| That's exactly right, Rowuk. Different sounds for different repertoire.
Music is about variables in musical situations. Yes, of course every attempt at playing something is going to have a slight difference to it. There is, fortunately, enough that's consistent about my approach so that a test of an instrument will be a fair one.
My favorite to play was the Prana 3 as an overall horn. Everything else was a variation in another direction. The Prana 1 was a VERY close second. I play the XLT Prana these days because it fits in with what the current music director likes. The last music director liked my 937, a heavier, more dense sound. Different strokes.
I thought the Ajna was the most beautiful sound. Of course, out of all of you, I was the only one to experience that recording in a life acoustic environment as aopposed to coming out of litle or larger computer speakers. The differences were startling and was what prompted Dave's having me do that demonstration.
People are fond of saying "They all sound like Manny." Well, that's nice but what one is really saying is that it sounds like my musical concept, not my aural concept. The player is in command of a certain portion of the sound but the horn is the delivery system and that will have a great bearing on what a person on the other side hears. I'm responsible for phrasing and articulation. The horn will bear the responsibility of making intonation easier or more difficult, brightness or darkness, how hard the articulation sounds, and other things.
Thanks for your questions, guys...
ML |