Antigua ProOne TS6200 VLQ Tenor Saxophone
Thursday, June 20, 2013
We reviewed the Peter Ponzol, designed Antigua ProOne Alto as a pre-production model when it first came on to the market a couple of years ago, and were generally very impressed with the instrument.
Now the ProOne series is in full production it seemed like a good time to check out the tenor model to see what, if anything, had been improved upon from the preproduction samples.
The first thing that you notice about the ProOne Tenor is the stunning finish of its vintage lacquer (at present the only finish available), along with its weight. We put it up against a Selmer Mk VII, which was never a lightweight sax, and found that the Antigua topped the Selmer on the scales. We reckon that there must be a substantial amount of copper in the metallurgy.
Trident key arms have now been fitted to the bell keys for betterbalanced pressure and, as on the pre-production models, the bell keys have rolled tone holes. To the back of the stack there is now a distinctive double sling eye. The neck of the Tenor has also been redesigned and christened the P1, having a slightly wider angle to facilitate ease of playing. The palm keys are perfectly positioned and are a joy to play through, while both the upper and lower tables are smooth and well balanced. Ergonomically this instrument just feels right.
We fitted our metal Brancher mouthpiece together with a 3 Rico reed and were immediately struck by the really positive action and how free and easy this tenor is to blow. It almost plays itself! The intonation is spot on and the dynamic range is impressive. The harmonics pop out and the overall tone is full and gutsy, with a particularly meaty bottom end – with a very secure bottom C. In fact we got more out of the Antigua than we did from our Mk VII.
The ProOne comes in a semirigid case covered in ballistic nylon denier with a three-quarter nylon zip, with two substantial zipped face pockets, grab handles to the top and side, shoulder sling and back harness with padded back support. The interior is shaped and plush lined with compartments for the crook and ligature/mouthpiece.
This is a horn that certainly raises the stakes in the circa £2,000 market. For more info go to www.bandm.co.uk