FAQ
WHAT ARE THE PRICES?
HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHAT MODEL OF SAXOPHONE I HAVE?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRO MODELS AND THE STUDENT/INTERMEDIATE MODEL?
ARE MOUTHPIECES INCLUDED WITH YOUR SAXOPHONES ?
ARE CANNONBALL SAXOPHONES CAPABLE OF PLAYING BOTH JAZZ AND CLASSICAL?
WHAT IS MEANT BY DIVINE INSPIRATION?
WHY DOESN'T CANNONBALL ALLOW THEIR DEALERS TO SELL OVER THE WEB?
ARE SPARE PARTS AVAILABLE?
ARE THERE PLACES ON THE INTERNET WHERE I CAN CORRESPOND WITH OTHER CANNONBALL PLAYERS?
What is the difference between the Big Bell Stone Series and the Big Bell Global Series, and when will it be available?
he Big Bell Stone Series introduced in Spring of 2005 replaced the Big Bell Global Series.
It has new guards, new engraving, and more stones for enhanced sound. The stones are now on the
neck, the LH Palm Keys, and the RH side keys. We have patents pending on the design of the guards,
engraving, and use of stones.
What are the prices?
As we do not sell our instruments directly, this is an informational site only. If you would like to know pricing,
please contact your local Cannonball dealer. If you need assistance finding your Cannonball dealer, please send a
dealer inquiry to: findadealer@cannonballmusic.com and include your name (optional), city, state and zip code.
How can I find out what model of saxophone I have?
Please look at your serial number and go to our Chronology page.
Excalibur student/intermediate Alto
The student/intermediate alto has several upgrades - high F#, detachable bell, blue steel springs,
ribbed construction, and hard rubber mouthpiece. It sounds great and plays well in tune. CEO,
Sheryl Laukat, comments, "Having the experience of a Jr. High band director, I was able to see
how much better my beginning students progressed if they had a high quality horn that played in
tune. The feel of the keys are slightly more suited to smaller and medium sized hands. The beginning
student's musical experience as well as their self esteem, can be truly accelerated or dampened by the
ability of their instrument to play in tune, as well as the playability of the instrument. We love to
see students succeed."
Yes! We've taken care to include great Cannonball mouthpieces! The Alto, Tenor, and Soprano
have hard rubber mouthpieces which are made in Germany and faced in the United States. The Bari
has a plastic mouthpiece made and faced in the United States. Your Cannonball dealers choose one
of the following options: (Let your dealer know if you prefer one option over another.)
Alto:
CAM 5: Tip opening = 77 thousandths for Jazz, Blues, Rock etc.
CAM C*: Tip opening = 64 thousandths "Cannonball Classic" for classical playing, bands, symphony etc.
Tenor:
CTM 5: Tip opening = 85 thousandths.
CTM 7: Tip opening = 100 thousandths For Jazz, Blues, Rock etc.
CTM C*: Tip opening = 67 thousandths "Cannonball Classic" for classical playing, bands, symphony etc.
Soprano:
CSM 7: Tip opening = 73 thousandths for Jazz, Blues, Rock, New Age, etc.
CSM C*: Tip opening = 55 thousandths “Cannonball Classic” for classical playing.
Bari:
CBM C* Tip opening = 78 thousandths "Cannonball Classic" for classical playing, bands, symphony etc.
To learn all you need about how mouthpieces affect sound production (and be entertained at the same time)
check out the book,
Woodwind Mouthpiece Selection
by Bob Scarff.
Trumpet Mouthpieces
3C: All of our trumpets come standard with the Cannonball 3C.
It is a good, mid-size mouthpiece, ideal for advanced level (or intermediate level) players.
It allows a player to move across the full range of the instrument without sacrificing tone or
endurance.
Pro Models
For the pro models, there is much care taken for finesse and acoustical customization the horn. There is more time taken on hand
customizing to achieve ease of altissimo, big low end, and even timbre, open altissimo,
rich lows, even timbre, full-bodied sound, and in-line overtones. The sound capability is much bigger.
To read more about our most current Pro Model, Big Bell Stone Series, go to our Stone Series page.
To read about past pro models, go to our chronology page.
Are Cannonball Saxophones capable of playing both Jazz and Classical?
SAXOPHONES
According to the player and the mouthpiece set-up, Cannonball Saxophones can play jazz,
classical, rock, blues, and any style one chooses. It is important to us that our saxophone
is capable of "keeping up with the brass" to be able to play lead and cut through the jazz band,
while also having the capability to play beautiful classical lines requiring whispering entrances,
subtle nuances, filled-with-emotion crescendos, and a carefully controlled warm sound. We have
endorsers of classical, jazz, country, pop, funk and more.
TRUMPETS
We understand that each player has a different approach to their instrument regardless of the style of music
they principally play. Cannonball provides two models of trumpet as well as four different finishes, each
offering unique characteristics of feel and tone. All of our trumpets are appropriate in any setting.
This is one reason why we encourage you to try a variety
of models at an authorized dealer in order to find the best combination of features for
your needs.
What is meant by Divine Inspiration?
In our Cannonball History, we give credit where credit is due as far as our ideas and successes.
We now give thanks to our Creator for His watchful and tender care in our lives. We don't expect
that everyone believe exactly as we do. We hope, however that our faith helps us to build
the best quality instruments we can while doing business in an ethical manner.
We sincerely want to provide high-quality yet affordable horns for students and
professionals. We hope that you'll try one.
Why doesn't Cannonball let their dealers sell over the web?
CEO, Sheryl Laukat states, "With my experience of being a Jr. High School band director, I learned the invaluable lesson
of how important it is to have good Music Stores in the community. They can provide service, quality repair and information,
as well as lesson opportunities, learning centers and community programs. Cannonball likes to gravitate to the stores who
help service the schools in their area. It's very important that our customers are happy with the horn not only when they
purchase it but for years ahead, and that they can feel confident about the music store in their community who will provide
the service they deserve.
Cannonball supports the local music store selling in their own community because we believe consumers of musical instruments
such as saxophones and trumpets will be happier being able to test play and choose the exact instrument which fits their
needs best. The music store will be able to give them professional assistance where needed. Every acoustic musical instrument
has its own personality. For example, in choosing a grand piano for our home, we played many many pianos before making a
decision. We chose a certain brand, but there are so many differences for every piano within that brand. We chose one that
worked for us. In listening to hundreds of saxophones players, it has been our experience that each player sounds differently
on each saxophone according to his/her embouchure and set-up.
Just because one player sounds the best on one certain saxophone or finish doesn't mean that every player will sound the
best on that exact instrument. We believe our customers should be able to choose the best horn for them."
Are spare parts available?
Yes! We have a huge supply of spare parts. Most of our dealers have a supply of spare parts, and if they need something
specific which they don't have in stock, we usually can get it to them immediately but never more than three weeks.
Are there other places on the internet where I can correspond with other Cannonball players?
You can join (or form!!) a Cannonball User's club like Yahoo's Cannonball Club , founded by baritone
(and now tenor [and now the proud owner of a new alto too !!]) saxophonist Jack Wright of West Virginia.
This web-based group is entirely independent of Cannonball Musical Instruments, and all content there is
provided by individual members. If you are a user of USENET groups, alt.music.saxophone and
rec.music.makers.saxophone have lively (sometimes heated) discussions and frequently are a
source of excellent (if not opinionated) advice. In addition, Cannonball’s My Space is:
http://www.myspace.com/yourcannonball
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