A lot of instruments kind of sound nasty if you really
listen to them.

Best example is the fiddle. Play a single note on a
violin, and draw it out. Now matter how well-played it
is, if you really listen it sounds like someone band-sawing
a steel pipe.

Yet, when used to make 'music' the fiddle is certainly one
of the prettiest instruments on earth.

A drawn out note on a sax sounds like a goose with sinusitis
deflating. But in the hands of an expert--- what a variety
of sound!