Wessex Tenor Sackbut?

[Jmindeman]

Hello. I'm curious if anyone out there has spent time on a Wessex tenor sackbut. As I understand it, they do not claim to be accurate reproductions of true sackbuts, but more of a compromise between old and modern instruments. Do they play in tune? Can you get a decent sound out of them? Well constructed?
The only Wessex product I've tried is their 3 valve compensating baritone horn, which I liked a lot.
Thanks.

[bbocaner]

I agree that the 3-valve compensating baritone is a nice instrument, and that a lot of what wessex is doing is admirable. I would not say the sackbuts are on that list though. They really seem to have missed the point of a sackbut. It's got close to the right shape but it just doesn't sound right and you can't play it like you'd play a good one.

[Posaunus]

It's got close to the right shape but it just doesn't sound right and you can't play it like you'd play a good one.

But it's sure a lot cheaper than an "authentic" sackbut, and fun to play with until you can afford the real thing - or a great reproduction, such as the wonderful sackbuts (my opinion) made by Brad Close.

[bbocaner]

Well, there are no real-thing authentic 16th or 17th century instruments floating around to be had - and if there were it's not going to be in playing shape, so they are all reproductions at this point. I've tried one of the Brad Close instruments and it was great. If you want to get into playing sackbut, save up for one of those.

[LeTromboniste]

I've recently had a chance again to spend a few minutes on one and it was quite a bit better than the previous ones I had tried (on which there was no way to make sound remotely like a sackbut - this one did without *too* much effort and when using a really historical mouthpiece). It did change my opinion of them favourably a little bit. In a pinch, if my horn got badly damaged right before a gig and I had access to a Wessex as a back-up, I'd use it and probably find a way to make it sound okay-ish, although I'd probably be very limited in my musicality.

However, there is a BIG caveat : a significant part of learning historical instruments lies in learning from the instrument itself and following it where it leads you, discovering how it wants to be played. And that is of tremendous importance in creating a mental distinction between the way you play your modern trombone and the way you play your sackbut (especially if you intend to play both!). There is no point of playing a sackbut in the first place if you want it to be what you're familiar with - then you could just play the music on your modern instruments (and probably sound better too). A good sackbut will make you learn from itself, and it won't respond well if you blow into it like if you were holding a modern trombone. A Wessex will do the opposite; it won't teach you anything and playing it with modern habits is not only possible but that's what the horn prefers and encourages of you.

So to make it work you need to force it to do something it doesn't want to, and for that you need to already have a very clear concept of how a sackbut is played, how it sounds, how it should feel, and quite a bit of experience playing the real thing. You can probably see the catch-22 here : if someone has that kind of experience, you can bet they already own (or have access to) a much better instrument and wouldn't consider buying this in the first place. I don't really see how somebody who's new to the instrument can progress and learn anything pertinent from playing that horn. If you wanted to attempt it, first you'd absolutely need to ditch the mouthpiece that comes with it and get yourself a proper mouthpiece, and sadly it's not something I typically see people who play on Wessex or similar "compromise" instruments do. Let's face it, who will pay $200 for a mouthpiece to put in a $700 horn?

There is starting to be some cheaper alternatives to the big names Egger and Meinl on the market. I'd recommend keeping your money, saving some more and spending it on a nicer instrument instead. I hear many good things about Brad Close's instruments (he's on this forum), and they are significantly less expensive ($2500 for a tenor).

[bbocaner]

Great post, Maximilien

[Jmindeman]

Thanks for all the helpful comments!