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Inspired by the classic horns of yesteryear with a traditional compact bell flare for a centered and focused sound. Supplied with the Super Jazz VI neck.With case and basic mouthpiece. Free UK mainland delivery."Unsurprisingly, the new Swing 55 alto shares many of the fine playing characteristics of the tenor version. As you would expect the build quality is good, the intonation is very impressive and the mechanism feels smooth and solid. The matt gold lacquer gives a classy understated appearance but as you look closer the fine detailed hand engraving starts to reveal itself, continuing all the way from the neck, down the body, around the bow, bell and even inside the bell! There is that common Mauriat thing in the sound that I am growing used to hearing - a nice breathiness and breadth of tone. Andy Sheppard calls it "that woody/grainy thing," and I know what he means. Like the tenor, the alto also has an exceptionally full-bodied tone with warm resonance - the sound is even broader than the PMX-67R and that's really saying something! With a Meyer mouthpiece I was reminded of that Cannonball Adderely sound, encouraging me to play in more of a swing/be-bop style. In the middle register the sound has a 'floaty' quality - by this I mean quite expansive and not too cutting. Climb on up to the altissimo and the Swing 55 helps you out as well as any horn I've played.The designation 'Swing' is appropriate as you really feel you are going back to an age when one of the most popular horns was the Conn 6M, famous for it's full bodied tone. Again, (like the tenor) there is more resistance with the Swing 55 when compared with the 67R - this is the natural trade-off that you'd expect given that the 67R has more focus and crispness of sound.The Swing 55 scores highly in all areas but the really great thing about the Swing 55 is that it offers players a potential sound that hasn't been available in a new horn for many, many years." - jim@sax.co.uk
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