![]() ![]() (Just as the name Silvertone used to go on guitars made by Harmony and a dozen other manufacturers.) In the 1980s, the last time I checked, Sears had been selling Lafayette sopranos for $299, so that gave me a maximum price point of the thing. Lafayette was Sears’ brand name for any wind instrument that passed through their stores and catalog, no matter what factory it was made in. But the horn showed no other signs of abuse, or even of much use. Ordinarily that would be a “red flag,” since marching band is brutal on saxophones of all sizes. So, despite the vendor’s claim that his daughter had bought it to play jazz, the horn had been marched around extensively, but not played much at all. Most unusual, every surface where a careless kid would hold the thing to carry it had been corroded by sweaty hands. The mouthpiece was an injection-molded cheapy that had obviously come with the horn. Most of the pads seemed sound, though, and there was little sign that it had been played much at all. With the vendor’s permission, I opened it, to reveal an off-brand straight Bb soprano with unusual wear patterns and several missing pearls. ![]() In the fall of 2012, Shelia and I were at a huge annual flea market (the “Extravaganza”) in the Clark County, Ohio fairgrounds, when I saw an unusual instrument case in one of the vendors’ booths. Again, this interest was essentially academic, as I already have more instruments than my gigging patterns really justify. If nothing else, it would have a wider bore and be closer to my altos than the Martin C. Still, I started playing tenor at church a couple years ago, and that got me wondering if I would benefit from having a more playable soprano, probably a Bb. So when I say that years went by while I wondered if I’d have more luck with a better soprano than my Martin C, it’s not something I worried about every day, or even every year. In fact I may go months on end without ever taking a horn outside of the house. And it still takes a lot of effort to play in tune. If you’ve read up on my experience with the vintage Martin C soprano, you’ll know that my first soprano was a former basket case that has taken a lot of work and practice to be useful for me. This is my second soprano, and it cost me even less than the first one. Horns in my Life: 80s Lafayette Bb Soprano ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |