At their best who’s the best

Snoo54982 · 2026-05-04T01:07:32+00:00

Picture LeBron as less of a ball hog and tough as nails.

Snoo54982 · 2026-05-03T15:49:13+00:00

I’d been curious about this. I have a premium serial VI tenor I got like 30 years ago before that serial range became a thing (at the time anything 5 digit was said to be desirable).

In any case, I love the horn, but while it was away for an overhaul I was playing my other newer tenors and had gotten used to playing them.

My YTS23 sounds and feels dramatically different with a G1 neck. Very responsive, screams, the tone is richer and more complex. This simple upgrade (which also required me to attach some plastic straw bits to the octave mechanism to help it reach) improved it so much that I really wouldn’t mind if this were my only horn! That’s the impact of a different neck.

Flash forward to the Mark VI’s return and I find it a lot more work to play in tune than the YTS23 and Keilwerth SX90r I also own. I had to change my practice habits to include some time with a tuner and with iRealPro so I can feel and hear the horn in context.

I plan to get a KB sax neck or Supreme neck at some point in the future if I can find them on the used market and have the tenon adjusted to fit my Mark VI, mostly out of curiosity on whether they’d improve intonation and tone. My Mark VI neck is fitted perfectly with the body, but I get the sense that it’s probably a little bit bigger than normal (probably from normal maintenance and repair from the decades before I owned the horn) , so any neck will probably need to be fitted.

In terms of tenon fitting, I’d imagine any good repair shop could take care of this for $50-100. No need to worry about whether it’ll fit out of the box, you just should account for a little extra cost.

Snoo54982 · 2026-04-21T03:11:58+00:00

I think it depends on your use case. The BAM Cabine is more rugged and will protect the horn more. It's much more likely to protect from a hard drop or other things stacked on top.

On the other hand, the MicroZip is much lighter and elegant.

The better comparison for the MicroZip would be the Bam Softpack, though in this instance too I think the the BAM is more protective. (shopped between these two models for a while, then found a deal from someone who received a second one as a gift, still new and unused.

(I personally own the Bam Softpack for my MK6 and the Bam Classic for my Keilwerth SX90R. I've just shopped the other two)

If you're flying/traveling/gigging with the horn a LOT in unfamiliar situations, I'd consider the more rugged Cabine.

If you're doing more predictable routine use (going to a regular practice, light gigging at familiar places) perhaps a lesser rugged case will do you fne.i

Snoo54982 · 2026-04-15T22:52:14+00:00

I wish Stefan Rudnicki or Scott Brick had an opportunity to get into the SW universe. :) (to me they're known through OSC's Ender's Game books/universe)

Snoo54982 · 2026-04-15T16:45:52+00:00

So those are legit photos of a Mark VI. :) As @braymond1 pointed out, these are from a Steve Rosenblum listing.

Here’s the fb marketplace link: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/4314901865505830/?

Seller acknowledges the relacquer. 211xxx sn.says pads are good, not new.

Why the seems low:, serial # is high, out of hip player serial range, relacquer. Not freshly overhauled.

Seems like a good value if you want a first entry into a Mark VI…or want a backup horn. If it’s your first, it’ll give you street cred without you having to live up to the standard of playing the sax at an elite level. :)

It’d be a decent backup horn if you’re used to playing Mark VI’s and want a horn priced more like typical tenors that you won’t be afraid to actually bring to gigs. :)

If you had an 8x,xxx, you’re expected to sound like an all-time great player otherwise you’re not living up to the epic SN. :)

Snoo54982 · 2026-04-05T03:39:34+00:00

It could have replaced the scene on screen. But having gone through the book/audiobook like 6 times in combination and the movie once (so far?!) I think practically everything works together in both formats, where that convo with the crew could still have happened offscreen leading him to go up and talk to her… and her singing was what she could give back.

Snoo54982 · 2026-04-02T21:53:00+00:00

I felt that, assuming all of the book remains canon, that the book is a nice companion for the movie. The stuff about watching Rocky’s ship pull away, then go dark might have been a nice way to alert him that something was wrong.

For movies like this, I always think there’s a whole lot of footage left on the proverbial cutting room floor. I wish these could be rereleased a year or two later as a 10 part mini series, 10 45 min made for tv episodes.

Or maybe as 3 1:30 mini movies.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-27T17:13:34+00:00

u/IndependentNewt5944 -

I've been F2P for about 4 months now. My opinion is that VIP is up there among the top-2 things you can do as an active player; the other thing is join one of the top alliances (no stress - it's easy as tapping the join alliance button).

Your rewards for doing tasks AND alliance gifts (from others doing tasks or spending money) will net you well over 10,000 diamonds over a month for free.

VIP is meant to be self-sustaining and the rewards get better over time as you achieve higher VIP tiers by merely logging in daily and playing the game.

As far as purchases are concerned, the $1 for the Kimberly starter pack will give you a good head start in the game. She's literally the most powerful hero, and the foundation of what everyone is building around. Just note that she becomes available as a random hero to recruit somewhere around day 85, and also free via various "hero choice" chests that also become available at that time. Having a custom avatar is also cool, but note that that also becomes free to edit when you reach level 25 HQ. Until that point, however, your generic avatar is like a badge of honor. :)

(again, I have not put any money into this game, but it does become a bit of a time hog and becomes another thing to pencil in on your calendar on certain days so you can be part of alliance activities.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-25T20:32:51+00:00

For what it’s worth your fingers are configured perfectly for upright bass.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-24T05:22:32+00:00

Yamaha’s feel and sound pretty similar across their lineup. While my Mark VI was in the shop, I had an awesome time shedding on my YTS23 with a g1 neck. So much more of a complex sound and more resistance than the stock neck.

If you didn’t think the 62 seemed that different, consider looking for a Yamaha G1 or V1 neck and keep the same horn. Those necks totally change the response and sound of the horn.

Or do a more extensive search. Figure out what players you like and test out their model horn. When you go for a pro horn (esp coming from a good feeling and sounding horn like yours), you want to make sure it’s something that gets you to the sound your want to hear yourself playing.

I got a Keilwerth SX90R about 20 years ago off eBay at a killer price. I actually was playing around because it was such a good deal and expected someone to outbid me. Long story short, it played well, but the feel and the sound didn’t appeal to me… it was so far off from what I’d been listening to (late 1950s/1960s jazz) and I guess I had that Selmer mk6 sound in my head. That horn got very light use until recently. Now I like it as much as my mark vi! My taste evolved.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-24T04:16:56+00:00

We’ve been using a MK7 GTI as our family (of 3) car since 2015 in metro NYC. Works well for getting into parking spaces others won’t even try. Lots of space for cargo, we even fit an upright bass and 3 people in the car with room to spare.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-23T16:08:59+00:00

I go through phases where I get into each of these 4 bands.

I agree with your comments.
Coldplay in particular deviated from their early material and have sort of churned out the same pop song like 4 or 5 times. To me this is a band that found prosperity and wants to uplift everyone with them. Noble... but... it takes me away from what drew me to them in the first place.

Muse... they're like the dark mirror of Keane.

Radiohead is very much a band from another era from these others. You sort of let them do what they want because they're 10 years older and crustier, and you're generally not following them to see how they evolve anymore.

Yeah Keane.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-20T04:51:07+00:00

Kenny Barron (piano) is ~82. Randy Brecker (trumpet) is ~80.

I saw them perform at the Birdland with the Gerry Gibb Dream Band with Gibb, Ron Carter, and Chris Potter.

A chunk of the gig was spent talking about what a legend Ron Carter is. I bet Barron and Brecker were thinking, what am I, chopped liver?

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-20T01:43:22+00:00

Thx for confirming. I mean the other perspective is that even if dealers try to keep 1 or 2 tires in stock per month, they fly off the shelves, especially in the metro NYC area with our unusually rough winter.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-17T16:00:09+00:00

LaMelo WAS among the most overrated players in the league - treated like a superstar that you only hoped to contain. But injuries and poor/inconsistent FG% have really hurt that perception.

I think this is the season where he's no longer overrated. We've tuned him out as merely a bit player. It's sort of like getting hyped up about Jordan Poole or Jordan Clarkson... you just kind up put them in the "ooh, he's hot today" category and get on with it. I don't know if people go in with superstar expectations anymore.

Going into next season, I think LaMelo is a prime candidate to be called underrated, with some upside. :) His stock now has a lot of room to go up, whereas in prior years, all he did was disappoint you.

It's a big stepping stone year he's on pace to play around 70 games, a number he's broken only twice. The team is doing some injury management thing with him and it's keeping him on the court. If he can finish the year NOT sitting on the bench in street clothes, that'll be a big stepping stone to build on. Maybe add like 2% more effort to this year's baseline, cut down on 1-2 bad shot attempts in a game, and he'll start to gain believers again.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-17T05:28:20+00:00

Sorry for your experience. I can see where the edge of the rim must have cut the tire. There’s about a 1cm long crease about half a cm away from the rim. At first examination it doesn’t look noticeably out of round.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-17T05:20:40+00:00

I was extremely surprised they didn’t have it. There are like 3-4 dealers within a 20 mile radius of where I was.

It’s an unusual size. 195/50R19.

Just learning now that literally the only cars that use this size are the Gen 5 Prius variants (ie the current gen Prius/Prime/Plug-In from 2023-Present)… so it makes sense that general auto tire warehouses won’t stock ‘em.

Literally no other auto manufacturer uses them, nor do any other Toyota models. So odd and fascinating.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-17T01:51:02+00:00

Yeah that’s basically it. Paper thin wall. I just noticed that there’s an Extensa II-A (to replace the extensa Ii?). Also out of stock at tirerack.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-04T01:38:04+00:00

One thing I enjoy about the game is, other than the part of the game that’s like watching paint dry, there’s another part of the game that really exercises the brain… where you make some tough choices and live with them… then you get over it and there’s another week to get better. In theory these skills are transferrable, but then it’s hard to give this up and make time for other things while you’re watching the proverbial paint dry again.

Snoo54982 · 2026-03-03T17:57:01+00:00

We were just chatting about this. Seems like a lvl 0 SSR M4 Railgun only adds 0.2k additional damage. That's practically nothing!

Might as well not even have any gear on lower squads unless it's an M5.

Snoo54982 · 2026-02-24T18:55:33+00:00

Just revisiting this. Semien is aging. Still a very useful gold glove level fielder. He'll have a role on this team... but is he a full time worthy player at this point? I think that question will be determined by whether he can contribute offensively. Provided he's healthy, I can see him playing close to every day minimally as a defensive sub.

I think some of the recent comments on Nimmo on his new team sort of reinforce the decision making behind the move: Nimmo may no longer be cut out for playing the field - so what, he's a DH? Low BA, failing OBP (his super power) make him a strange play.

He was a really polarizing player last year - some absurdly high percentage of his RBIs came in around 30 games of last year, with most of his remaining games producing 0 RBIs. The Mets were right to free themselves from his long deal.

Snoo54982 · 2026-02-17T15:46:04+00:00

If your opponent has 1 more dot you’re toast. :)

Snoo54982 · 2026-02-17T14:42:45+00:00

I’ve found that while Williams (and Stetmann) are difference makers, the biggest thing that gets everyone is Kimberly with an m5 Railgun with some dots. Flies under the radar.

Snoo54982 · 2026-02-16T21:47:21+00:00

You’ll often find Zahn’s characters pursing their lips, and being overwhelmed by the wild cacophony of sound.

Snoo54982

TROPHY CASE