6-horn Tenor Sax Comparison: Buescher, Couf, Yani, Martin, Conn, Selmer

A quick side-by-side test of 6 great saxophones: Buescher Top Hat and Cane, Couf (Keilwerth) Superba II, Yanigasawa 990, Martin "The Martin Tenor", Conn Pan American (10m), and Selmer Mk VI. Mouthpiece is an Otto Link STM 8 w/ a Rico Jazz Select 3m unfiled. All recorded back-to-back in same clip, with varying styles on a quality recording setup.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Tenor Sax
• Saxophone
• Buescher
• Couf
• Yanigasawa
• Martin
• Conn
• Selmer

[missingimprovisation]

FWIW, the "hotspots" analysis feature (that looks at audience attention level) tends to imply that people are most attentive in this video during the periods where I'm playing the Buescher TH&C and the Conn PanAm. The least interested points are during the Yani and the MkVI. The Couf is medium-low, and the Martin is medium-high. Whether that is an indication of peoples preferences of how the horn sounds, I'll leave to speculation... but I thought they were some interesting stats.

[missingimprovisation]

Mikey, I sold the Martin a while back. I think I got 1900 for it. The buyer got a fantastic deal, IMO. The Martins are undervalued and one of the best options out there I think.

[piemaker13th]

How are the ergonomics on the Martin? I love it's dark and meaty sound, but i've heard bad things about it's key placement...

[missingimprovisation]

@piemaker13th ergos on the Martin were very good for the most part - it benefitted from risers on the palm keys, and the LH pinky table was non-tilting and took some getting used to. But the key placement was fine for me, and the action was super-quick, the fastest of all the horns.

[bernard2620]

I would like to get a price quote on the 400 top hat. I agree you were fat on the Martin too.

[missingimprovisation]

@bernard2620 Ha Bernard, thanks - but the 400 isn't for sale. I've played a few of them, and they do seem to vary a fair bit in sound. They've all been good, but some are better than others, and some of the nicest ones (like mine) aren't original and have been banged up (I guess the good ones get played!). Keep your eyes open, they show up on ebay semi-regularly, and the ugly beat up ones can go for under $2k.

[83Zel944]

Time break down for those looking to hear a particular horn again.

Buescher Top Hat and Cane @ 2:26

Couf Superba II @ 4:12

Yanigasawa 990 @ 6:03

Martin "The Martin Tenor" @ 08:01

Conn Pan American (10m) @ 10:04

Selmer Mk VI. Mouthpiece @ 11:53

Great comparison video. I enjoyed it

[SnowdenMusician]

I enjoyed the kick of Pick up the Pieces on "The Martin". I enjoy your sound on "The Martin", the six, and - to my surprise - the Buescher. They're all pretty good. Buescher's got a bit of a husky tone. I could see it working well in combo blues type work as well as rock and roll.

Thanks for the comparison! Great video.

[colonelfatass]

Gotta love that little snippet of 'Pick Up The Pieces' at 8:49 ;) Great video by the way, big ups.

[TheRealBigWoo]

Thanks so much for doing this! To my ears, the Buescher and the The Martin sounded the best down low and the The Martin and Conn Pan Am sounded best overall. The Pan Am may have been a tiny bit thinner, but I still liked it better than the Mark VI.

[venskus2009]

i liked the buescher the most. it had that perfect balance, and sounded perfectly even all across the range. really nice.

[TheIzzysteve]

I personally prefer the Couf sound over all the horns in this vid. I play a P. Mauriat.

[luisitosax]

Buescher is the best for me

[aqualogbook]

The MARTIN SWEET SOUND ! ...I LOVE IT.

[mikey600ftw213]

How much would the Martin tenor be ?