Why Troy Roberts Switched to a Modern Saxophone

Check out the audio podcast version of this post on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down for a great discussion with stellar saxophonist Troy Roberts, whose new album “Green Lights” was just released. You can check out Troy’s website here with more info on him and his tour schedule.

Troy highlights how he started playing with the band members from his current album, his mouthpiece and reed setup and what he works with his students on. He also goes into detail about how he came to start playing on “modern” horns.

Making the Switch to a Modern Saxophone

Troy tells the story about how he made the switch from a Conn Chu Berry tenor from 1932. He got to know Susan Brecker, who told him that there was a saxophone of Michael’s that she thought he should have. That horn turned out to be a Selmer Super Balanced Action from 1951.

He was hesitant at first since it was so different than the Conn he’s been playing for years. After getting used to the airstream and the ergonomic differences though, he fell in love with it.

He started getting nervous carrying the SBA home from gigs in New York late at night, and so he reached out to John Leadbetter of JL Woodwinds about making a new horn for him that would be as close to the SBA as possible. That horn is a silver plated artist series, and once he started playing that he ended up sticking with it and uses it for everything now.

Be sure to watch the video for the full discussion with Troy.