the Instruments

An unknown dressing room around 2010? From the left Yamaha soprano, silver, bought from Yamaha in Japan mid 1970s. Lovely quite heavy sax - great tone, not quite as warm but much better intonation than Selmer MK VI I mostly played before. Mouthepiece Dukoff D5 and Rovner ligature. Reed probably Plasticover medium soft I used then as very good for live gigs especially outdoor .

Hiding behind the Tenor my silver Selmer MkVI alto bought new in Paris in 1972 on Roxy’s first trip aboard (still have the original grey case but a bit worn). All the heart and magic you expect from the greatest horn. Also Dukoff D5 etc.

Mk VI tenor, bought secondhand at Take 5 music store on Shaftebury Avenue while recording first Roxy Music album at Command Studios 1972. I started recording with it right away with the Selmer C* ebonite mouthpiece it came with. Not too bad for rock and roll. Now use Dukoff as with others. Used to use mostly Rico Royal reeds but now sometimes Vandoren or Plasticover and also Legere synthetic, which are pretty good, and very tough!

The oboe is either a Malerne which my parents bought for me when I was a student, or a nice old Howarth open key from the 1950s. I have used Fibrecane reeds for many years and now also use Legere plastic European scrape which is surprisingly good. I had two of each instrument when on tour in case of damage. I have Selmer Super Action Number 80 alto and tenor, which are pretty good instruments and that I still use along with the Mk VI.

Next along is the Grafton alto. Very fragile and various repairs. Graftons are quite brittle plastic and break if you drop them. I did use it occasionally on stage in the 2000s including at Live 8 in Berlin. In front of the Grafton is a Yanagisawa Bronze curved soprano. This is a nice instrument and I thought would be useful with a mic stand so as not to have to keep adjusting it for a straight soprano but in the end, I haven’t played it very much. Hope to give information on pedals and treatments in the future.