This was an early Buffet Super Dynaction tenor saxophone that was in extremely good physical condition. Only a bit of mechanical work needed done, and that which was done was done with an eye towards improving the mechanism while maintaining the excellent condition original lacquer- which was all the more delicate due to the crazing that some call “sparkle lacquer”. In fact, “sparkle lacquer” is just a period of time in Buffet’s saxophone-making history when their lacquering was not quite up to par, and whether through imperfect drying or incorrect thinning, the lacquer layers (lacquer is sprayed in several coats) dried in such a way that one or more of the layers shrank while drying, created a crazed effect much like can be seen on some pottery or on dried lake beds.
This horn also had the original integral flat metal resonators, which are quite well suited to the horn. The flat resonators, which are screwed into the back of the pad cup, pull the pads tight against the key cups, increasing the venting, which on a horn with such tight tolerances on the lower stack is quite important to getting clean, full, open response and feeling in tone. Indeed, it is quite easy to make the mistake of having too-low key heights on Buffets, which results in a stuffy and restrained tone. However when the key heights are as open as they should be, these horns are nearly as bottomless as a Conn.
This horn turned out as nicely as I hoped it would, with an extremely powerful dark tone that makes you wonder why these horns are still so affordable relative to the other French saxophone.
