Selmer Pennsylvania Special Baritone (1937)

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Martin Hingley

The Story

This is Geoff Sansome’s story and a tribute to sax player Beechey…

‘I bought the sax, case and stand in an Oxfam shop yesterday. There was a notice in the door advertising it. Turns out it is a “Pennsylvania Special, made in Czechoslovakia, serial number 255352. When I got it home I found a repair ticket from 1988 for it with the owner’s name and address, Mr Beechey (Albert). Not only did I know him, but played in a jazz band with him and this sax 20 years ago!

We started messing about as a Dixieland band in 1992 and we asked Albert to come along. He was about 80 then and I was 30. He had a range of saxes and had done a lot of dance band work in the second world war in and around Worcestershire and Droitwich. He occasionally got his baritone out and thundered away (We called it the scud missile). Albert didn’t improvise (he needed “the dots”) so as we developed we got a different reed player. Albert died in about 2000 and I have no idea where this sax has been since then until it surfaced in the Oxfam shop. It in its original case, with a heavy duty homemade stand and numerous mouthpieces and a very old Selmer pad repair kit.’ Read more »

Filed under: Selmer Pennsylvania Special (Kohlert) | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Buescher New Aristocrat Alto (1934)

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Martin Hingley

The Story

This splendid American saxophone came to me from my fixer-upper, which I bought from in 2006. I haven’t played it much, but intend to, especially as its big brother is currently my favourite tenor. Read more »

Filed under: Buescher New Aristocrat | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Selmer Pennsylvania Special Baritone (1935)

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Martin Hingley

The Story

Boz the Sax of Maestro Music commented on our review of the Selmer Pennsylvania Special alto, questioning the date of his instrument. As always we are very happy to include new reviews here and, although we have already covered a similar instrument from Kate, there are enough differences to make this interesting.
In this case he reports ‘It came into my music shop in 2 parts – the body, then most of the pads, which had fallen out in the sellers loft!’ So it’s a tribute to his fixing skills that it looks so good in the photos. Read more »

Filed under: Selmer Pennsylvania Special (Kohlert) | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Conn 16M (1963)

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Martin Hingley

The story

I was originally just an alto player, but always been interested in tenors. Once I had enough money I bought a Conn 16M – but not this one. Eventually I traded it in for the Keilwerth SX90R reviewed on this site. Suffering from a long-term buyer regret, I saw this in a pawn broker shop in San Jose in 2001. I was escaped from a Sun analyst conference for an hour with my friend Peter. This was on a high shelf behind the counter, long forgotten I would imagine. Having asked the store-keeper to wash the dirty reed under water I played the instrument, which had a loud, clear tone. Having bought it, I got a real compliment, ‘I’ve often heard buyers play the saxophone, you’re the first one who proved it’. Read more »

Filed under: Conn 16M | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Weltklang Commodore Tenor (1962)

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Martin Hingley

The Story

We often go to the open market in Bridport, Dorset on a Saturday morning. In September 2011 we discovered a seller who had this instrument for sale. The lady was selling it for her son, who was not a player himself. There was no workable reed in the case, but it looked in good condition. It had no maker’s name on the horn, but looked playable and was relatively cheap for a tenor. Read more »

Filed under: Wletklang Commodore | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Yamaha YS62 (1974)

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Martin Hingley

The Story

Lizzie was a keen clarinettist, playing a Conn metal instrument and a fine Buffet. She decided to take up the saxophone and I was keen she used something modern and good. We bought this from allegro in Oxford. It was already some 20 years old, but had not been played much and still looks shiny and pristine. Read more »

Filed under: Yamaha YS62 | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Selmer Pennsylvania Special Tenor (1938)

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Martin Hingley

The Story

I bought this tenor from my friend Tony at Maggini Supplies a few years ago. He had recently sold me the alto version of this and knew I would be interested. As always I’m interested in unusual vinatage instruments and this fits the description well. Read more »

Filed under: Selmer Pennsylvania Special (Kohlert) | Tagged: , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Selmer Pennsylvania Special Baritone (1937)

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Martin Hingley

The Story

Kate plays this Selmer Pennsylvania baritone saxophone in the Earley Music Centre Big Band, having just moved back from the front row alto section. Ours is a rehearsal band which plays occasional concerts to friends and family, having an annual outing to the Victoria Embankment Gardens in Westminster, London. We play a good variety of big band music from swing to blues to pop and jazz. Our conductor is Tom Benellick who famously played bugle on the Beatles Sgt Pepper band. Read more »

Filed under: Selmer Pennsylvania Special (Kohlert) | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Lyrist Briard Soloiste (1920)

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Martin Hingley

 

The Story

I noticed my friend Tony at Maggini Supplies had this for sale in his ebay shop. I’ve bought a number of saxophones from him over the years, as readers of these reviews can discover. Instead of meeting up in person, this time the horn was delivered by courier – well packed and protected. The price was low because is was advertised in poor condition, so I ended up spending as much on having it repadded and put in playing condition by my sax fixer-upper. Read more »

Filed under: Lyrist Briard Soloiste | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Dolnet Belair (1947)

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Martin Hingley

The Story

Kate plays saxophone in the Earley Music Centre Big Band. She’s been sitting on the front row with the altos in front of us tenor players for years, although she’s just moved to baritone – so we’re also going to review of her Selmer Pennsylvania Special here. Ours is a rehearsal band which plays occasional concerts to friends and family, having an annual outing to the Victoria Embankment Gardens in Westminster, London. We play a good variety of big band music from swing to blues to pop and jazz. We’re lucky to have Tom Benellick as our conductor. Read more »

Filed under: Dolnet Belair | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Next Page »

  • Welcome To Saximus Maximus

    A simple, but unique idea - supply the description, review what the horn is like to play, weigh it and provide a video of what it sounds like.
    These are all the things you need to know when investing in a new instrument, or trying to learn about it when you get it home.
    I hope you enjoy the reviews. Let me know what you think.
    Send me your questions on your vintage sax and I'll do my best to answer them quickly.

    Saximus Maximus

  • Saximus Maximus Reviews

  • Cloud Saxophoning

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 102 other followers