Last Feb. I purchased a silver Burkart M2 w/ 14K riser. I play on an old (1967) handmade silver Haynes and just the addition of the 14K riser made a huge difference. When I compared it to an entire gold Burkart head, the difference was almost imperceptible (the silver one I bought sounded almost like a gold head to me; don't get me wrong, though, her golds are fantastic too). The older thin-walled Haynes are known for having a beautiful high register sound, but often lack response in the lower register. I was frustrated for years with all the "designer" heads that delivered great resonance in the lower register; the problem was that the quality of the high register on my instrument was compromised and I was unwilling to make that trade off.
In my opinion, Lillian Burkart makes the best heads around. So far she has had the best success with giving a robust low register while retaining quality in the high register; customer service is also very good. I will say, however, that I played on a gold Powell w/ platinum riser the other day which was absolutely amazing. Brannen-Coopers are awesome as well. In fact, I'm looking for a gold Cooper head right now. Anybody know of someone who has one on the market (besides the dealers of course)? PM me if you do.
SK
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