Thomann CMS-600 S C- Melody Sax

I've been playing in arty little dance and improvising bands for 40 years , mostly alto and tenor . Until recently it never occurred to me to consider a C-melody sax . I became interested in acquiring one primarily because I am so slow at transposition and a lot of music I want to learn is written for instruments in C . What does a C-melody sound and feel like? This CMS-600 S C-melody with the right mouthpiece has a very compelling and supple sound to my ear . It is also a beautiful and solidly built horn . Thomas provides a very good mouthpiece which I will use but I'm also enjoying playing with a Morgan C5 immensely . Before I bought this horn I acquired a newly manufactured unbranded C melody from China which has very good intonation and sound as well as quite decent playability BUT the clunkiest octave mechanism I've ever tried to work with . I immediately started searching for a more modern design . The CMS-600 S C-melody 's octave key works great !! My main " complaint " about this horn is that if you don't have large hands / long fingers you have to do some serious stretching and quick repositioning on many occasions ( playing high E , F and low B , B flat ) Though I wish it was designed more like my P. Mauriat alto and tenor , key layout wise , I am getting used to it and do love its significantly strong sound. Already my band is arranging and composing material to incorporate its distinct voice

I've wanted a C-Melody Sax for years - mainly because they were popular in the (distant) past for playing traditional Irish music: it's easy to get the D scale you require in order to be in the same pitch as e.g. the uillean pipes, timber flute and indeed any of the "traditional" instruments, which are usually pitched in D although of course the music is not confined to that key.

I opted for the silver plated sax. It truly is a beautiful instrument and met all my expectations. It's easy to play and produces a range of timbres from raunchy to sweetly melodic, everything you would expect from a sax. It's robust but also easy on the eye. Details like the fine tuner on the mouthpiece show that it has been designed with care and from experience.

The case it came in is excellent, light but sturdy and functional, and I was pleased to be supplied with a reed - it's not clear from the site what reeds are required for this particular instrument but it seems straightforward alto reeds do the job. Also supplied was a pad-saver and various cloths for cleaning the instrument, and some cute cotton gloves to help avoid fingerprints. A couple of swabs would have been useful and this is something I will have to improvise. A spare mouthpiece was a further welcome inclusion.

I can't fault the instrument itself and look forward to many happy hours interrogating its capacities.