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Last night I was reading through my “new” Woodwind Quarterly magazines that I bought just a few days ago in a nearly complete collection from another repairman. These are old, repair-centered periodicals that were published for a brief time in the 1990s until 2001. Very geeky, extremely interesting, and packed with amazing knowledge. I’ve never read them before, and I am finding them fascinating reading. I also happened to be reading at night during a power outage, so I was reading in silence by oil lamp.

Yesterday evening, I found out that the Powell Silver Eagle project had been “suspended”. The Powell Silver Eagle was a made-in-America high-end saxophone being built by a partnership between E. K. Blessing (based in Elkhart) and Powell Flutes. To reduce this partnership to extreme basics, you have lots of money (Powell) combined with know-how and tooling (Blessing) doing their best to make a handmade high-end saxophone in the United States. Hype was good, reaction of those who played the prototypes was good, and to those of us on the outside the forecast seemed sunny.

A large part of the mechanical rebuild service I provide is invisible to the end user. The result of the job can easily be felt by the player, but the actual mechanical work that is done is literally out of sight, though key fit has repercussions for the adjustment materials that can be used, the pads that can be used, the seal of the pads, and more- and it is the type of work that can only be done during a full overhaul. For a little primer on why key fit can have such far reaching effects, watch this video here.

On Selmer saxophones of certain vintages, the last coat of lacquer was applied after the horn was complete including padwork. They would cork the keys shut and apply the last coat, which resulted in the pad leather outside of the tonehole having a very light coat of lacquer. I’m not certain when exactly this started or stopped, but I have seen it from Balanced Action through Mark VI, maybe a Mark VII. Its only meaning is that it is an additional way to sometimes tell if a Selmer has its original pads.

One of the recurring questions I get is a variation on “Should I overhaul my horn?”. This question- almost without exception- comes from players who have never gotten a horn overhauled, and don’t understand why they should put a relatively large amount of money into an overhaul vs. just take it into the shop for $50-100 worth of work every few months. The fact that I only get this question from people who have not experienced a good overhaul should tell you something- as should the fact that I get this question often! A saxophone overhaul is one of those things that once you do it (and its done well) it makes sense- and often you can’t imagine ever going back to playing horns that are less than perfectly set up. But there is precious little information on WHY exactly an overhaul is a good thing, and its a pretty big leap of faith to take the first time. But a full overhaul is often not only cheaper in the long run but better for your playing, and here is why.

SOLD This is a 1940 Conn 26M with the VIII stamp on the body and neck, in original lacquer with original case. It came to me with original pads, and will be overhauled for sale. The overhaul is included in the price.

SOLD This is an original silver plate, excellent physical condition Selmer Radio Improved alto saxophone, made in France in 1935. I have just overhauled this saxophone, where it received a stripping of the clear coat of lacquer someone had sprayed on it sometime in the near past as well as a full mechanical rebuild of the keywork. Pads were installed with Tenor Madness reusable brass resonators and this horn plays GREAT and is ready to go for years and years of reliable service right out of the case.

Pictured above are two Couf Superba I tenor saxophones. They are within 2000 serials of each other, are both in very good original condition with fully intact original finishes, and have both been overhauled by me at the request of their owners to have exactly the same setup- same pads, same resonators, exact same key heights, overhauled by the same repairman- and unlike most new horns, they are demonstrably leak-free.

Here are some “before” photos: And here are some “after” photos (yes its the same horn):

SOLD This is an original lacquer nearly mint condition Buffet Super Dynaction tenor saxophone, hand-built in France in 1971 with serial 18xxx. Originally sold in Canada, it has its original case, which is different from the US version, along with its original strap, mouthpiece, mouthpiece cap, ligature, and an unopened box of Rico brown box tenor reeds. The original keys to the case are even still strapped to the handle.

SOLD This is an excellent original condition original lacquer original pads Vito “Duke” baritone saxophone, hand made in France for Vito by Beaugnier, a small factory that made horns for Leblanc, Noblet, and Vito.

Or rather, a complete redesign. Expect some hiccups, but please report any weirdness you find so I can fix it. Migrating images from the old one to the new one is proving to be rather difficult, and I have learned a valuable lesson: don’t use Wordpress themes that put all of your media in a non-standard folder! This new look was chosen for several reasons:

This is a closeup of the pearls on the upper stack of a 1943 Strasser-Marigaux-Lemaire (SML) Coleman Hawkins Special. The Coleman Hawkins Special is a fantastically rare instrument in itself, but what makes this one even more interesting is that it was made while France was occupied by Germany in World War II. Saxophone production in France slowed to a trickle during the occupation, as the brass and other materials used in instrument manufacture as well as manpower and machinery were diverted to the war or unable to be imported in the first place. Nonetheless, a very few saxophones were made, and some bear witness to the strained conditions under which they were produced. If you are lucky enough to come across a French saxophone made during the occupation, you may see black pearls on the keywork- and sometimes even bakelite pearls, as the pure white mother of pearl became difficult to obtain. Sometimes only a few are black, sometimes all are black, or sometimes it will be a fairly even mix. On this horn, all pearls but the bis, front F, and chromatic f# are black pearls.

SOLD This is a 1939 Selmer Balanced Action tenor saxophone, serial number 292xx, made in tail end of the final year before World War II decreased Selmer’s output to a trickle. It is the twin to my personal alto from the same time period, and I am sorely tempted to keep it, but I already have a great tenor and if I keep all the horns I want to keep I wouldn’t have a home to keep them in. Besides, there are not many Balanced Action tenors still around, and this one should be out making music somewhere.

**SOLD and overhauled to the new owners specifications. Want one for yourself? Get in touch and tell me to find one for you. ** This is a 1953 Strasser-Marigaux-Lemaire (SML) tenor saxophone, with original Perma-Gold finish, in very good physical condition. It is scheduled for an overhaul, and the price includes this work.

SOLD This is a 1972 Buffet Super Dynaction tenor saxophone in nearly original condition with the original case and warranty card- which hasn’t even been filled out yet! The physical condition is nearly immaculate, with only a couple small scratches to show for being over 40 years old. It still plays pretty well on its original pads and corks, but I will be overhauling it for sale with flat metal resonators to make it perfect- overhaul included in the price.

Whew, what a year. 2012 was challenging and rewarding and I learned about as much as I have in any one-year period of my entire life. On a personal level, in early 2012 my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world, a happy little chubster named August who has given me new focus and perspective as I experience the world anew from his point of view.

Some scans of vintage ads I have collected over the years. If you have high-quality scans or original ads you would like to send my way for inclusion in this gallery, let me know. If you would like a copy of any of these ads in full resolution (too big for my hosting), send me an email. There are no watermarks on the files. Share and Enjoy!

Click on the photo for an even higher resolution image of the beautiful engraving pattern from an extremely rare Conn 12M Transitional baritone saxophone in gold plate with the art deco engraving pattern. Just beautiful.