This is a drop-dead gorgeous example of a Selmer Super Sax made in 1931, wearing its original gold plate. It sports the “cigar cutter” octave mechanism, which to my view is unimportant enough that I forgot to photograph it. What is important is the year and the model- to my mind, the Super is the …
This is a 1968 Selmer Mark VI, which arrived to me extremely worn out and so covered in green corrosion it felt soft to the touch. I often kick myself for not taking “before” photos (I get too excited for disassembly and forget) but this time I really should have. Just to give you an idea, …
I think my camera is dying. My trusty Sony RX-100 (first edition) is finally giving up the ghost. Photos have become difficult to focus and seem to lack detail, but a few photos still come through now and then. So I took approximately a billion photographs to bring you a few of this beautiful pair …
This is a 1952 Selmer Super (Balanced) Action tenor saxophone in somewhat funny-looking original lacquer, in excellent physical condition; an original un-engraved “Euro horn”. Back when this horn was made, to avoid import taxes for horns sold in the US market, Selmer Paris sent saxophones in parts to Selmer USA (which is an entirely different …
This is a Yamaha YTS-32, which is basically a Yamaha YTS-52 for the European market. Originally marketed as an intermediate horn, much like the Yamaha YSS-475 intermediate soprano it is actually every bit as professional in playing as its big brother, the 62, with the only notable subtractions to my mind (though there are quite a …
This is a 1926 Conn New Wonder Series II soprano saxophone in the extremely rare finish option known as “Virtuoso Deluxe“. Heavily gold plated and hand burnished, hand-crafted pearl inlay on every key, and elaborate engraving that typically covers the entire horn. On this particular example, there is a dragon-slaying scene (apparently used more than …
This is an original lacquer King Zephyr Special tenor from 1938. I overhauled it with reusable brass resonators from Tenor Madness, and I am about as pleased with my padwork on this one as I ever get. The horn came out really, really great and it is so beautiful to look at. I learned a tiny bit …
This is the earliest King Zephyr Special saxophone that I have seen or heard of, and it predates the known serial number lists for the model number by about 7,000 serials. I own a Zephyr Special alto from what seems to be the first big batch of them, a 209xxx instrument. This one is 202xxx, …