Aquilasax Celeste ii C soprano
Origin:
China (www.aquilasax.com)
Guide price: £500 (without mouthpiece)
Weight: 1.075kg
Date of manufacture: February 2013
Date reviewed: March 2013
A modern incarnation of a rare saxophone, for
enthusiasts on a budget
On paper, the C soprano has a few things going for it. For a start it's
small - and thus very portable; a sort of take-it-anywhere horn. That
portability suggests that it might be used on an ad-hoc basis - in situations
where there might not be any written music to follow or, if there is,
that it's likely to be written in concert (such as a piano, flute or violin
part). In such cases an instrument pitched in C is a boon, especially
if your sight-transposing's a bit iffy.
It's also a bit different tonally. Every sax has its own general tone,
and while you can choose a mouthpiece and a style of playing that, say,
emphasises the lower harmonics of an alto or the upper harmonics of a
tenor, there will always be that alto or tenor 'thing' going on. Thus
the C Melody (which sits between the alto and the tenor) has a very individual
sound - and so it is with the C soprano.
In practice, though, the C soprano faces a few issues. Like the C Melody,
little development has taken place with regard to design when compared
to standard saxes - and it's always been the case that the higher the
pitch of an instrument, the more critical the acoustic design is. A decent
player can just about get away with an out-of-tune baritone, and most
players can work around a few iffy notes on a tenor or an alto - but once
you get to the Bb soprano it all becomes rather more difficult. Pitching
a sax a tone higher increases the need for accuracy in design as well
as demanding more from the player.
Aha, you say, but what about the sopranino? Yep, that's even more of a
struggle, but the instrument has at least had the benefit of falling within
the 'standard range' of saxes (following the alternating Bb/Eb pattern)
and high-quality modern examples are readily available...such as the Yanagisawa.
Even so, it's not a horn to be taken on lightly.
So it's a very brave manufacturer who chooses to produce one of these
'esoteric' models, especially at a budget price - and with that in mind
I think it's only fair that certain allowances are made, given the target
clientele (enthusiasts, in the main).
Before we begin I should point out that this soprano has come straight
from the factory. In fact it simply turned up on my doorstep one morning,
with no warning and no covering letter or previous correspondence indicating
that one might be on its way. I recall some correspondence with a player
about the Aquilasax C Melody a few months ago, but there was no mention
of a soprano. The retailer, Aquilasax,
states that they have a policy of play-testing their horns before sale
(though it is not clear if play-testing includes any tweaking). There
were a number of relatively minor setup issues with this horn and I am
making the assumption that these would normally be addressed as part of
the play-testing check-up, which this horn would not have had.
The body is built in a single piece (so no detachable crook) and is of
semi-ribbed construction. That's to say that some pillar groups are fitted
to plates (mostly at the top end of the horn) and everything from around
G downwards is mounted on individual pillars. The body's quite neatly
made - in fact it's surprisingly good on the whole, with no signs of sloppy
solderwork or mangled pillar/rib bases.
On
the whole I'd say the body was pretty robust. Put it this way, it
had come all the way from China in just the horn's case, which was
put in a cardboard box and then enclosed in another - with a couple
of completely ineffectual pieces of polystyrene that had been chucked
in the box just so someone could tick the box marked 'With Packing'.
That it arrived still straight and in one piece was amazing - that
it played out of the box was even better.
It had managed to avoid one of the common symptoms of shock damage, that
of a knocked-back bell key pillar. These are usually the first casualty
when the case takes a bash, but the Celeste has a bell key pillar that's,
proportionally, one of the beefiest I've ever seen. Given the relatively
small keys, this pillar is a real brute - practically hewn from the solid.
Of course, there's no point having such a hefty pillar if the base isn't
up to the job...which, fortunately, it is.
Much the same could be said of the thumb hook - which although not adjustable
is nonetheless hefty. There's no sling ring fitted, but given the thickness
of the thumb hook you could practically bolt one on. Strangely enough,
there's a sling supplied with the horn...there's just nowhere to hook
it on.
Most
of the tone holes were nice and level, with only a couple at the top that
needed just a quick touch with a tone hole file to finish them off properly.
A couple of the larger tone holes exhibited a spot of roughness, but nothing
that would demand immediate attention (have them smoothed off when the
instrument is next serviced).
There are a couple of hiccups though. The tone holes are all drawn...even
the very smallest ones, and that's quite unusual. It's quite hard to do
these accurately and so it's more common to find that these tiny tone
holes (5-7mm dia.) are silver-soldered in place. A close look at them
reveals that the manufacturer ran into a few problems when drawing such
small tone holes and had to resort to filling in a few splits here and
there. It's no big deal provided it's done with silver or 'hard' solder
(which it is) and neatly (close enough for jazz).
The finish on the body is matt bare brass with a polished bell flare.
Looks quite attractive, what with the polished keys (again, bare brass),
but you should be aware that bare metal finishes can require a lot of
upkeep. Some players will have no trouble at all, but others may find
that they have a sort of anti-Midas thing going on - whereby everything
golden they touch turns green. Keeping a bare brass horn clean is tricky
enough when it's something the size of an alto, but with something this
small it's going to be a very fiddly job indeed.
The
keywork isn't too bad. In places it's actually very good. The main
stacks are snug - there's barely even any free play on the front
top F key...which on some horns is often so loose that it flaps
in the breeze. This bodes well for reliability. If the keys are
stiff enough (which they are) and the pads are well set (so so)
then all that's needed is a nice tight stack action. Two out of
three isn't bad straight out of the box.
The niggles start to creep in on some of the side keys. The thing is,
it's not universal. For example, the top F palm key has a little
bit of a wobble on it, as does the side Bb, but the rest of the
keys are either acceptable or even excellent. The octave key mechanism
is worthy of note, being relatively beefy for the size of the horn
- though I would have liked to have seen a little less free play
in the swivel arm. That's being particularly picky though, as the
mechanism worked just fine. A worthwhile mod would be to have the
swivel arm ends reduced in diameter and fit them with Teflon tubes.
You'd get a slick and quiet mechanism for the price of about 15
minutes' work (you could even do the job yourself if you're handy
with a fine file) - but even as it stands it's a vast improvement
over the weird and not-too-wonderful mechs you'll find on many vintage
sopranos.
And,
of course, the point screws get their usual drubbing. They're of
the pseudo type and I'm afraid to say they do rather let the rest
of the horn down.
The thing is though, if you tighten up the point screws the free play
disappears...but it does so not because the screw points are sitting more
snugly in the key barrels but rather because the pillars have been drilled
a touch too deep...and the thread of the screw comes out the other side.
This means that the end of the key barrel butts up against the thread
of the point screw. It certainly takes up the free play, but it won't
be for very long - the sharp edges of the steel thread will make short
work of the softer key barrel.
The fix for this would involve either swedging the ends of the key
barrels (sod that) or replacing the screws with proper points. The
former tends to be a bit pricey as it's quite labour intensive and
the latter can be tricky as it's not always easy to find screws
that will fit...and having them made won't be that cheap.
As it stands I wouldn't personally be put off buying the horn because
of it, but I would urge the manufacturer to address the issue simply because
it deserves it.
The
cup arms are a bit variable. On most keys they're just fine, but
on one or two they're just a bit thinner than I'd like to see. Much
of this is down to the way in which these Chinese horns are manufactured
(i.e. by hand). Sometimes the length of the cup arms are a bit 'approximate',
and where the back of the cup doesn't sit fully home in the 'cutout'
in the arm, you're left with quite a thin bit of metal on which
to hang the cup.
I doubt it will be an issue in normal use, but it does make the key more
prone to being pushed out of alignment in the event of some rough handling
or a knock.
The pads look to be of the generic Chinese variety. They're not so bad,
but one or two of them could be better set. A bit sticky too, but a dose
of lighter fluid usually sorts this out. The vent key pad appears to be
solid leather. This is actually quite a nice trick - it tends to be more
reliable than a standard pad with a hole punch in it, and rather quieter
in use than a cork pad - but in this case it's not particularly neat.
That said, it seals just fine. Similarly, the corkwork (buffer, regulation
corks etc.) is a bit untidy - but functional.
There
are a few concessions to tweakers in the shape of a couple of regulation
adjusters on the top stack and adjustable pins on the octave, front F,
G# and low C# keys - along with the usual adjusters for the Bis Bb and
G#.
Powering the action is a set of stainless springs which, it has to be
said, were quite well set.
A very curious addition is that of the lyre holder. Nothing unusual about
that, as a rule, but this one appears to have no provision for tightening
up a lyre. It's also placed precariously close to the low C key foot and
barrel, and not so far from the low C# key barrel - so even if there was
a screw for holding the lyre in place (or a clamping screw on the lyre
itself), you'd be hard put to get at it.
In the hands the horn feels quite good. Perhaps the key selling point
is that it's a modern take on a type of horn that some would consider
to be 'obsolete'. Those who disagree with this viewpoint would,
up until recently, have had to make to do vintage examples...and
thus vintage ergonomics - unless they had a spare couple of grand
handy. The
Celeste benefits enormously from a modern key layout, complete with
a tilting bell key table, and they've made a pretty good job of
it. I would perhaps liked to have seen the Bis Bb pearl further
out (see below, right), and slightly raised and rounded - but it's
a small point. The fixed thumb hook may cause problems for some
players, in which case the options would be to have it moved or
modified (or just get used to it). It seemed fine to me, though
I would probably round off the leading face to get rid of a square
edge that tends to dig into my thumb a little.
As mentioned at the start of the review, it's a factory setup...so there's
some room for improvement, but it's by no means terrible. Just a few minor
tweaks here and there improved things - and an hour's worth of work would
really pay dividends. Some of that time could be spent removing the white
powdery residue that seems to be plastered here and there over the instrument.
Wax polish perhaps? One method of keeping a bare brass horn from going
green is to give it a coat of wax polish - but it's also a good idea to
apply it sparingly and to avoid getting it on the pads and corks, and
to avoid gumming up the action. You needn't go looking for a 'proper instrument
wax polish', just a good-quality vehicle wax will do - and you might find
the liquid-based ones are a little easier to work with rather than the
paste ones.
Playing
the C soprano is a quite an experience. A standard Bb soprano can be quite
challenging - and if you've ever spent any time with a sopranino you'll
know that rather than using your embouchure to finely tune and shape each
note it's more a case of indulging in a spot of all-in lip-wrestling.
Much of this is due to the compromises that are inherent in the instrument
- and the higher the pitch, the more pronounced those compromises are.
While the C soprano isn't as demanding as the sopranino, it's clearly
rather more picky than the Bb soprano - so you'll need a good set of chops
to get the best out of it, and a certain amount of determination. And
that doesn't mean sitting there contemplating the wonders of life, the
universe and perfect pitch - it means good old-fashioned practising.
The good news is that the Celeste appears to be up to the task. Granted,
if you bung a mouthpiece on and play into a tuner from the off, you're
going to experience a world of pain - but if you take the time to find
the centre of each note and work on precise pitching, everything snaps
into line...more or less. I say more or less because a saxophone pitched
this high is going to be skittish...and if you think you can master it
in a couple of hours, you're in for a nasty shock (and so is anyone within
earshot).
I started off at note one thinking "What the ....!", but within
ten minutes I'd figured out that precise mouthpiece placement is crucial
for both tone and tuning, and within twenty minutes I'd roughly mapped
out where my embouchure needed to be to even out the tuning between notes.
Tonewise it's a bit hard to comment with any authority...I mean, how
many C sopranos have I played? Maybe a handful...a small handful?
I expected it to be quite shrill, but it's actually quite a rounded sound.
I might even suggest that there's a touch of darkness to it.
OK, that might be stretching it a bit - but it's certainly not an excessively
bright tone. I think 'playful' would describe it quite well. It doesn't
have the gravitas of, say, an oboe, but nor does it suffer from the tweeness
of the piccolo. And nor, strangely enough, does it have a tendency to
'quack', as quite a few Bb sopranos can do.
I noted some unevenness in tone across the range, but nothing that would
concern me given this paragraph's opening sentence. Just as it's necessary
to 'find' the tuning, you'll also need to shape the tone. With some more
extensive playing I found it progressively easier to even everything up,
and I'd even go so far as to say it seemed a little less demanding that
one or two vintage sopranos I've played in my time.
What really surprised me was how soulful it sounded. It's much like the
bass saxophone - you might be inclined to think of it as an 'oom-pah'
instrument and yet it can croon with the best of them. Similarly,
the C soprano seems to have a built-in plaintiveness that's very endearing.
The
horn came with a hard rubber mouthpiece as well as a metal one (Note:
the instrument is supplied without a mouthpiece as standard). Unlike a
C Melody, which can sometimes work adequately with either an alto or a
tenor mouthpiece, the C soprano may not work at all with a standard Bb
soprano mouthpiece. Or so they say.
I suspect this depends largely on the design of the piece, because my
ebonite Link 5* seemed to work pretty well. To be fair, although the Link
gave me a better tone I still felt that the metal C soprano (a C6) piece
made it easier to lock the tuning in, though tonally it tended a little
towards the bright compared to the Link. The rubber mouthpiece was a little
warmer but not quite as nice to play - and neither of them had terribly
good ligatures.
So - the big question - is it worth it?
Well, what are the alternatives? It's either a vintage example - and you
take your chances with the ergonomics and, especially, the tuning - or
you dig very deep and splash a few grand on a specialist-built model.
In that respect alone the Celeste wins hands down.
Were this yet another ultra-cheap Chinese soprano I'd probably not even
bother to review it - there would be plenty of other models out there
which would be better value for money - but this is a modern take on a
very rare horn, and as such it deserves a bit of leeway. That leeway comes
in terms of the build quality. Yes, it could be better - it deserves to
be better (and that's a compliment), but it's good enough for the price
and the rarity.
I've given it a tough review, but it's still won me over - and if I needed
a C soprano I'd be quite happy with this one.
So the Celeste gets my recommendation - with the following caveats: It's
cheap enough to buy, but perhaps budget for at least an hour of your tech's
time to really lick it into shape. It'll be worth it. Read up on C soprano
mouthpieces and decide whether it'll be worth your while getting one...or
at least finding a Bb one that will work with the C.
Keep in mind that the case is of the generic zippered variety - when (not
if) it breaks you won't find it easy to find a replacement. However, it
will fit into a standard soprano case provided it's for one that has a
detachable crook...though you might need to pad it out a little.
You may also want to consider the Eclipse (from the same company), which
is essentially the same model but with a few extras such as a top F# and
an adjustable thumb hook.
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