Saxophone Forum


by kaplac
(6 posts)
17 years ago

Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

Hello all, I'm new here so if I do anything wrong or something just direct me. Anyways, currently I'm look around for new saxes. Reading up online a lot of people seem to highly recommend vintage saxes. So I did some research, and I found a lot of the same models being offered. And there always seems to be some large debate about which sax reigns supreme above all. Right now I play a Yamaha 52 through a Rousseau 4R for concert band, and the same sax with a claude lakey 6* for marching. And personally I grew up with this sax and after 6 years, it just sounds dead and unalive. So, this is my attempt at tryign to figure out this big mess of saxes. I don't really have any access to any vintage saxes, but I played my friend's martin alto from the 60s a while ago. I found it had a really nice deep subtle tone to it I rather liked it. But I'm currently doing marching band and that obviously requires a large amount of volume to fill up the sound. Yeah, so to wrap this all up, what are your suggestions to me. I really liked that deep tone of the martin (any pssible model numbers and names I can look for) But I'm also looking for a sax that can pull out a lot of volume (and still sound nice). Thanks for any help guys! -kaplac

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  1. by Mactenor
    (102 posts)

    17 years ago

    Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

    All of the vintage saxophone manufacturers made quality instruments. Selmer, Conn, King. Buescher, Martin. Depending on condition, these are excellent horns. But....I do not recommend purchasing a good vintage horn and then subjecting it to the rigors of marching band. A Yamaha 52 is a good all around horn for your various musical endeavors, if it is not playing well it may need some work by a good tech, maybe repadding and a good setup. If you really want to upgrade, I would suggest looking at new horns, the Yamaha 62 is a very good horn that doesn`t break the bank, or maybe a Kessler, a whole lot of horn for the money. Best Regards Mactenor

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  2. by barisax999
    (400 posts)

    17 years ago

    Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

    well personally i go with vintage selmers. the real reason im posting to inform you that you should NEVER bring a vintage horn, of any make, on the marching band field. i wouldnt even take a pro series new horn, its not worth it. these old horns need to be taked care of so they can continue to play as they originally did.

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  3. by MarkLavelle
    (300 posts)

    17 years ago

    Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

    All the advice above looks right to me. You might also want to try out a new mouthpiece or two - it can make a really big difference. Something baffled might be good for marching...

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  4. by kaplac
    (6 posts)

    17 years ago

    Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

    Ok, well since everyone is so highly recommending I stay away from using it during marchign season. How about for use during concert and jazz band as well as home use? Its just that my 52 feels dead to me now, and I think a little change in tone would help. I played a lot of new horns and two things completly turned me off from them. One being their light weight it makes them feel so cheap, and secondly being their price. Currently I honestly can't afford 3000 dollars of new sax. And I noticed a lot of the repaired vintage saxes out and about, like on worldwidesax and saxquest were about a couple hundred dollars cheaper then a new ax would cost. As for the new mouthpiece recommendation, I've already switched mouthepieces multitudes of times. I tried everythign short of a new sax. But that marting was amazing! it was exactly what I needed so right now I"m just on a tone quest. Plus, vintage always felt nice, to know your palying something that has history way past when you were even born. Sorta gives you that feeling of nostalgia.

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    1. by Mactenor
      (102 posts)

      17 years ago

      Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

      Vintage horns can be terrific, depending on condition, the great American horns can whisper and scream. These are great jazz horns, to be sure, Buescher Aristocrat, Martin, Conn Chu Berry and 10M, King Zephyr, King Super 20. Selmer seems out of your price range as well as some of the mentioned American horns, but you can still find some good buys if you really look around. Try to go with a legit dealer rather than E-Bay, a lot less headaches. Good Luck with your efforts. Best Regards Mactenor

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    2. by Donnie The B
      (282 posts)

      17 years ago

      Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

      So you're in that group of young saxophonists that yearn for the vintage sound or feel or charm? I don't see much wrong with you getting a The Martin alto model of the 1940's or 1950's for concert and jazz band. You can research serial numbers and years of production on the Martin website - accessible through saxpics.com. I've seen these recently in the $700-$1600 area for tenors - some of which were VERY nice and perhaps ready to play. Should be somewhat cheaper for an alto - and they do have a wonderful tone don't they? But they also come with more intonation problems than a Yamaha 62 would present, which might not be much more in lightly used shape - $1800 I heard recently. You would be well advised to buy nothing blind - but only after play testing. If you have a private instructor, he may help with this. If not - get one. They are worth it! Good Luck.

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  5. by kaplac
    (6 posts)

    17 years ago

    Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

    Thanks for the help guys! I noticed a lot of you guys mentioned to stay away from ebay. but I just checked out ebay for some of the mentioned models, and lots of the saxes were only around a couple hundred dollars and they all seem to be described as a good sax that may need some work. Now, me being a dirt poor high school student, would you thinkg that I shoudl give some of thsoe saxes a try if the dealer offers a trial period? Or would I just be safer staying with local stores and online websites (like WWS and saxquest)?

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    1. by Saxyboy
      (52 posts)

      17 years ago

      Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

      Kaplac- If you know what you're buying, eBay is a decent venue. But like someone else said, buying a horn blind presents some potential problems. I know a guy who read all about vintage tenor saxes here and elsewhere. He got it in his mind that 1920's horns presented the best value. So he bought a cheap 1920's (or early 1930's) Martin Handcraft for about $550. I told him to be ready for $200-$500 immediate work before playing. He ended up spending $340 and waiting a month to get it out of the shop. Then he hated it. I let him play my Selmer Mark VI and he loved it. So he bought a cosmetically challenged, re-lacquered Mark VI off eBay for $3000. It turned out to be ready to play and he is enjoying it. His Martin is for sale - he may try selling on eBay. But I bet he does not get his money back fully. The moral of this story is: The Mark VI was bought with knowledge that he liked that model, although he did not know the particular horn. The Martin was bought blind as to that type of horn AND that particular horn. So if you're going to risk eBay, realize that there are scammers in the world. Realize that you may have to re-pad, re-cork, re-felt and regulate many of the horns bought there. Saxophones that have been in the closet for 30 years often need pads at the minimum ($200+). And buy a model that you know and like. Remember used Yamaha 52 and other well made intermediate line horns as far as cheap alternatives. You can still try out different saxes at music stores to learn more about what you like. And lastly - I would guess that any horn that is only a couple of hundred dollars is a waste of a couple of hundred dollars.

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      1. by Saxyboy
        (52 posts)

        17 years ago

        Re: Vintage Saxes, which to choose?

        I meant to reference Yamaha 62, which will sound better to you than your current 52 I would think.

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