't the same as the first. It was a LOT better! I couldn't believe my ears! I once described it to Walter like it's as if the mouthpiece is playing the clarinet. That's how much it helps me (and trust you me... i need all the help I can get on the clarinet!). I took advantage of Walter's return/repair policy and sent the first piece back to him and explained what I wanted it to do. He worked on it and sent it back and it is VERY close to the second piece in sound. Both are equally excellent mouthpieces that I probably don't even deserve.
I then asked him to make me a Bb soprano piece and he sent two for me to try. I fell completely in love with one of them and the other was very good, just not at the level of the first one, so I sent it back. I then asked him to make me two alto clarinet pieces and they were both wonderful from the start. So I own five of his mouthpieces and I am very happy with his work and his great professionalism.

Walter also made me a barrel for my Bb soprano clarinet. It is a beautiful piece of Cocobolo wood that really evened out the sound of my R13 and gave it some extra warmth. I shipped him my clarinet and he custom fit the hand reamed barrel to fit and tune perfectly!

You can check out Walter Grabner's products here: www.clarinetxpress.com

Cosme López Mandolin

Venezuelan Luthier Cosme López made this mandolin for me in 2003. I asked him to make the finish darker than usual and I love the way it looks. I always seem to ask for a darker finish!
This mandolin is very easy to play and has a marvelous sound with plenty of volume.
The Thomastik flatwound strings make it sound very sweet.

Weber Mandocello

I had the guys at Weber make me a mandocello in 2003. I asked them to make it with a darker finish than their regular instruments and it turned out beautiful. It's a lot of fun to play. It reminds me of a Venezuelan bandola. It is tuned in fifths just like a cello: C-G-D-A.
Its acoustic sound isn't as deep as I had wished. Probably because the body is quite shallow. To reproduce sounds in the cello register you need a larger body (like that of a cello!). But it has a piezo under the bridge saddle so it can be easily amplified.
I have Lute strings on it. They are flatwound Thomastiks. I prefer the mellowness of the flatwounds for instruments in the mandolin family.

You can see more about Weber instruments here: www.soundtoearth.com

My Pedalboard

I have this super cool pedalboard for my bass guitars. It's all EBS equipment and a great Peterson strobe tuner. The board itself was made by Mike Ruskin at NYC Pedalboards.
These are the pedals:
-Valve Drive: An extraordinay tube preamp. It can simply warm up a dull bass or take it way the fuck out with some drop dead bass overdrive.
-Multi Drive: Bass distortion pedal. Has really nice distortion for bass. But for soloing i prefer the overdrive of the Valve Drive.
-MultiVerb: A great reverb pedal for bass.
-MultiChorus: Chorus pedal made specifically for bass.
-OctaBass: Bass octaver that can shake your soul.
-Bass Tremolo: Subtle tremolo that I'm still trying to figure out where to use.
-Bass IQ: Funkiness in a pedal.
-Peterson Strobe tuner: the most accurate tuner out there, with true bypass.

The photo says it all. Badass!

Here are the websites of the products used in my board:
www.nycpedalboards.com
www.ebs.bass.se
www.petersontuners.com

UPDATE: I got two more EBS pedals. The Tremolo and the BassIQ. New pedalboard pic soon...

RPC Saxophone Moutpieces

RPC mouthpieces are made by my buddy Ron Coelho in Washington State. He is a sax player who worked with the maker of Lamberson mouthpieces and has a great ear for this work. Ron is constantly searching for ways to make the pieces sound the way he likes and his references for the different horns are impeccable: Alto: Cannonball Adderly; Tenor: Dexter Gordon; Baritone: Gerry Mulligan. These are for his vintage sounding mouthpieces (the ones I use), but he also makes models with a more modern edge. I have one of these modern ones for the Baritone and I love it. I have a hard time deciding what I want the bari to sound like between the Mulligan styled piece and the Brignola styled piece. Another positive thing about his work is that he tests each mouthpiece for several hours to make sure it meets his expectations. He also will take a mouthpiece back and work on it for you for no extra cost, until you are satisfied. He's pretty cool like that.
The drawbacks to ordering from Ron are the interminable wait to get your new mouthpiece and the fact that you must pay up front. I have waited up to a year for some of my pieces. Granted, I own 3 alto pieces, 3 tenor pieces, and 3 Baritone pieces made by him, so I wasn't desperate. But it does stress your patience.
I wish Ron would make some soprano pieces, but he hasn't been doing that lately. I use Springer mouthpieces for the soprano. I have two, and I also have a couple of Vandoren V16 #7 pieces that I like a lot. Patrick Springer is a really nice guy who is very interested in your satisfaction as a customer. I have an alto and tenor piece made by him as well, but it's his soprano pieces that really shine!
I just bought a nice Yanagisawa metal tenor piece that I'm sort of liking too... Hasn't replaced my RPC, but it is different in a nice way.

Check out Ron's stuff here: www.saxmpc.com

Gloger Woodwind Necks

I've mentioned Karsten Gloger's work elsewhere in this blog, but I thought I'd add a special entry for his work since it's such a big part of my sound.
I have Gloger necks for my Selmer Alto, Borgani tenor, Yanagisawa Baritone, 2 of them for my Selmer Baritone, and 2 bass clarinet tubes.
I highly recommend his work. The main issue with these is the high cost and the long wait. Since they are completely hand made by a highly talented craftsman the cost and wait are to be expected. I will probably eventually ask him to make me a tube for my alto clarinet and perhaps a neck for my Borgani alto sax.

Check out Karsten's work here: www.gloger-handkraft.com

Kurzweil PC88 Piano

I have a Kurzweil PC88 keyboard with weighted keys and some super nice sounds. This I keep in NYC, because it was way to large and heavy to bring with me. It is very comfortable to play; just like playing a real piano.
For my Midi work here in Caracas, I brought a M-Audio Oxygen 61 keyboard. Much easier to travel with and does what I need.
UPDATE: Kurzweil was sold on eBay.

Traps Bass Drum

I special ordered a 20 inch bass drum from Nigel at Traps drums in the UK. They make these drums with just two rims that sound pretty darn good. I wanted a low sounding drum that was easy to move around and not too boomy, to play along with my snares. I play it with sticks a la Trilok Gurtu. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to make all this work in the Venezuelan Merengue. It is usually played with a snare drum playing a repeated pattern in 5/8 time. I'd like to develop this a bit more and see if I can come up with something interesting for my compositions in this style.

Check their stuff here: www.trapsdrums.com

Ludwig snares

I also have an old Ludwig snare drum from the 1960s made of wood (with a trippy sparkle finish) and a new Ludwig Chrome Supra-Phonic snare (shown here).
The old Ludwig I keep in NYC. It has a snappy sound to it and a certain wood~ness
The Chrome drum has a nice warm sound and contrasts nicely to the other two wood snares I have here in Caracas.

Noble & Cooley 14X7 Snare Drum

I bought this drum in 2006 through Drummer's World in NYC. I asked them to make it a bit darker than usual, but otherwise nothing special. Well, there is everything special about a Noble and Cooley drum. This snare is amazing. Easily my favorite snare ever. Very versatile and powerful, with a warm, deep sound. I replaced the snares on it and fitted it with some Pure Sound snares. Wonderful.

More about Noble & Cooley here: www.noblecooley.com

Brady 12X7 Snare Drum

I had this drum made for me by the Brady company in Australia. It is made of an exotic Australian wood and is made from blocks that are glued together. I chose to make it smaller than most snares (12 inch versus 14 inch) to try to get a tight sounding drum, but I made it very deep (7 inches) to give it a little more low end. The end result is a drum with a very specific sound. It has a nice crack to it when pushed and some very nice overtones. I like that it is very different than my other three snare drums. I'll be using it to create contrast with the other snares in some of the Venezuelan music I'm planning on recording.

The Brady website is: www.bradydrums.com.au

Amplifiers!

I own a Mesa Boogie Walkabout 12 inch combo. It has a tube preamp that really warms up the sound and it can deliver at med-high volumes. It has a passive down firing 10 inch woofer that moves some air close to the floor where all those bass frequencies like to live. It works. I've used it with both electric and upright basses and it works with all, but I prefer it with the electric bass guitars.

I also own an Acoustic Image Contra combo amplifier. This is for the double bass in a small room or an acoustic group. I would also use it for some of the hollow body basses (like the Carvin) and the mandocello. It has a very clean and uncolored sound. It is surprisingly bass-y for such a small light amp. It has a down firing 10 inch woofer that really spreads the sound around the room.

www.mesaboogie.com
www.acousticimg.com

Gretsch Hollow Body Bass Guitar

I bought this at the same time as the Epiphone Jack Cassady bass and it is a very different instrument. I was on a hollow body bass kick and I risked this one without even playing it. Just saw it on their website and ordered in from Guitar Center. My one big disappointment: the pickups. Instead of making these with TV Jones pickups it had some kind of weak assed guitar pickups that sounded horrible. And I mean horrible. Unplayable. It simply wasn't a bass. I emailed Gretsch about this and got no reply. So I ended up contacting TV Jones and got the right pups for it (Thundertrons). The whole problem cost me an extra $600 though! That is shameful for Gretsch! They have since discontinued this model and have an ugly white one but with the right pickups! Damn!
The acoustic sound of this bass is weird and really fun to play. It is growly and sort of nasal but punchy and even as well. I find that I enjoy playing it without an amp more than plugging it in. I'm still not sure what kind of music the amplified sound would be appropriate for... It sounds full and very woody and acoustic-ish.
I still have a problem, though, with the pickup's polepieces not being completely centered under the string, so when I bend a note in the upper register (where else?) I get a drop in the amplified signal. I've heard this in lots of basses with pickups with polepieces, but I guess I expected the TV Jones to be above this. It might just have more to do with the pickup placement being a bit off. Can't change that though. It hurts me that one has to curtail one's musical creativity because of instrumental limitations.
I ended up gutting out all the electronics in this bass; it is passive, but has 3 switches I found useless. Two were for changes in the midrange and one for on-off. Yeah, on-off. Just the switch you want to hit by mistake as you rock out on stage. Then spend 10 minutes trying to figure out what happened to your bass signal! Checking cables, amps, pedalboards, etc... Yeah, that switch was disconnected. Now the three switches are for show only. I use them when I make a mistake during a song... I start to mess with the switches so the audience thinks it was the bass' fault!
It never is.

www.gretsch.com/guitars

Epiphone Jack Cassady Bass

The first Jack Cassady bass sent to me (September 2006) was bad. The neck had more buzz than a beehive in the summertime! I immediately looked up the Gibson-Epiphone authorized repair people in NYC and was lucky to find Paul at Peekamoose Guitars. Paul is a guitar builder who makes some outstanding guitars for outrageous prices. He is very meticulous and detail oriented. He helped me figure out what was wrong with the bass, get it shipped back, and made sure they knew what I expected in the new bass. I really appreciate his help and one day I will buy my brother one of his amazing guitars.
The second Jack Cassady bass I got was perfect! It is hollow bodied electric bass guitar styled after those 1960s Starfire basses and the Gibson EB2. It has a growl in its sound and has plenty of low end and bite. I have it stringed up with heavy .055 to .110 strings and it is a monster. It has a little bit of an acoustic sound, just enough to make it fun to play unplugged, but when you plug it in it will fill the room.

More Epiphone gear here: www.epiphone.com

Eastwood EUB-1 reissue (fretless)

This summer (2007) I bought my first copy of Bass Player Magazine in 10 years and I saw this Ampeg type bass reviewed briefly in it. I checked the website and re-read the review and saw the paypal button and... holy shit! Before you know it I had bought it! They make it TOO easy. For people with G.A.S. such as myself, this is like being a gambler and living between the racetrack and the casino... like being an alcoholic and living between a bar and a wine tasting joint. You're helpless.
But...
I love it! The F holes go through the whole body. It has one passive pickup and the sound is vintage fretless. Warm and deep. The finish on the fingerboard is shiny and seems not to have any dead spots or buzzes. I was only able to play it for a week in NY before I came to Caracas, but I will be getting it here in the near future.
Fun, easy to play and what a looker! I will get girls with this bass!
;-)

You can see more rare guitars here: www.eastwoodguitars.com

Fender Mustang Bass Reissue

I was at Guitar Center in Houston (August 2007) and a cute little vintage Mustang bass caught my eye (it was a faded blue that had turned to green). I played it for a while and really liked it. It felt very comfortable because of the 30 inch scale length, but also had a nice tight sound. I was asking the price and it was not bad for a vintage bass ($900, compared to $2000 in NYC) when I noticed another Mustang in perfect condition. This was the reissue and ended up costing me only $450. As soon as I plugged it in I knew. It was the same kind of sound just a lot louder and more alive. It has these mini P style pickups that are very responsive. Nice, punchy, passive tone. Just what I like. This is no toy bass. It's not a bass for "girls", midgets, or dwarfs exclusively. I mean, if you're a girl, a midget, or a dwarf you'll love it, but there is much to enjoy in this bass regardless of your physique. It feels like I'm holding a strat. I feel like Eddie Van Halen!
In any case... It's really fun to play and easy to practice. Someday I might have Larry make some Aero pickups for it but I'd have to send the original pups to him in Hawaii to make them. Not that it's lacking, just always searching for that better tone.

You can browse Fender basses here: http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?section=Basses

Carvin AC50 Semi Hollow Bass Guitar

This is the five string model, tuned E to C. I special ordered it for my birthday in 2005. I use nylon strings on it and the sound is wonderful and very different that any thing else I've heard (they also make it easier to play -less tension). It sounds very "classical".
It uses only a piezo pickup under the bridge saddle so the options are somewhat limited, but the tone controls are simple and useful. It's more like an acoustic bass guitar than like a solidbody bass guitar. The green finish over flamed maple is beautiful. I wake up everyday and play a couple of Bach movements on this bass first, it's easy on the hands and sounds super nice. I keep it right next to my bed.
The people at Carvin were very helpful and it's cool you can pick all the features for your bass. Mine even has my name on the little plate that covers the truss rod access. Cool.

More Carvin basses here: www.carvin.com/products/guitars.php?CID=BGTR

G&L L200 & L1505

Ah! G&L... How I wanted to love this company! Old Leo Fender's last endeavor. But, alas, they proved to be incompetent and not very helpful. These basses have given me lots of trouble but they are now in good playing shape and fun to play.
Let's start with the first one I bought, back in 2000 I went into 48 st Custom Guitars (no longer in business) and wanked on a couple of basses that were hanging and loved the sound of one of the four string models. I became more interested as I tested it against other similar models and found it to be superior. I was playing in a rock-pop trio with my friends Antonio Defeo and Danny Weiss at that point and I felt justified for an impulse purchase. So I did it. It is a L2000 model in tobacco burst. Everything was going well for about 2 years and then the neck started to warp. The truss rod was maxed out and the action was very high. I played it like this for another couple of years, battling the high action and then decided to take it in for repair, since I couldn't make it work myself. I was told the neck (bird's eye maple) had deformed beyond repair and that G&L were good with their warranty (10 years). So I contacted them and shipped it over to Cali and about 3 months later got the bass back with a new neck (I asked for regular maple, since I learned that birdseye is actually a diseased wood that is not as stable). They were kind enough to send it with no inlays as I had asked. Still I had to have it worked on to get the frets even. I now string it with super heavy, rock-out .055 to .110 strings!
There is something about the pickups they use that is a bit weird. They seem to distort or overpower an amp's preamp often. And I use them passive; I bypass the onboard preamp. I'm still trying to figure that part out. I've been able to make it work on the 4 string (L2000), but not so on the 5 string.

I next special ordered (in 2005) a L1505 and asked them to string it to high C. They took six months to build it and the neck was horrible when I got it. It buzzed in so many different places that there was no hope. I took it to 3 different repair guys and the opinion was unanimous: it sucked. So I convinced G&L that it was their responsiblilty to check this flaw and shipped it back. Five months later and after much hassle trying to find the person in charge, I get the bass back IN THE VERY SAME CONDITION I SENT IT IN! They did nothing to it at all. So I sent it back one more time (I paid shipping each time too, so I was pissed) and demanded that a new neck be put on it. After several more months I get the bass back with a new neck with the wrong model label on it. It reads L2500 which is the two pickup model, but whatever... The main problem was that the new neck wasn't that good either. I still had to take it to the Bass Boutique in NYC to get the fretboard trued and refretted at my own expense. These guys did a great job and the bass was finally playable. Now I've noticed the upper part of the neck (where the screws are in the back) has some deformity and notes are buzzing. Maybe it's the tropical weather and it's getting adjusted.
Then I needed to change the pickup. The funny, excess midrange/distortedness I mentioned before was exacerbated on this bass. So I slapped a Bartolini in there to see if it improved. It didn't. The Bartolini is weak (remember I use it passive, so maybe the Bart is designed to be used with a preamp onboard). Now I have an Aero pickup to be installed this week, and I'll write about how that works when I get it in.
It's a beautiful bass though (in it's greenburst glory!)...
UPDATE: Wonderful sound with the Aero. I now have it with the low B string and it rocks!. The guys at G&L also changed the neck for me and the new neck is great! Lot's of fun to play. UPDATE: Just sold the 4 string L2000 on eBay.

More on G&L instruments here: www.glguitars.com/frameset.htm

Fender Victor Bailey Acoustic Bass Guitar (4 string)

OK. This is simply one of the funnest basses to play. Period.
It is so loud and punchy played acoustically that you almost can't believe it. And it has such a small body! It's like someone at Fender sold his soul to Lucifer in exchange for the all-elusive great ABG tone!
I have bronze fender strings on it, but I don't like them until they are filthy and dull. They are way too bright at the beginning. But these strings are thick and meaty and feel very nice on this bass. Just make sure to eat some fried chicken with your hands before you play them a couple of times.
It's amplified sound is as good as the acoustic sound with the Fishman preamp and EQ. It even has a semi decent tuner built in!
The neck is perfect and the finish is eye catching!
Can you tell I love this bass? So much so that I am about to order the five string model to bring to Caracas. I'll tune it to high C though. Kudos to Fender for getting it right!
:-)
UPDATE: something weird happened when I took this bass out to play this summer. The truss rod was rattling inside the neck! Very noticeable. Took it to my repair guy in NYC and he confirmed. Later had the rod tightened a bit and the rattle went away. Maybe weather related, but scary all the same. Questionable craftsmanship seems to be following me!

Tobias Acoustic Bass Guitar (5 string)

This bass was made specially for me by Mike Tobias in 1998. I was involved with it throughout the building process. It has a 35 inch scale and is tuned E-A-D-G-C (some like to call this a tenor bass). I really don't think any ABG can make a low B string work, but the high C string sings like a diva! I use it mostly for playing the Bach cello suites, but it is just plain fun to play. I use half wound strings on it because the string noise with roundwounds is very annoying and flatwounds are too dull.
After the first year the original bridge cracked and Mike designed a new bridge that was chunkier and with a different shape. I also had a recurring problem on the high side of the fretboard with a hump close to the 6th fret. There was a buzz that simply would not go away. Over the years Mike worked on this in different ways and finally he pulled the frets and trued the board. This seems to have worked but there is still a funny tendency to buzz on the two high strings at the 5th fret, but now it only happens if I play very hard. Wood can be very capricious. But I must add that Mike has been absolutely wonderful in his commitment to the instruments he builds. He has never charged me for any work done to this bass, even after 9 years and countless hours of use.
The acoustic sound is clear and ringing and even from string to string. Very elegant.
The electronics have been changed four times! First it had a Fishman, then several I can't recall and now it has a B-Band pickup that seems to work very nicely (but I had to special order a longer pickup element for the five string bridge). It's hard to get the amplified sound to be even between strings and to sound good as well. This type of bass usually doesn't cut through a loud mix very well, but the B-band helps.

Ibanez Artcore ABG 140 Semi Hollow Electric Bass

I tried this at Guitar Center in Houston and loved it from the first moment. I had never (ever) bought a cheap bass before, but the sound of this instrument is really nice and the craftmanship is far beyond it's price. Everyone comments on how beautiful it is. With the discount I get at GC from my sister in law and my super friend Ray it only cost me $240! It was a deal even if it sucked. But it didn't. At the store I was trying an old vintage Gibson of similar design that cost $2000 and the Ibanez smoked it! It has a very full, punchy sound. It sounds big even up in the high register. I love it. I played a concert which required double bass and I used the Artcore instead and it worked very well. It has a sort of hollow woody tone to it that makes it a nice crossover between a solidbody bass guitar and an upright bass.
I had Larry at Aero Pickups make me a replacement pickup for it, not because it really needed it (the original pickup is great!), but just to see if I could actually improve the sound. The Aero pup is not in yet, so I'll get back to that when I get it installed.
As an afterword, I tried the NEW Artcore basses last month when I was in Texas again and they seemed to have tried to fix something that wasn't broken. I did not like the new semi hollow model (AGB200) at all! It's essentially the same bass but with two pickups and I hated the pickup placement and the sound of the pickups. I couldn't get a decent sound no matter how I tweaked it. And I really wanted to like it. The fully hollow body model (AFB200) was better and has some workable sounds. I asked my friend Ray to hold the hollowbody for me.

NV Six String Electric Basses (Fretted & Fretless)

These two basses were made by Venezuelan Luthier Nicolás Volpe between 1993 and 1994. Both are neck through body and are made of Venezuelan wood. The center piece is a very dense wood and the wings are lighter. They have a 34.5 inch scale and have a very tight feel to the strings. This is especially nice when playing the low B string; it makes it very playable and not floppy at all.
I took both of these basses to NY with me in 1994 and they didn't like the cold dry winter at all. The wood warped and shrunk and cracked. The pickups were fit closely when the basses were made and when the weather got cold and dry they became very tight in the cavity and one actually cracked the body wing from the pressure. Fingerboards cracked as well, and the fretted bass developed a serious hump on one side of the fretboard. Nico has worked on these problems over the years and he now has both basses in the shop. The fretted bass is getting new frets and he's making the fretboard straight. The fretless is getting a new fretboard (ebony this time, kindly provided by Mike Tobias).
The pickups and electronics in these basses has been a problem for me from the start. I had Bill Bartolini make some pickups to my specs and I used his preamp. It wasn't the sound I was looking for. The lower register was ok, but it died when trying to solo or play a melody in the mid to upper register. I'm getting ready to gut all the electronics out of them and try an AERO pickup. Larry at Aero pickups just sent me two pickups for other basses and when I get them installed I'll see if they might work in these basses. In the fretted bass I added a middle pickup between the two that were in the original design. I put a passive EMG in there, but I haven't tested it thoroughly yet. I couldn't even figure out all the controls on the bass with the three pickups and all the options (single coils, humbuckers, tone, series, parallel, etc...) Somehow I always go back to thinking that simple is better. If she needs high heels and tons of makeup and fancy clothes... she's ugly. You know? Just connect the pickups directly to the output jack and shut up and play.
In general, the sound is very, very punchy and midrange-ish, and the B string kills.

Plywood Double Bass

This instrument I got through a swap with a friend in NY in 2001. Super cheap. It was built by Mathias Thoma in West Germany in 1974. I had just about everything changed on it except the tuners (fingerboard, endpin, bridge, nut, tailpiece etc). This work was done by my good friend Matías Herrera here in Caracas. The fingerboard job was perfect! The way it is supposed to be done. I ended up with a thick board that plays perfectly throughout.
This bass sounds better than a lot of carved basses that I have played. It is very even from string to string and it really sings all the way up the board. It has a punchy sound and, being plywood, is very durable and resistant to changes in humidity. This is my "Caracas" double bass.

Messenger Electric Upright Bass

I have already commented elsewhere on the Messenger Bass. I looked long and hard for a decent electric upright that had a sound similar to an amplified double bass and that felt like one too. All of the basses that I played prior to the Messenger were disappointing. Some very much so. Some were even ridiculous.
The Messenger is made by a really nice guy in California named John Knutson. John is a master craftsman and a stickler for detail. Good detail. He is concerned with preserving the feel and sound of the double bass and at the same time getting rid of the bulk. No easy task. There is a very good reason for all the bulk of a double bass. It gives you those LOW sounds! The thing is, when you amplify a double bass to a certain level, you are no longer hearing the acoustic sound of the instrument, just the pickup, which is usually on the bridge (before the acoustic properties of the instrument are engaged). The Messenger Bass sounds like a double bass with a really, really good pickup. Because it takes the complicated acoustics out of the equation it has fewer problems when amplified. It has a Barbera bridge pickup system and a Messenger pickup in the bridge as well. I use it mixing both these sounds to different degrees.
The work on the fingerboard is flawless and the finish is beautiful. And it is built like a tank.
There are now six of these basses here in Venezuela and when I have heard them live, even the often incompetent sound guys can't ruin the bass sound. I will go as far as to say that the best bass sound I have ever heard (as audience) in a live situation (amplified, not acoustic) has come from a Messenger bass. It is simply perfect.

German Carved Wood Double Bass

Bought this from David Gage in NYC in 1991. Built circa 1900. Had to change the horrible sticky finish it had on it, and the fingerboard and bridge, but then it became a great instrument. This work was done in Caracas by Jaime Nobre in 1992.
The scroll is warped to one side and this ruined the fingerboard job I had done, so 13 years later I had to have another fingerboard put on. This time it was done in NY by the guys down at Gage and they put a shim on one side of the fingerboard instead of trying to force the neck back straight. This worked, but also created some weird buzzing on the E string that could not be fixed. The board was worked on several times more and eventually it has settled (with a pretty deep curve) and plays well.
This bass is very comfortable to play and really sings! With just a fishman pickup glued to the bridge it always sounds wonderful and clear.

I have two bows. One was made for me by Jaime Nobre, a Portuguese Luthier who lived in Caracas for some 20 years and who was a good friend. He passed away several years ago and having his bow is special to me. My NYC bow is a less expensive model I bought at Ideal Music in NYC for about $400, but it is very easy to play with.

Keilwerth S90 Low Bb Baritone Saxophone

Got it in 2009. Wonderful german horn. Really sings and doesn't suffer from the weirdness that many low A baritones do.

Selmer (Paris) Alto Clarinet

Just bought this one in April 2007 and will comment when I get a chance to play it more.

Leblanc Alto Clarinet 300s

I actually own two of these alto clarinets. Bought them both on eBay for less than $1000. Both seem to be previously owned by schools somewhere in the USA. But, being ALTO clarinets, they were both almost new. Nobody plays the alto clarinet!
I like the sound of the alto, but not as much as the bass clarinet. It is a lot easier to handle than the bass and that makes it fun to practice. I've read that the Lebalnc 300s are the professional model from several decades ago. Intonation is fine and, once adjusted, they play comfortably.
It's an interesting range... it shares notes with both the soprano and bass clarinet, but it has it's own timbre. I had read all sorts of bad things online about alto clarinets when I was researching to buy one, and I conclude that you really can't believe people. Just because no one writes music for them anymore, doesn't mean you can't make some wonderful sounds of your own of them!

Buffet R13 Bb Soprano Clarinet

I bought this on eBay for less than $1000 in 2006. A great deal, since it is in very good shape. The warmth of sound of these clarinets is legendary and doesn't require another review. A wonderful instrument and easy to play. Great keywork!
I had Walter Grabner make a wonderful hand made cocobolo barrel for this instrument that is really special. I also use a mouthpiece made by him.

Selmer Paris Bass Clarinet

I bought this bass clarinet on eBay two years ago. I got a great deal and a wonderful instrument. I've played it next to other similar models and it seems to be easier to blow than others. After seeing the benefit of hand made necks on my saxophones, I asked Karsten Gloger if he could make me a neck for the bass clarinet and we ended up deciding to make just the tenon piece where the mouthpiece fits in (it has a two piece neck). After a mistake in the manufacture of the curve of the tube, I finally got the neck piece and was thrilled to hear the difference in sound. It was louder AND prettier. Originally the low notes were sort of weak, but I only noticed this in retrospect after playing the Gloger neck. It also made playing the upper register easier. I just had Karsten make me another neck piece, but this time with the tube a little longer and the tuning slide part shorter, and it sounds even better than the first piece. When I say it sounds better, I mean it is noticeable. These aren't just some artsy fartsy necks for show. A solid silver, hand hammered neck with the attention to detail that Karsten puts into it makes a whole lot of difference.
This clarinet sounds loud, powerful and sweet! And it is easy to blow... good thing too, because I need all the help I can get on this beast!

Selmer Super Action 80 Serie II: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone

I have all four horns in this Selmer model.

1) Let's start with the straight soprano. It plays very well in tune. Almost effortless compared to other older sopranos I've tried. The sound is even throughout the horn and all registers play well. It can get heavy on the right hand thumb even when using a strap. I know some will say I should put the weight on the strap and not on the hand, but I've done my best thinking about this and it seems that where I play comfortably, it hurts. It's also difficult to play sitting down for long periods because you have to hold the horn out in front and it weighs a lot more than a clarinet. All in all though, a very nice horn.

2) The alto plays well too, just not with a very open and singing sound. It is sort of resistant and muffled compared to a Mark VI. I fixed this problem very nicely though with a new solid silver neck made by Karsten Gloger. I just got it and when I put it on I couldn't believe the improvement in the sound. The horn is now wonderful to play and plays very well in tune. The original neck is a joke. A bad joke.

3) I have owned two of these tenors. The first was a new, brass colored horn and it was awful. The keywork felt like a student horn and the sound was weak. I sold it on eBay. The one I still have is wonderful! It is a silver model with no engraving, bought in Switzerland in the late 1980's. The keywork is comfortable and the sound is better than most tenors I have played. The intonation is a bit sharp in the upper register, but otherwise it is fine. I adjust as I play these notes and it isn't a big problem. The sound of the horn and it's comfortable action make up for it. It also improved immensely with a replacement solid silver neck made in Germany by Stephan Bösken. It fixed some intonation problems and brought the sound to life! Very big difference; enough for me to pay the steep price these necks cost!

4) The Selmer SA80 II low A baritone is a wonderful horn. It also benefited greatly from a Gloger silver neck. The new neck solved my only complaint, which was a sort of weak sound and some difficulty playing the altisimo notes. I have two Gloger necks for this horn: one with a SA80 curve and one with a Mark VI curve. Slightly different, but both amazingly great! The only note that seemed to be a bit weak on this horn is low Bb. The notes around it sound perfect (low A and B), but this also improved with the new necks.

Photos of all are forthcoming...

Borgani Tenor and Alto Saxophones (sterling silver)

Borgani Jubilee Tenor and Alto saxophones. These are my NY tenor and alto. I keep these there for when I go. They are hand made in Italy, both are sterling silver. I tried many different finishes (gold, pearl gold, pearl silver, vintage...) and in both the alto and the tenor I much preferred the sterling silver models. They sounded more clear than the others and projected the sound better. They are not necessarily brighter, as some say, just more powerful and less resistant. Both horns have very well designed key work, similar to a Selmer Super Action 80 Serie II.
I have found no complaints with the alto at all. It is simply wonderful and easy to play. The tenor, on the other hand, has given me a bit of trouble that I have been trying to fix since I bought the horn new in 2002 (I got the alto new in 2004). The tenor seemed to have intonation problems in the upper octave that couldn't be solved by any means known to my repairmen. I even took it to Maestro Paul Cohen and he concluded that the neck had a design flaw. So I ordered the "new" neck that Borgani had just designed (for about $450!). The guys at Borgani weren't interested in any kind of warranty for their lousy neck, since it's such a subjective matter. The new neck was worse than the original. So I wasted that money. After much experimentation with mouthpieces, reeds, ligatures, and hard work, I recently spoke to Karsten Gloger and he sent me a replacement neck made by him. I only had a chance to blow it for a couple of minutes because I got it the day I had to come back to Caracas, but it seemed to solve the tenor's problems. I'll get back to this topic when I have a chance to play it more.
I also had recurrent problems on the tenor with the lower F# and E going out of adjustment and it was only fixed when I sent it to Randy Jones at Tenor Madness. He leveled some of the tone holes and now it no longer needs monthly attention. I did notice, though, that when I got the horn back from Tenor Madness, that the finish on the horn had been scratched a bit when they polished it. Very light scratches like from using something too abrasive. Not too bad, but I noticed it.
I've heard people say all sorts of things about the Borgani saxophones, but I hold that they are some of the best new horns out there. Just make sure you try the different finishes. Everyone hears it in a different way. Photos will come when I get back to NY.

The Borgani website is here: www.borgani.com/past.htm

Rampone & Cazzani Curved Soprano Saxophone

This saxophone was bought in June 2007. It replaces a similar one that was stolen from me in October, 2006 in Caracas. It has a vintage looking silver plating, with 24 carat gold plating on the bell and keys. The bell, bow, body and neck are also wonderfully hand engraved.
The sound is loud and clear, but it has a sweetness to it. It is not harsh at all. The other one I had was all vintage silver and sounded a bit more intense. This one sounds wonderful in all registers and is lots of fun to play. I built up the high D palm key to make it more comfortable. I find the curved soprano much more comfortable to play than the straight one. It is easier on my right thumb, even so, I always use a strap.

Their website is: www.ramponecazzani.it/static/english/index.htm
I bought the horns from Matt at www.Saxforte.com. I highly recommend his services.

Instruments

I created this blog to show my collection of instruments and to write a bit about each one. Some of my friends accuse me of suffering from Gear Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.), but as all addicts, I deny this.