Blown Away....our pick of the week.

Many of you may not realize that we are more than an acoustic guitar shop. In fact, Portland Music Company began it's life in 1927 as The Saxophone Shop. The original owner, Bob Christiansen was himself, an amazing saxophonist who could sit in with any band around.

 Bob Christiansen and his Saxophone

Fast forward some 86 years and we could probably call ourselves "The Acoustic Cellar". However, we haven't forgotten our roots and are still committed to providing a fine selection of Brass and Woodwind instruments. In this day and age, with the plethora of no name, cheap instruments that have flooded the marketplace, this has become quite a challenge. We are constantly on the look out for instruments that we can provide at a reasonable price, but that we can also stand behind as there is nothing more frustrating than finding out that your pretty new instrument will never play in tune.

On that note, we are excited to present to you.....our pick of the week....

The P. Mauriat PMXT-66RDK Tenor Saxophone.

 P. Mauriat PMXT-66RDK

This is a handcrafted saxophone with drawn and rolled tone holes that are created in a way that is truly unique to P. Mauriat as they use no soldering. The result is a beautifully resonant horn that has an incredible response across it's full range.

Rolled tone holes 

This horn also features a large, elegantly engraved bell, over-sized nickel-silver keys, richly colored abalone key touches and a gorgeous dark lacquer finish.  The fit and finish on this saxophone are fantastic. It has both a metal thumb hook and thumb rest adding to it's sturdy feel in your hands.

 Large bell with a peek at the engraving

Beautiful Abalone key touches

Now....for the sound.

This baby blows!   And, when I say it blows, I mean it in all the good ways.

It's a very free-blowing horn that is amazingly rich and warm in it's tone. The enlarged bell just seems to add to it's fatness. It's extremely responsive and can go from a smooth, sultry sound to the thick, luscious tones that are reminiscent of a vintage horn.


What else can we say? Some horns just have that extra special something and this is one that definitely qualifies.

If you'd like to know more about this horn, give us a call at 503-228-8437 or, better yet, come down to 2502 NE Broadway in Portland and ask one of us for a test drive of this outstanding instrument.

Don't forget to bring your mouthpiece and reed!

Photo's and text by Carrie Warlaumont (Except for vintage photo of Bob Christiansen. Photographer unknown) .