The Bassic Sax Blog

What a difference 80 or so years make. As I was trolling Flickr for some interesting photos I couldn’t help but notice the poses that bands of the 1920s struck when it came to their band photos.

Here is a quintessential band photo of the early part of the 20th century. It was taken in 1927 of the Circle Six Orchestra, of Deseronto, Ontario, Canada.

  Circle Six Orchestra

     Image by: Deseronto Archives  Source: Flickr

This is what a newspaper clipping attached to the back of this photo said about this band:

This popular orchestra is composed entirely of Deseronto boys and has been organized for the past five years. Since this photograph was taken the traps player, James McVicker, has added a set of temple blocks to his equipment. Reading from left to right the players are – Reginald Dawson, Roy Woodcock, Clayton John, James McVicker, Marshall Woodcock and Roy Kitchen (now a resident of Tweed).

Notice that the sax player—Reginald Dawson—is playing a Conn C melody with a straight neck.

Now fast forward to the present day on the West Coast, and Vancouver’s Run With The Heard strikes a very different pose. Here they do their own retro trip back in time to the 80s.

  The Heard

     Photography by: kk+  Source: Flickr

This indie band has managed to generate a buzz in the local music scene, and puts on a live show that creates a circus-like feel. They are however, quite the juxtaposition to the Circle Six Orchestra of just 8 decades ago.

It would be interesting to know what the band photos of 80 years in the future will look like. What attitude will the players display? What poses will they strike? Will base ball bats still be the accessory of choice?

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.

But How Does It Work? It Works Great!

This part of the story picks up where Part 2 left off. The new bass saxophone stand that Andreas Kaling came up with, and had metal designer Ferdy Rose manufacture, is now assembled.

After watching a few more videos of Deep Schrott—and paying particular attention to how they position their horns in their stands—I made some adjustments.

Now that I have the legs of the stand in the best position to give it the greatest stability, and the lower support brace adjusted a bit higher than I originally had it, this new bass stand is amazing. It is strong, supportive, and incredibly stable.

Note: All photos are by M. Margison.

Playing While Sitting

I’ve used this stool for playing for years. I use it not only in my studio, but also at shows that last longer than 1 set… In other words any show we play at that isn’t a festival.

I got it from a friend of mine who owned a couple of hair dressing salons. It is intended for stylists to sit on when they cut your hair. It adjusts in height, so it is ideal for whatever size of sax you play.

If you prefer to play your bass more transversely, this stands allows you to do so. You can adjust it for even more of an angle if you wish. This is my preferred angle of playing while seated.

   Playing While Standing

Transverse playing is now possible too while standing, and you no longer have to wear your 18 lb sax from your neck to do so.

   Some Detailed Pics

I am really pleased with my new bass sax stand. If you’re looking for a really versatile stand that will allow you to play your bass either in a sitting or standing position, and even allow you to adjust the angle at which you play, then this might very well be the stand for you.

Apparently I’m not the only person who thought this stand was a great invention for bass saxophone players. After Andreas read my previous articles he sent me a couple of testimonials from other players who bought the stands. I thought I’d share them here.

This first one is from a player in the USA:

The stand arrived today. It is wonderful. Your workmanship is excellent. It is all that I hoped it would be.

The second comment is from a player in France:

I have recovered the stand. And I just tried it: fabulous! I’m very happy to blow my Conn in these very good conditions. Very, very good product, and a very fine idea… This stand fit very well with my bass Beaugnier too…

These stands are not available through stores. They are only available through special order from Andreas. 

I’d also like to go on record and state that I’m not associated with Andreas in any way, and have no financial interests in his business. I receive no remuneration for sales of his stands. I’m only writing about them because I believe in the product, and think that the bass sax playing community could benefit from the knowledge of their existence.

If you would like to know more about these high quality stands, please contact Andreas directly. He would be happy to answer any questions you may have. He’s a very nice guy. I’ve found him to be a real pleasure to deal with throughout this whole exchange.

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.

The New Bass Sax Stand Has Arrived

This story picks up where Part 1 left off. The new bass saxophone stand that Andreas Kaling designed has arrived from Germany.

Note: All photos, unless otherwise noted, are by M. Margison.

     Photo by: H. Kahlke

My dog Buddy acted as a secondary Customs inspector and wanted to inspect the package prior to opening.

This was one very well taped up box.

Nothing moved during transit. There was not a peanut out of place!

Andreas filled the extra space very well—unfortunately not with a “directions for assembly” sheet. This combined with my lack of spatial ability made assembling the stand way more challenging for me than it would for the average person.

“Did someone say peanuts?” Yes, he did actually eat one before we could get it away from him.

Buddy is 14 years old and is suffering from a form of doggy senility. He also has the beginnings of renal failure. Oh, and BTW, those are not tumors on his side; they are fat pockets.

You’re already beginning to see my spatial retardation. I’m trying to figure out where this will go. I can’t picture it in my head.

Oops, I suddenly find myself reading the packing material. Too bad it’s the sports section. I really don’t care for sports, no matter what language it’s in.

Wow! Talk about lots of bubble wrap. This is really well packaged.

Now I finally find box that contains the main part of the stand.

Ah yes, now the spatial retardation is really becoming obvious. Yes Helen, the thin pole has to slide into the larger one.

Yeah, but where is this supposed to go? I don’t get it.

I decided to start from the bottom up.

It’s coming together now.

At this point I’m guesstimating where the best position for the lower support brace would be.

Project complete! Yeh Helen! Well done.

The cymbal stand alone is nearly as heavy as my bass. I’m guessing it to weigh nearly 15 lbs, but I’d have to put it on a scale to say for sure. (BTW, the bass is 18 lbs according to one of Buescher’s ads of the day.)

Since these last 2 photos were taken I have made some adjustments to the height of the lower support brace and to the positioning of the feet of the cymbal stand. Both of these changes have made the stand more stable, and both are visible in the photos that will be presented in the third, and final part, in this Series about Andreas’ bass stand.

While the idea for the stand came from Andreas, he worked together with a metal designer who helped turn his ideas into reality. Ferdy Rose is the builder of the stand, and the man who helped improve on Andreas’ original ideas.

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.