Aaron Santee ... "Sax Rig" Page

More specifics on the saxophone equipment I use...

For Alto, I'm playing a Santee M27 Pro-Fusion phosphorus brass alloy, un-lacquered. It's a hefty horn, and produces a very complex and full sound, that can get very bright when pushed. The dynamic and tonal range is beyond that of any other saxophone I've ever tried.

Mouthpiece-wise, I'm currently using a clear Dukoff D8 that I've modified quite a bit. The M27 Pro-Fusion saxophone design lets me get away with using less of a baffle, but still giving me the edge I look for. So I've taken off quite a bit of the secondary baffle, since I don't need as much brightness from it (...with very high baffles, very large chambers can make the horn more difficult to control. Around '95-'96 I had Dave Guardala make me a tenor mouthpiece with the highest, longest baffle that he would make, which needed a bullet hole drop-off into a medium-large chamber - the chamber couldn't be large, because he mentioned that this combination would have then been too difficult to control). Also, I was able to open up the chamber on my Dukoff a bit more, and make the sides by the baffle, leading into the larger chamber, a bit concave. And the neck's 45° bevel seems to help guide the air from a larger chamber mouthpiece more efficiently. I figured since a lot of the contemporary players seem to be playing Links with wedge baffles added-on, why not do away with the harsh 90° entry, and go for a more accommodating 45° entry? Also, I always use 2 clear patches on every mouthpiece, the clear Runyon patches seem to be really difficult to bite through, but also cushion the teeth very well!

Regarding reeds, I'm using MARCA "JAZZ" #3 on alto, just because they play very freely, have a lot of bite, but also a lot of substance, and they're very consistent. They remind me a little bit of LaVoz, Superial, and Vandoren Java, but the MARCA Jazz reeds seem to have more 'life'. A perfect match for what I'm going for all-around.

Case-wise, I've been using an Ameritage "Nouveau" for some time, and really like it. Like I mentioned before, the neck (with the mouthpiece and ligature on it) stays in the Sax Scarf inside the bell, so I just use the mouthpiece compartment inside the Ameritage for a small spray bottle I use to hydrate my reeds.

For Tenor - I used the same model as alto (Santee M27 Pro-Fusion phosphorus brass, un-lacquered) for the same reasons. (TENOR UPDATE: I currently don't own a tenor, but the gear I mention here is what I'm playing in that brief video demo on www.SanteeSaxophones.com. I've been working on an update to the M27 Pro-Fusion saxophone line - I've focused on updating the alto model first, which is made from an alloy that has similar tonal characteristics as phosphorus brass, but it looks entirely different (a white metal alloy). The updated alto version is offered with a medium bore, and responds with a more focused sound that I've noticed has a bit more kick in the high range/upper-midrange (...at some point, I plan to offer a large bore version as well). I have the alto prototype, and it's design is now ready to roll as the updated production model M27 Pro-Fusion. Due to limited resources, I haven't been able to focus on the same updates for tenor yet, since this alloy is not currently available for my tenor design specs ...more info on all of this in the near future, God-willing).

Mouthpiece-wise, I'm still using the JGerber but will probably be switching to a Charlie A's BBQ, or a metal Dukoff D9, D10, P9, P10, or one of these days. Will probably take down the secondary baffle a little bit (on a Dukoff) as well as narrow the rails slightly (can't do too much narrowing w/a Dukoff though, due to the metal's relatively soft properties).

For reeds, I also use MARCA "JAZZ" reeds, but need a 3 1/2 or sometimes 4 on the JGerber. Might have it opened up a bit more at some point - I want to use softer reeds. If/when I switch tenor mouthpieces, I'll probably end up using #3's on tenor. Really wanna get that .125" Charlie A's BBQ that I tested about 4 years ago!

I'm using a metal Selmer ligature on tenor right now. By the way, I only use plastic mouthpiece caps. Found that metal caps tend to act as de-humidifiers (if playing in a cold climate) and are more likely to draw moisture from your reed than if using plastic caps.

You've probably noticed there's no soprano equipment mentioned above, that's because I had to sell my soprano to help get Santee Saxophones up and running. Normally, I would use an acrylic Runyon Custom #12 with spoiler, clear Runyon mouthpiece patches, and MARCA "JAZZ" 2 1/2 or 3 reeds. (SOPRANO UPDATE: I have a prototype M27 Pro-Fusion soprano, but it doesn't have the sound I'm looking for just yet, so I plan to have a similar prototype soprano made out of the same alloy used in the prototype of the updated alto M27 Pro-Fusion design. So in the near future (God-willing), will have both the alto and the soprano models available in the updated M27 Pro-Fusion version.)