Having spent many years repairing some of the finest instruments out there, Friso Heidinga owner of Amsterdam Winds, found both positives and negatives to certain ways of sax design. Friso has always been very serious about sound. Around 2009 he strongly felt the urge to develop his own saxophone design that features a modern keyboard and action that can match only the very best vintage Selmers sound-wise. Being able to control everything from the grounds up would give him the opportunity to truly drill down to the essence of what it takes to make a remarkable saxophone.
So off he went, helped by a background in science, he began with numerous tests and research on every single piece possible. All kinds of experiments led to some ingenious construction methods to go with the highest quality brass. Built around the idea that artists should never be held back by limitations of the instrument, but instead should be able to play and explore freely, without any hassles in tuning or non-consistent intonation in different registers. The aim was to create an instrument that could contain the widest range of sound colours possible.