Boo...GREAT CHOICES OF PLAYERS! I'd add Gato Barberi and Paul Desmond...just personal preferences...

Russ

Tommy,

I would like to point out, that Dave is the Product Support Manager for Generalmusic and besides him, and we have many others that actually frequent many forums and newsgroups. Generalmusic also has a policy that the dealers we select must be able to support the products they sell, so if you were to purchase a Generalmusic product, besides the resources available from Generalmusic which is fairly vast, you also have the resources from the store in which you purchased the instrument.

I think also, what David was trying to say about companies that make products other than Musical instruments, was not a put down, nor take away what these companies produce. However, a positive about Generalmusic is that Generalmusic produces nothing except musical instruments, and have been doing so as a family business for over a century. Everyone that is involved in the decisions actually plays, and most of them extremely well, giving a unique perspective that only a musician would have. Generalmusic, has always been known as an innovator from the from the time that Mr. Galanti invented the Piano Accordion, right up to today’s innovation with the genesys instrument and the Drake processor. To put it another way, there are many Ford and Chevy’s dealerships out there and they are good vehicles, but let us not put down the Lamborghini just because there isn't as many, nor is it for everyone.

Tommy,

Ditto what PaulD said.

And I didn't mean anything by the golf cart, etc. comment. And yes, they do make a good bike.

Seriously, the service (or lack there of) that you have experienced with the other companies you mentioned is not the case with General Music. As Paul said, I am the
Nat'l Product Support Mgr. for General Music.

Providing excellent product support is very important to me. Over the years I have experienced both incredibly poor support and also good support for products that I have owned. I know how important it is to have someone who can be counted on when you have questions or problems that need to be dealt with.

I have been involved in the keyboard industry for 25+ years in design and manufacturing and the retail side of the business as well. I chose to pursue General Music for a job because I genuinely believe in the products they design. I haven’t cut down other brands, in fact I said that all of the instruments available today are pretty good and they are. But if you really give the Genesys a fair shake, you might be surprised at just how user-friendly, versatile, great sounding and fun the instrument is to play.

Sorry if I came off as argumentative in my last post, I didn’t mean too.

Dave


[This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 03-01-2004).]

[This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 03-01-2004).]

"if you really give the Genesys a fair shake, you might be surprised at just how user-friendly, versatile, great sounding and fun the instrument is to play."

I would love to give it a fair shake. I've been pretty aggressive in trying to see one since it came out. Paul has planned to come through and show me one, and Phil Huston from Dallas and I have been trying to link up, but so far it hasn't happened.
I don't know if I'll be able to come to the California get-together as it is a weekend and means I'll have to miss at least two nights of work. Chances are I won't be able to. And I shouldn't have to fly a couple thousand miles to see one anyway. Sooner or later though. . .
DonM

Dave and Paul -

In no way did you come off confrontational. I apologize if my post appeared to take that stance.

I have absolutely zero experience with GEM products, other than what I have read on this site and what I have seen on the web.

I was unhappy with my Ketron experience and incorrectly ported that sentiment to the GEM product line. My fault and I apologize for it.

I still wouldn't consider a GEM only because if it is that hard to even demo a product, how hard could it be to get support? This may be an incorrect assumption but it's how I feel.

A lot of Fords and Chevy's take their owners to work day in and day out and you can test drive one anywhere.

Tommy

I definitely understand where you are coming from. However, product support for GEM products is a simple e-mail or phone call away. I promise that you will get a response in a very reasonable time.

As for dealers, believe me, Paul is working very hard to see that our coverage is increased by good quality dealers that can and will provide the type of proper support to their customers that we as a manufacturer are willing and able to supply to them.

Dave

Russ,

Paul Desmond played Alto, so he doesn't count in the Tenor sax catagory just as I didn't mention Charlie Parker, Cannon Ball Aderly and a host of others.

Gato does excellent with the style he plays. All I'm saying is I think many who are considered to be great players today down deep wish they could play as well as the four I mentioned in my earlier post.

Maybe this will help. There are many very good quarterbacks today. I bet quite a few wish they were as good as Elway, Marino, and Montana. Every pass Farve throws breaks one of these guys records.

Sorry:
I know is VERY subjetive when ANYBODY talks about how a sound should sound like, is not just how the keyboard (any BRAND) generates it SOUNDS, how is PLAYED/attack, the bending usually is before reach the pitch....(Dito Fran Carango)...example: the Acoustic Guitar has 6 strings, and usually is either played down or up /strum/arpeggio....is most likely that the people I heard to their recordings/secuences, played like a piano, without regarding the 6 strings, and if is played down or up, depending what you are playing....., only VERY few know how to do it.
Well, you just confirm to MY ears that Ketron still the King in matter of sounds, not just in the Saxes, but also in choirs among others, I hope you listen to the ketron's choirs.....and that I put to rest...

------------------
mdorantes

Boo..I agree...guess I didn't know we were only talking about tenor players.

The players you are talking about were from a special era, abd they took sax to a level that has never been reached since.

Russ

For the umpteenth time!!!! It all comes down to 3 things. Donny and Dave is gonna love this!

If you can sing and play your ax, ( keyboard for those of you in Rio Linda California), the keyboard to the client - patrons - customers whom ever (or is it who ever Gary?) is insignificant. Let me repeart that for the Rio Linda folks. If you can sing and play your ax, the brand of keyboard you use is INSIGNIFICANT to the people. IT IS ONLY IMPORTANT TO YOU THE USER!!!

I'd listen to Dexter Gordon play a $50 sax all night. He'd be miserable, but the average person wouldn't know the difference.

The third thing is ,"Can you entertain?" I've heard people that were so bad, I mean they couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, that I litterally laughed at them in-side my brain, and the customers where asking me, "isn't he great?"

The public's taste in music sucks. If it didn't, you wouldn't have drug addict bizzionarie rappers on every page in the newspaer killing each other and being arrested for drugs right?

I bet a million bucks Gary, DonM, and Scott could make a bunch of money with a Casio. Donny and Dave could do this too!

However, I'll go a step farther with them. I contend that they have so much crap with them on the business end, and laugh and smile and look at the people on the dance floor so much (for the Rio Linda Folks, that means they flirt a lot) that they could make a living just singing and playing a comb with tissue paper.

Dave, Donny this is the greatest compliment possible from a Cajun. This is not meant to be offensive.

Some got it and some don't. I won't make a lot of money cause I don't got all those attributes to entertain. I just want a few people every now and then to come up and say, Man! I thought Dexter, Getz, Coltrane and Rollins were the only guys that played "Polkadots And Moonbeams" and Darn That Dream" on the sax, and of course a few bucks here and there would help.