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A little Big Talk:
Do you dig Star Wars?
My name is Jon Ryser. My brothers gave me the name Big Talk many years ago. Now many people call me that. I am Taidnapum Cowlitz. That probably doesn't mean much to many people, but to me, it means a great deal. I protect Kowlitchk Illahee - Look to the mountains.
Check out my newest thought/talk here.
I have been playing like crazy. So much that I've had a difficult time updating this website. And my MySpace site is being straight neglected. On top of it all (and through it and even under it) Gretchen is having a baby! We're going to have a daughter living here with us any day! Simply amazing!
I play a Yanagisawa alto sax. I had it over-hauled and customized in the summer of 2005. I had all the lacquer removed from the body. It has a sterling silver bell and gold plated neck. The visual effect is quite cool with the silver and gold shiny ends and the matt brass in the middle. I had new pads installed up and down the horn. These aren't ordinary pads, they are synthetic pads (as opposed to traditional leather) designed by Jim Schmidt in Fresno, CA. They don't stick and they don't rot. The process of putting them in also leveled out all my tone holes so the horn is more consistent. A couple other little modifications that make me happy were also done.
I use a metal Selmer Jazz "E" mouthpiece. I love it. It helps me to get a big sound that has a certain darkness to it (for an alto). I looked for this mouthpiece for a couple years before I found it. I put rubber teeth guards on it because the metal has been filing my front left tooth down. I use a 2 1/2 or equivalent reed.
My baritone sax is an old King Zephyr. It hasn't had quite the love that my alto has gotten, but it's a good horn. I had it rebuilt in 2004.
I use a Ottolink "6" on the Bari with a 2 1/2 reed as well. It just seems to work for me.
Well... go ahead... check out the rest of the site. I made it myself so don't laugh at its simplicity. It'll probably keep growing so check back every so often to keep up.
Peace, love, and spirit -
Big Talk Jon Ryser
