Selmer SBA vs Conn 10m - "How Deep Is The Ocean"

[@michelhost4826]

Just wow !!! Great saxophones and also great player !!! Congrats Alvin.

[@highlightfactory85]

Both have their advantages, but there's such a beautiful, almost melancholy tone in the Conn. It's a purer tone for straight jazz imo. The Selmer's tone seems more complex/colorful and might have a wider array of uses, but as soon as you play those first few lines with Conn it just instantly sounds hipper/darker/bursting with character. Exactly what I'm looking for when I hear this type of music. Great playing btw and thanks for putting up the vid as it's helping me finalize my decision to purchase a 10m.

[@jazzboy]

The Conn is stellar with you playing it!

[@theaverage7550]

Smokin'!!! Love the sound of the 10m

[@donkeller1233]

I see this is an old post. Your playing just hits the spot!

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

Hi there , thanks so much!

[@eriksax]

What!!!? Whoa...Wow! Okay, your playing on the SBA was poppin'. But...when you played the 10M, those familiar knockout drops of Conn sound were a blessing to my ears. Fortunately, I wore good headphones so I was able to fully appreciate all you were doing. Man, it's that crazy 10M sound that makes anything work, things that are okay on the SBA are OMG on the Conn. BTW you actual playing on both instruments is big-gig-worthy! Thanks for this video, which I witnessed at a pivotal time, excellent work Sir!

[@meekeesancheese7890]

You play incredibly well, I must agree you have a thick and beautiful sound on the 10M. Sounds much more full. It's making me look forward to getting mine this coming week. Keep it up man!

[@marks.6656]

You must have access to one hell of a great repair tech- I'm blown away by your excellent playing and mpc pairing and I just keep replaying the killer sound of the 10M. It sounds ridiculously complex, powerful, FAT and focused and perfectly set up! This 10M sounds ready to go toe-to-toe with any modern horn costing 10x the price of a vintage naked lady. Thanks for the great comparison! (I noticed that you added the bracket to the strap hook ring, nice!)

[@khawk25361]

You sound great and I am an owner of an SBA and a Conn 10M. I love the way you sound on that 10 M. Even Dex might have had to say Hey!!! Who is that playin with that beautiful sound ... like mine LOL

[@zachmorsell1963]

This video is why I chose to buy a 10m over a mark vi, great comparison!

[@nickcaplanson4124]

Awesome job. Love both but Conn is the runaway winner. Big, full robust and jazzy as hell. Nice playing !

[@byronfriend3493]

The 10m just sounds so good

[@00DirectorsCut00]

I agree with someone , you have two of the most killer sax ever and playd by you are really full of sense !

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

I really appreciate the comments everyone. Btw update! On the 10m, I recently switched to a Brillhart Ebolin. What a combo! It's like they are made for each other. Let me know if any of you have given this setup a try.

[@1dotele]

I use an Ebolin with my 10m and it blows great also a Soloist works well too but I prefer the Ebolin great demo thanks you play excellent

[@Jazzznbluezzz1]

Great comparison clip! You are an excellent player indeed and sound very good on both of them. i agree with all the comments above. I play mainly Brilharts on my '36 Conn 10M or NW I . It is a fantastic combo indeed. My main mouthpiece is an old Ebolin. But sometimes I pick a Hard Rubber or a white Streamline that are great also but a little different. I just recently got me a Sound Palette ligature from Ebay that is based on the old Brilhart ligatures. It really enhances the tone a lot and seems to make it play and speak more freely. A real asset.

[@alessandrobomfim2299]

Great sound man!! Congrats!!! No matter the setup when you reach out this proficiency!!!

[@67lobe]

superb playing on both instruments !

[@patriciamalloy9922]

Kid, WHO are you?! I've got no words to describe what l've just witnessed. You're something else. I wish my Dad were alive to hear this. Your parents must be so Goddamn. Proud 👍 of you.

[@newcrusader]

Great sound!

[@pierluigivicini9302]

fantasticoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

[@pimeye]

Thought I was listening to Dexter Gordon when you were playing the 10M!

[@MrBoybergs]

and a year later.......me too

[@wildman166]

Loved them both , you nailed it !

[@jdennisarceo]

Just wow, Alvin! I like both and I wouldn't mind having any of it. Both has big sound though the Conn seems to be a bit darker.

[@JeremyMcCant]

PHENOMENAL tone!

[@elasticmusic2084]

You make both saxophones sound excellent, good show!

[@xaviermaulave1423]

Superb playing and sound. Dexter is alive! The Ying and Yang story.....Brighter, Darker both are great, however I prefer the 10M. Could you please let us hear your magic combo 10M + Brillhart Ebolin. Still playing your 10M? Thanking you in advance! All the best.

[@thomaskipfer1008]

The Berg is my favorite too. I just got a 10M but ready for junk man. My tech pulled a few strings out of his hat. Jazz is made for 10M. You sound great and no comparison! Thanks for comparing w Selmer!

[@777leviandades]

kunusta kabayan..ang galing mo as saxophone. meron ka pa bang saxophone ?

[@worldwideuploads]

I love your playing man. The Conn to me has a certain jazz character which covers the range of the horn while the SBA, what it may lack in jazz personality makes it up with a precision and eveness of tone.

[@alessandrobomfim2299]

Amazing!!! I don't know how some people give "unlike" in this vídeo... Maybe they like a TrashMetal and It was losted here in your page...

[@2005rosebud]

Great Tone!

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

Yes thanks guys, since this shootout, the SBA has been in the case and the 10m has been the one seeing action. It's just a lot more fun to play and has a range of emotion that exceeds the SBA, or Mark VI for that matter. I've been trying different mouthpieces too on the 10m and while it is very mouthpiece friendly I've seemed to settle on a Berg and a Selmer Soloist ironically!

[@latinkeys1]

I just ordered for a Brilhart Tonalin for my 10M, I should be getting Saturday, I can't wait!!! I'm very eager.. Haven't found the sound of my voice on my 10M which I've had for about six months... Love your playing, thank you for posting.

[@vrumvr6]

@@latinkeys1 How does the Brilhart mouthpiece pair up with it?

[@latinkeys1]

@@vrumvr6 I like the Brilhart Tonalin but, it's a very tamed piece. It's a low volume piece. It sounds good but I honestly can't say it's "the best sound ever". It is a good sound and I keep it in the case when and if I have to play in a sax section.. Believe it or not, the piece that I have settled on right now is a cheap chinese metal piece. It's louder and so so flexible. Easy blowing and I can play mellow and loud and edgy. Not as mellow as I can on the Brilhart. I am super happy with my setup right now.

[@vrumvr6]

@@latinkeys1 if it isn't loud enough that means the tip opening is too small for your liking. The bigger the number, the more open the tip is, and the louder the mouthpiece will play. You can always have the Tonalin opened up by a pro mouthpiece re-facer... good luck! 🎶🎷

[@dylanmenzies3973]

Great playing. I love my 10M but its too old school for most of the my gigs. I play a grassi pro2000 most of the time which I think is something of a forgotten great.

[@RogerNordling]

Nice one! Both combinations sound great and you get your sound on both horns. Nice playing!

[@mikearmstrongmusic]

Conn! I want one...

[@nirolfaciram]

Great playing, each horn has a different sound but very musical.

[@sumitsagaonkar]

both are good sound horns...I own a selmer reference 54 tenor...but my choice as per sound will be Conn 10M...perfect jazz horn.Wonderful warm and more open sound

[@furtherdefinitions1]

The 10M had a slightly bigger soound, while maintaining that full, dark tone, at least to my ears

[@rogerdildeau7507]

Great sound, both horns and I like your technique. I played Mark VI for years but I have been using a 1941 10M because of the style of music I play. I used a metal Link mouthpiece but I have a lot of bottom end in my sound and I need to cut through more so I went to a metal Berg Larsen. I can hear a difference in the tone of the two horns, but they both sound really nice.

[@MrRiguepeu]

Un grand joueur whaouuuuu 🇫🇷👍 Tu sembles plus a l'aise sur le Selmer je crois.

[@kielhunt5878]

I love the sound of the Conn, has a richer more full-bodied tone to my ear. Selmer has a great sound as well, but that conn is unique. I went with a vintage 10m after playing one for the first time recently.

[@wilfig]

Conn!

[@MrGuto]

Sounding great! The 10M sounds so much better to my ears. Definitely gotta a Dexter vibe going on with it.

[@MrGuto]

Listening to this again a year later and WOW! You sound really great. Great ideas throughout. Congratulations.

[@darylbeebe6517]

Yeah man!!! What is the serial number on your 10M. Mine is 311,xxx.

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

I don't remember but it was the last year of rolled tone holes

[@vrumvr6]

@@alvincornistamusic8754 The last year of Conn rolled tone holes is 1947.

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

@@vrumvr6 yeah I do know it was 1947. I have since sold both horns in favor of an SML Gold Medal, Beuscher Big B, and Martin Comm III. I do miss the 10m sometimes

[@alanturner110]

@@alvincornistamusic8754 I'm sad to hear that Alvin! Having been thru many tenors over nearly 50 years, Beuscher (2), Martin Comm III, King S20 (3), Selmer (2), I can safely say that I'm happiest on my Conn '39 10M & '38 30M, pre-war rolled tone holes. There is a palpable difference between them and the 1945 era, RTH or not. Thanks for your tasty playing helpful video. Alan

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

@@alanturner110 Perhaps I made a mistake. But my 10m anyways, I found that for some reason I always had difficulty blending in a live band. Like there was a lot of low frequencies, but not so much in the middle where the sax would sit in a dense mix. Also pitch of the left hand was sharp on mine. Maybe it's just a taste thing but for some reason, if I had the perfect reed, the sound was unbeatable, but when I didn't, there was something left to be desired. (Links, Soloist, Bergs, Ted Klums were my pieces at the time) My Big B 156 was close to it in sound, but sweeter, more focused, more refined.... so I kept the Big B to fulfill that end of the tone spectrum

[@1963Luba]

Very good on both horns...but the Conn is great - for me - : bigger sound!

[@abrahamgamboa]

luv that conn that's the balls man!!!

[@giulianopassaglia4837]

10m❤

[@darylbeebe6517]

Considering selling my 10M to pick up a Yamaha Z. Just not sure it I want to overhaul it for 1000 bucks when I can get the brand new Yamaha for 3000.00. After hearing you on the 10m I may keep it. You sound great!!!

[@chauncywashington2227]

If your 10M is a player and you know that old girl better than you know your wife, don't let her go. There are a lot of them out there, but if you are a match with your horn, don't risk losing her. The Z will be a more uniform sound, smoother action, more ergonomic, but generic. Your sound will only be recognized by your mouthpiece. The Conn is different. Keep your Conn, put a grand into her. But don't touch the finish, forget the scratches and dents. If you want your own personalized sound and been happy with it, keep the naked lady. If you want to sound like everybody else, you can't beat the Yamaha.

[@1dotele]

@@chauncywashington2227 well said true that

[@SAXDAVEBOY]

WOWWW, CONN

[@javierhernandezgomez8950]

Amigo felicidades tocas muy bien, me gustaria que escuchar ambos saxos con la misma boquilla, saludos desde Guerrero, Mexico

[@ziubelu6818]

On the Selmer the tone is good, very recognisible sound.. but man when you play the Conn, my Gosh, is something totally different. You have a darker sound but much more attractive and interesting, you are fast like with the selmer but while with the Selmer a fast scale is just a fast scale, with the Conn a fast scale is 1 fucking note + 1 fucking note + 1 fucking note etc ... Your style with the Conn is different and inmy opinion much better.

[@jeremiecoffin7572]

Agreed! And I am a selmer fanboy all the way... that says a lot...

[@phillipnarte2553]

Lots of 10m lovers on here. Not that i am a player. But i have one of each. Not SBA but 1955 Mk6. 53 10m. Why did all the "Cats" play 6's? Most of the classic Bop tunes were played on Selmer's. I hear Dex on his playing the 10m, but hear the tone of the classics when he plays the Selmer. He's a talented player.

[@robertgerard7055]

Great playing! But is this not more of a moutpiece comparisson, as you play different mouthpieces on the different horns?

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

Yeah it's more of a comparison of early Dexter vs Late Dexter setups! B-)

[@RogerNordling]

The conn seems slightly darker while selmer is brighter but still very full. Bigger sound from the conn.

[@jimcirillo9922]

Great demo and playing. Conn wins this shootout. Would like to hear you on a mark vi. Never liked SBAs

[@johnruffin3291]

He say he has put the Selmer down and now play more of the 10. Because of the sound. I have a yani WO2 it’s a beautiful sounding horn and I love playing it but I bought a 1949 Big B Beausher and the sound of that sax allows me to go wherever I want with no limits. It’s very free blowing. I can go places on that horn I just can’t go on the yani. Those horns were made by hand and everyone has its on heartbeat that’s different from the next one. This is why the older selmers play so beautiful they were each hand made. The modern horns are all computer made. This is why all the new horns sound the same.

[@metamurph]

Nice, challenge is different mouthpiece and reed combos probably a bigger shift than the horn shift. The challenge of going continuous like this rather than A/B testing with single mouthpiece/reed being switched and replaying same thing

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

This is a common assumption (and mistake). Horns are designed differently therefore they favor different setups. To use only one setup to compare two horns will not unlock the potential of each individual horn fairly. Instead of doing that pointless comparison my goal was to find the setup that brought out the best in each horn, then square them off head to head.

[@metamurph]

+Alvin Cornista that is an interesting balance but this would also say that each horn has a single ideal pairing. The sound will be affected by the player too. Thanks for that input have you done a video on figuring out optimum pairings? I think that would be interesting.

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

+metamurph ONLY YOU can figure out what works best FOR YOU. But let me give you another example: in the world of mouthpieces we have different length facings short facing versus long facing and as you probably know each facing requires a different cut of reed. Short needs thinner tip and/or softer reed, long needs thicker tip/ harder reed. This is an example of certain variables that need to be optimized to get best results.

[@metamurph]

Alvin Cornista yeah, I am working through that for myself right now. I have just restarted playing after basically 30 years. If only mouthpieces weren't 150-500 a piece, it is a costly learning circuit. But it is fun to experiment and figure out how different mouthpiece, reed, lig, affects sound and I pay more attention to certain aspects then when I was a teen.

[@1dotele]

@@alvincornistamusic8754 absolutely correct

[@mshin_music]

I'd liket to get a 10M silverplated damn.

[@oreodog]

3:35

[@Lovartphoto]

Conn RULESSSSS!!!!

[@theludicrouslime]

3:17 *the l i c c*

[@devilshark6694]

I thought the Selmer was way cleaner sounding and smooth as hell. Your ideas were much more fluid.

[@gabrielcostasax]

Me encanta como suenas con el Conn!, el SBA esta genial, pero el Conn tiene un plus de sonido y personalidad muy contrastante.

[@JeremyMcCant]

Don’t get me wrong, the SBA is great, but that Conn walked all over it. The Conn’s tone is SO MUCH MORE pronounced, fuller, bigger, bolder. The seller is great, but MAN, that Conn is NO JOKE🔥🔥🔥

[@sebastiansprotte2551]

but why are you playing on different mouthpieces?

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

Because I picked the best setup. Often times what works for one horn does not work for the other.... Hence it wouldn't be fair to test and compare a horns potential on a single mouthpiece that doesn't match best.

[@sebastiansprotte2551]

@@alvincornistamusic8754 yeah I see and feel your point.. but I think for a good comparison, the same mouthpiece would be better.. or maybe both mouthpieces on both saxes?

[@GerryLSmith]

That would be interesting. I was expecting to prefer the Conn but I prefer the SBA.

[@raefblack7906]

Conn 10m easily

[@Jazzznbluezzz1]

You are a great player! The Conn - Dukoff sounds more full and husky to me but i like them both. I am biased for I play a 10M myself however for a tune like this and your playing style I would favor the SBA.

[@mrpeebee1]

Very nice playing on both setups, but IMO not really a 'clean' compare between a Selmer SBA vs a Conn 10M because you changed mouthpieces and reeds and also did some serious after recording processing on the sound clips. I've seen why you did it this way in some of the other comments and understand why, but still think you can't call this a sax vs sax compare. A better title would have been setup 1 vs setup 2! That being said, I preferred your Conn setup in this recording. I also once compared my 1953 Selmer SBA with a 1932 Conn Transitional (both tenors), but used the same mouthpiece and reed for both recordings and didn't apply any after processing to the sound clip, just to have a 'clean' horn to horn compare (knowing that each horn could have sound better/different with another mouthpiece). My compare clip can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKDJeKV5ra2Yaqc

[@johnruffin3291]

The Selmer is his main horn. He’s more comfortable player it. The 10 he is not use to player he struggles with the 10.

[@Gruezi583]

conn

[@MegaRas73]

SBA

[@Resetasylum]

Lovely, but the conn, yes, thats my choice. Because the market led to tawinese stencils copying the selmers they all sound pretty much the same these days with a different brand name. This makes it difficult to discern one player from another.

[@danielbeaumier5313]

très bon player, mais pour comparer il faudrait avoir le même set-up

[@eriknewland3686]

Conn wins TBH

[@badlourising]

Same mouthpiece and reed would be truer comparison

[@alvincornistamusic8754]

SBA + Hollywood BD = too thin SBA + Link = just right 10m + Link = too muddy 10m + Hollywood BD = just right That’s how they worked for me to give an idea of how they might sound with the same mouthpiece. Both reeds are the same and do sound very similar as is

[@espr7564]

Good player but that "buzzy" sound is not good ☹

[@jonviol]

Conn comes alive. Pity about the horrible keywork .