I know in many ways this is a silly question, but hear me out.
I'm a returning player who at one point was pretty serious (performance major at conservatory, etc). But the thing I don't have anymore are chops. Specifically, the kind of consistency and precision that comes from regular, serious playing on a consistent basis. So I'll occasionally (or not so occasionally) do things like smudging attacks by landing outside the center of notes, getting "smeary" with fast passages, and so on.
I know that a horn's not going to fix my problems. Practice practice practice, yadda yadda yadda, I know. But still...
If you were going to buy a nice compensating horn and the primo consideration is "playability"--a horn that's just fun and easy to play, great response, good feedback, slots well, notes just seem to pop out--what would it be?
For reference I have a Wessex right now, but am looking to step it up. Adams is on my radar of course (but which model??) as is Yamaha (I used to play a 641 back in the 1990s, but I don't know anything about current models). What else should I look at if ease of playing was number one on the list?
(Don't get me wrong, I'm obviously going to consider sound and other factors, I just want some models to start looking at).