kneejerk, I am certainly not referring to those who did give advice as being stupid. I appreciate the advice. But you're right. I had my mind made up. I was getting the LaVoix. I wanted to know if anybody had play-tested them, owned them, or had even seen one. If I wanted opinions on what I wanted to get for a new horn, I would have seriously considered the advice given and would have seriously considered getting a Mark VI or a vintage Conn. And if I had money. And trust me. I wasn't angered when I made that statement.

no prob. hope what ever you get does well for you, take care of it, treat it with respect. yu know the bundy i was kinda embarassed to play along the others 30 years ago now doesn't look or sound so bad. in fact it sounds good and has held up great. and now it's worth 5 times what i paid for it. so much for cheap horns and resale value huh? have fun.

kneejerk, You said sumtin about Bundy? That's the school horn I'm playin on now. You should see it. I think you'd die as many other professionals would. It's stained with stuff that won't come off (I've tried everything besides bleach...I dunno if that and lacquer get along *laugh*). Plus I think it's sprung a leak, I have to keep a rubber band around the neck key to make sure it stays shut in the G-D range, the Bb key latch has been welded on so many times that one day it snapped, and it was sent out for repair and I didn't have a tenor for a few months. That's what sparked my decision to look into a new tenor. I was originally eyeing the Series II, then the Series III, then the Reference 54, then back to the Series III in a black lacquer, I was hoping to lease it. But I'm a minor, and my mother and father don't really have the best credit history, so chances are we weren't going to get the financing. I thought of the LaVoix a day or two earlier before I came to the conclusion that I couldn't lease a horn. The light bulb went on and now I hope to have one by the end of April if not sooner. I want to ask my band director how he's managed to keep his 30+ year old Selmer S-A 80 (not Series II, one of them horns, yes) in almost mint condition. Not a dent, not a scratch, not a peel of lacquer, and not even a finger print on it. I got the lacquer polish and the handling cloth with my tenor, plus a pad-guard and a neck-saver to keep them moist-free. I hope there isn't anything else I need to do besides put a 5 foot STAY CLEAR zone on it so nobody or anything puts a scratch on it *laughs* Oh by the way, that Bundy II sounds great...when it wants. TTFN

just treat it like it was you spouse, keep it out of bad weather, hot or cold. don't neglect it, keep it clean. handle it gently. and like i said taken care of it will be worth more later on if in good cond. not matter what kind it is. just common sense i guess. i also have a vsp vito, which is their pro model, from '62, it' almost perfect in every way, i paid 100.00 for it in a private deal, not bad huh? practice hard, have a blast

Well, I got it out of my director how he managed to keep it in such shape. First thing; he's a clarinetist and picked up sax around his eigth grade year, so he likes the clarinet more than the sax. He basically let it sit for intervals at a time before playing. So it was kind of like a garage kept car. But he did point out to me scratches he did put on it when he was in HS *eek*. So I guess it wasn't in mint condition. Oh well, close enough.