I have developed this page to help you choose the right musical saw for you. I am not biased to any one manufacturer and I DO NOT buy or sell instruments. I will however provide an independent review and fair overview of the instrument from a personal perspective.
Obviously I’ve not tried every musical saw on the market. The saws available are quite different in terms of safety, sound, quality and ease of playing. I personally have a collection of 10 saws from manufacturers around the world. All of them have their place and are suitable for different types of players, abilities and possibly the type of group that you intend to play with. I have started to use a cheat, which will extend the range of the saw. I’m sure other saw players may get different results from the same instrument due to the different styles of playing. If there are any manufacturers who would like me to give an honest opinion of their product I would be happy to try it out and report it back to them to them and with permission to other potential saw players. All the demonstrations have been performed by myself, with some additional piano accompaniment by my wife Jo.
Click on the headings below to list out further information about the saws and where to get them from.
Sandviken’s Stradivarius has a very good and deep sound for playing cello solos or bass baritone songs (eg Old Man River). They are available from : Dieter Schmid Fine Tools : https://www.fine-tools.com/musiksaege.html D W Services, 16 Parkfield Road, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 1HD, ENGLAND – E-Mail: dennis@dwservices.co.uk 30 ” Saw Mussehl and Westphal The Mussehl & Westphal tenor saw is about 26″ inches long. It is quite flexible and suitable for young players to play (under supervision of course!!). Because of its range it is well suited for playing with ensembles and can easily be heard in moderately sized hall without amplification. This was my first proper musical saw and I guess this is still my favourite due to the quality of the sound it produces across the range . I regularly play it with brass band accompaniment…. and I can still cut through most other performers (sound only!!!!). The live saw performance in a large concert hall with unbalanced backing track gives you an idea of the quality of the sound it can produce. Tenor saw 26″ E.T. Roberts & Lee, who created the Parkstone Melody saw, were bought out by a Sheffield company called Thomas Finn and Co. who are a UK manufacturer of saws. With a little bit of help from myself , they have started producing the Parkstone Melody again and have three sizes : Thomas Flinn & Co. 114 Harvest Lane, Sheffield, England S3 8EG Telephone: +44 (0) 114 272 5387 Fax: +44 (0) 114 272 5389 22″ Saw 26″ Saw 30 “ +33477717808 or +33625774316 (english spoken) Website : www.sciemusicale.fr Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlexisScieMusicale/ Charlie Blacklock saws A well known and much loved musical saw player had saws named after him. These are lovely instruments. Mine is about 30″ in length and covers quite a wide range of notes. This saw requires quite strong fingers especially if you’re intending playing it for any length of time. Although Charlie passed away in 2008 I’m sure he will be remembered for his valuable contribution to the musical saw world and there are still saws available on the internet. Wow…. at 38″ this must be one of the longest instruments I’ve come across and must the equivalent of a stretched Limousine in the saw world. Like a stretched Limousine it is quite difficult to manipulate the bends and plenty of space and strategic planning is required. It is obviously not for young players unless as a parent you have kept them strapped to a rack for a long period of time. It is however very flexible and it is kind to your thumb and fingers. There is a toothless section at both ends of the blade. I like this as it means that you don’t damage your trousers or dress (not that I wear one!!). It is quite difficult to control and the slightest of wobble (nerves) can affect the sound. Sandviken’s Stradivarius 30″ Saw
Mussehl & Westphal 26″ Tenor Saw
Thomas Flinn Musical Saws
22” – Soprano range 26” – Mid range 30” – Bass range .They are all made from fully ground carbon steel 80. The handle is made from American Black Walnut and each instrument should be capable of just over 2 octaves. You are able to state whether you want teeth or not. A toothless saw is far safer for any youngsters who fancy taking up the instrument, but it does seem to limit the range by a couple of notes. The smaller saw is also far easier for younger people to play as it’s easier to reach up and hold the end of the instrument. I use these in my workshops.This company can supply a complete presentation pack containing the case, bow, a cheat and even rosin. More information is available from www.musicalsaws.co.uk 
Alexis © Artisan d ‘Art
Alexis will manufacture an instrument according to your size, He can adapt the length of the stock and the blade to the morphology without the sound and the range changing.
He can make a sonic blade or the musical saw guaranteeing 3 octaves for the saws and 4 playable octaves for the sonic blades.
You can contact Alexis in the following ways:
Charlie Blacklock Musical Saws
Feldmann
