Cannonball® and Mio® Instruments are sold in local music stores. To find your closest dealer(s), please send an email to: findadealer@cannonballmusic.com and include your name (optional), city, state, and zip code. Please include your country if you are outside USA.
If you would like to know pricing, please contact your local Cannonball® dealer. To find your closest dealer(s), please send an email to: findadealer@cannonballmusic.com and include your name (optional), city, state, and zip code. Please include your country if you are outside USA.
Please click here to view our 5 year limited warranty.
Semi-Precious stones come standard with our Professional trumpet and saxophone models. We have chosen particular stones that look especially beautiful with particular finishes. Yes! You may request any stones we have to create your custom look, as long as we know in advance. Talk with your Cannonball® dealer. Mother Nature made each of these amazing stones to be unique and no two stones are exactly alike but the photos will give you an idea of the possibilities. For photo examples please see our stones page here: Stones Page
We believe it is invaluable to have brick-and-mortar music stores in the community. There you can play-test your horn before you take it home to be sure it plays to your expectations and so that you can choose the best finish/model for you. They can provide service, quality repair and information, as well as lesson opportunities, learning centers, and community programs. It’s very important to us that you are happy with the horn not only when you purchase it but for years ahead, and that you can feel confident about the music store in your community who will provide the knowledge and service you deserve.
Cannonball® was founded by two musicians/educators, Sheryl Laukat, CEO, and Tevis Laukat, President, in 1996. They began with a study of acoustics and hand customization to make the saxophone play to its optimum. Over the years Cannonball® has continued the passion of musicianship by adding more professional musicians and music educators to our staff. We still hand-customize every instrument to satisfy even the most particular musicians. Every day Cannonball® continues to improve and develop instruments. Your happiness is important to us!
We are so proud of our 7 talented hand engraving artisans, who engrave professional instruments here in our facility in Utah, USA. (Professional Instruments with “Ice” finishes are laser engraved, such as Raven® and Hotspur™.) We are pleased to now offer Premium Engravings which can be ordered through our Cannonball® dealers for an extra charge. To see our many design offerings please see our Premium Engravings page.
The FAT Neck® comes standard as the 2nd neck with the Big Bell® Stone Series® Premium Pro Alto and Tenor saxophones. We moved the FAT Neck® octave tube from the top side of the neck to the bottom side of the neck. The sound is changed compare to our original neck. The patented FAT Neck® has more lows in the sound, fewer highs, and is more free-blowing. The result is a FAT sound. It is made specifically to fit on our Big Bell® Stone Series® Alto and Tenor, and doesn’t fit in the AA-L or AScep models.
Let’s start with what not to use. Please don’t use harsh chemicals, including cleaning cloths made specifically for cleaning horns if they have chemicals in the cloths. They will scratch and remove your finish.
We DO recommend swabbing and cleaning your horn after each time you play, to remove the moisture as much as possible. Our “Drag’n Swab” is great for getting in those hard-to-reach places.
For the outside of the horn, we suggest you occasionally spray a 100% cotton soft cloth or other very soft cloth with furniture polish such as Pledge and rub the horn softly, being careful not to jar the springs and screws, and being careful not to get polish on the key pads. We recommend that your dry horn should be stored in its case, rather than left out.
The Brute® is a finish. Cannonball® is the originator of this finish. See our blog for the full story of The Origin of The Brute® . The Brute® is available in Big Bell® Stone Series® and Vintage Reborn® Series saxophones. Rather than traditional finish, the raw brass is treated with an aging process. Each instrument will eventually develop a unique character like an aged brass door knob: a lighter brass color will appear where regularly handled, and the darker color will remain where the instrument is untouched. Due to the aging process for creating The Brute®, no two horns are exactly alike. It somewhat resembles a patina, with different instruments ranging from gold to deep chestnut.
Yes, the finish affects the sound of an instrument. Every finish has different layers of thickness, as well as different resonating properties within the metal finish or lacquer. In addition each player has his or her own unique approach as well as mouth cavity, tongue position, mouthpiece and set-up, etc. Those unique attributes and approaches have a lot to do with sound. With that in mind, we find the following characteristics generally apply to the particular finish:
LACQUER: Warm, rich and round
SILVER: More brilliant
BLACK NICKEL: Projects well; has a lot of depth to the sound
UNLACQUERED: Vibrant, free blowing and darker
BRUTE: Vibrant, rich, versatile, bold
BLACK RUBY: Warm, rich and round
We invite you to try one and see how it plays for you!
SAXOPHONE:
The standard mouthpieces for saxophones are noted below. Some dealers choose a different mouthpiece to be standard than is noted. Some dealers choose a different mouthpiece to be standard than is noted. Check with your dealer if you have questions.
Soprano:
C* Hard Rubber, Classical; .055 tip opening (Standard)
ALTO:
CAM 5J Hard Rubber; Jazz, rock, funk; .071 tip opening (Standard with Big Bell® Stone Series® and Vintage Reborn®)
CAM C* Hard Rubber; Classical; .067 tip opening (Standard with Professional Alto on request, and Sceptyr™)
CAM C Plastic; Classical; .065 tip opening (Standard with Alcazar™ and Falcon)
TENOR:
CTM 5* Hard Rubber; Jazz, rock, funk; .085 tip opening (Standard with Big Bell® Stone Series® and Vintage Reborn®)
CTM 7 Hard Rubber, Jazz, Rock, Funk; .100” tip opening
CTM C* Hard Rubber; Classical; .078 tip opening (Standard with Sceptyr™)
CTM C Plastic; Classical; .072 tip opening (Standard with Alcazar™)
BARITONE:
CBM C* Plastic, Classical; .078” tip opening (Standard)
CBM 6 Hard Rubber, Jazz, Rock, Funk; .098 tip opening (Optional)
TRUMPETS:
CTRM 5B Professional Trumpets (Standard)
CTRM 5C TRA-L or TRA-S (Standard)
CFM- F 5 French Taper, Flugel
TROMBONES:
CTBM 6.5L-S Small Shank, TB14 (Standard)
CTBM 6.5L-L Large Shank, TB15 (Standard)
CTBM 1.5 Large Shank, Bass Trombone (Standard)
CTBM 12C Small Shank, TBA (Standard)
MIO® CLARINET:
CLM Mio® ABS, Medium Facing (Standard for all Mio® Clarinets)
You may order through your nearest Cannonball® dealer. They will be happy to help and can safely replace parts/stones. All accessories can be ordered through any Cannonball® dealer as well.
Big Bell® Stone Series® and Vintage Reborn® Series are both professional saxophone models. The Big Bell® Stone Series® Saxophones have a Big Bell®. Cannonball is the originator of the Big Bell®, which we developed to create a big, full, resonant sound. The modern-day touch pieces and improvements add to the playability, strength, and feel of the instrument. Big Bell® Stone Series® baritones and sopranos include 2 necks of different finishes or styles, and the altos and tenors include one original neck and one FAT Neck®. This series is adorned with 15-17 semi-precious stones. See all
Big Bell® Stone Series® Saxophones.
The Vintage Reborn® Saxophones represent and honor the vintage horns from decades ago. They have a traditional size bell and one traditional style neck. With a compact and centered sound, a lighter action, and vintage-style key layout, the Vintage Reborn® saxophones reflect the sound, look, and feel of saxophones of the past, while incorporating today's state-of-the-art innovations. This series is adorned with 7 semi-precious stones. Vintage Reborn® saxophones are hand engraved in Utah by Cannonball® artists. See all Vintage Reborn® Saxophone.