What I Like About A Baritone Sax?

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picture: Daniel Miguel

In this post, I will tell you what I pursuing when trying a baritone. Of course, each one has his own experience and objectives. I will be happy to hear if you find mine useful.

In November 2023, I wrote a post to remark a few points we don’t usually take notice when buying a baritone saxophone.

There, I recommend you to not hurry. Take your time to try different brands and models and look on it as a learning process. Take into consideration that dealers and music stores don’t always have enough stock to meet customer demands. Furthermore, you should be clear what you need it for: new or used, with low A and high F-sharp or not, its touch and ergonomics, weight, etc. Make a realistic budget by including other accessories (harness, case, mouthpiece, etc.).

Try always baritones with your current set-up (mouthpiece, reeds and ligature) to have the same mouthfeel. You will find differences among them easier. It would be great if you try them with a colleague to listen to each other and share your impressions.

By the way, if you feel like hearing some music while reading, you can listen to all my albums in this link.

Let’s continue. Basically, this is what I like about a baritone sax:

It should be easy and direct

Response and articulations won’t be easy in an over 2-meter length conic instrument. You can improve it by playing with a very good set-up, indeed, but it is very important that the tube helps. Pay attention to the response in the low register and the articulation in the full range of the baritone(s).

It should be homogeneous but also malleable

Homogeneity is a very important aspect of sound. Anyway, the way you can modify it without impairing its quality is also remarkable. Take a baritone you can play progressive filed sounds, change the timber and play some extended techniques with ease in all register (also altissimo). Compare overtones with real fingerings also: apart from intonation, do you have also found many other differences?

It should be light and ergonomic

Take this in mind, even if you are strongly built, a good length of arms and hands. Although you take care of your body position, you will save some inconveniences if you play often the baritone saxophone. Music is like an ultra-distance race and would be a pity to abandon or change the instrument due to fatigue or any injury. Now, you can find baritones with a very pleasant to touch mechanism.

It should be well balanced in all registers

A baritone not only have to produce a good sound in the low octave. Don’t take an instrument if quality changes for worse (nasal and thin sound, unbalanced intonation, etc.) in the second octave. Although you usually play in the low register in your band, you will save lot of time and effort if the repertoire ever changes and you have to work on the medium and high registers.

Projection

A large sound not necessarily is a projected sound. If you don’t usually play amplified, don’t be appealed by the sound spectrum generated around you when blowing. Think how the audience will listen to you at a certain distance. The effort needed should not be only yours: look for a tube that helps you.

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Have you ever posed these questions? Many of these points are very related among them. Take your time to try. You could also create an excel form to valuate and write your impressions. It will be very useful to remember an instrument you tried some weeks/months ago.

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