The Story

We’re keen browsers at car boot and jumble sales. The Island Donkey Sanctuary regularly runs events locally from which we typically buy clocks and other retro things. I bought this from a car boot sale there about 10 years ago. The saxophone had been used as a school instruments. I can only presume that whoever bought it originally did so from New Zealand, Australia, or perhaps Brazil.

The Instrument

There is very little information on Condor published on the Web – a name which sounds related to Conn, but certainly isn’t from the build design and quality. I found a similar one for sale in New Zealand sometime ago, as well as references to their availability in Brazil. This is a fair instrument, with a design roughly based on the Selmer Mark VI. However it is relatively light-weight in terms of its quality and sound. It seems likely that it was made in Taiwan or China. It has a low serial number and I’ve guessed it was made in 1980 only from comparison to other saxophones in my collection. I’m keen for any more information anyone has on Condor saxophones.

The Player

It has a smooth action, but its tone is somewhat restricted and weak. I’m not sure I would ever want to play this in gigs, although it is perhaps adequate for practice.

Saxifications

• Make – Condor
• Model – unknown (Alto)
• Serial Number – 60618
• Date of Manufacture – 1980 (estimated)
• Place of Manufacture – Taiwan or China
• Finish – light polished brass with silver nickel keys
• Weight – 4lb 8oz
• Sound – weak
• Ease of Blowing – somewhat restricted
• Ease of Fingering – a good easy action

We’re keen to hear from other owners of Condor saxophones, especially  if you play them regularly and appreciate their quality. As always please let me know by commenting on this post.

The Story

I spend a lot of time in Dorset and Devon and enjoy visiting Exeter, where there a number of good secondhand shops – especially if you’re looking for good quality guitars. On a recent trip we decided to go a bit further out to N. E. Tingz, a shop packed with interesting stock.

The Instrument

We discovered this Amati alto on a shelf at the side of the shop. The assistant went off to find the mouth piece and we acquired for a very good price. Amati is based in Kralice in the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia at the time this alto was made, which clearly makes it date from before the Velvet Revolution of 1989). Dennis Gazarek has excellently recorded the history of Amati on the Sax on the Web site. I can find no serial number references for Amati, but the design looks similar to other instruments made in the 1970s – I’ve plumped for 1980, but would welcome any further information. This is a student model, but well equipped and made of solid brass. It has silver keys and a recognisable keyguard for the bottom keys with a flat front profile. Amati-Denak still manufacture musical instruments, reportedly with over 200 employees in 2 factories: however there is no reference to saxophones – just brass. My assumption is that the saxophones they sell today are made in the Far East.

The Player

I picked up some Rico Royal 3 reeds and tried out the horn with what I imagine is its original mouth piece. I was pleasantly surprised to find there were no problems with the pads and the horn plays well with a nice wide tone. The action is slightly clunky, with a quite a lot of weight needed in your left smallest finger to close the low B and Bb. I’m already a fan of the related Keilwerth saxophones, but this is better than the earlier Toneking we have reviewed elsewhere. It’s a very modern instrument and every bit as good as the Conn’s and Yamaha’s sold to students around the same time.

Saxifications

• Make – Amati
• Model – AAS22
• Serial Number – 312203
• Date of Manufacture – 1980 (estimated)
• Place of Manufacture – Kralice, Czechoslovakia
• Finish – polished brass with silver nickel keywork
• Weight – 4lb 11oz
• Sound – clear, wide
• Ease of Blowing – strong, very open for an alto
• Ease of Fingering – a bit clunky, especially on lower left pinky keys

Read the excellent article on the history of Amati on Sax on the Web. I’m very interested in reviewing other Amati instruments here. So if you have one don’t forget to contact us.

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.’

The Instrument

This is the fifth Pennsylvania Special we’ve looked at. Its clear now that ‘Made in Czechoslovakia’ on the bell indicates Kohlert as the maker, as with the other Pennsylvania specials on this site. Geoff says about this instrument ‘It in its original case, with a heavy duty homemade stand and numerous mouthpieces and a very old Selmer pad repair kit’.

The Player

Geoff adds ‘I can blow it but need someone who plays it to have a real go sometime. I will probably sell it on if anyone is interested and would welcome any advice on the value.’ He can be contacted at sansomes@btinternet.com.

Saxifications

• Make – Selmer (Kohlert)
• Model – Pennsylvania Special
• Serial Number – 255,XXX
• Date of Manufacture – 1937
• Place of Manufacture – Czech Republic
• Finish – Silver plated
• Weight – 12lb 2oz
• Sound – Full, round
• Ease of Blowing – Easy
• Ease of Fingering – Good balanced keywork

Please contact us if you also have a Pennsylvania Special – especially if it’s a soprano or bass. It would be great to get a complete set reviewed here.

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.

The Instrument

It’s a relatively heavy alto, especially as it lacks a lot of the big keys you’ll find on a more modern instrument such as the Selmer Mark VI. The body is in lacquered brass, while the key work is silver-plated. It has a top F# key, which was missing on the tenor mentioned above.  There’s some lacquer missing, especially at the back below the triangle ‘True Tone’ mark, but otherwise it’s in very good condition and I’ve had several people want to buy it from me over the years.

Bueschers, like Martins were companies founded by ex-employees of Colonel Conn in Elkhart, Indiana. They are sturdy horns – built to last. This one was made 3 years before Gus Buesher died and 5 since he left the company as general manager.

The Player

A strong, round tone, with good intonation across both registers – this is a very professional horn. The keywork has a strong balanced action. The pinky keys, in particular, have an easy facility.

Saxifications

• Make – Buescher
• Model – New Aristocrat
• Serial Number – 267099
• Date of Manufacture – 1934
• Place of Manufacture – Elkhart, Indiana
• Finish – Brass with gold wash, silver keywork
• Weight – 4lb 15oz
• Sound – Rich and mellow
• Ease of Blowing – Full
• Ease of Fingering – Good strong action

More about Gus Buescher and his saxophone manufacturing can be found currently on the Web from Wikipedia.
Do you own a Buescher saxophone? Please let us know if you’d like to see it reviewed here.

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.

The Instrument

This is the fourth Pennsylvania Special we’ve looked at. Its clear now that ‘Made in Czechoslovakia’ on the bell indicates Kohlert as the maker, as with the other Pennsylvania specials on this site. Boz reports that it only goes down to the low Bb (i.e. no low A) and lacks a F# key at the top, which is similar to Kate’s version. What makes it different are the multiple pearl tops to left hand pinky keys, which are similar to those on the alto version we reviewed. The difference in these details don’t look as if they were date related – the extra pearls are missing from the tenor version we reviewed (1938), but included on Boz’s bari (1935) and the alto (1938). It also seems strange that Boz’s instrument is bare brass – a lesser finish usually than silver-plating. Boz reports ‘looking hard at the sax, I don’t think it ever was silver plated, there is still some lacquer left in places on the brass. It has one or two dings in the body, but nothing serious enough to effect the sound’.

The Player

In common with most baritones, it’s easy to blow sharp in the upper register and staying in tune requires some skill at anything above a G. Altissimo is not possible on this sax – yet – with the new pads were on, the bottom-end sounds fantastic -  a really fat sound. The keys fall easily to hand, although one or two rods have become slightly misshapen over the years’.

Saxifications

• Make – Selmer (Kohlert)
• Model – Pennsylvania Special
• Serial Number – 257,XXX
• Date of Manufacture – 1935
• Place of Manufacture – Czech Republic
• Finish – Brass
• Weight – 12lb 2oz
• Sound – Full, round
• Ease of Blowing – Easy
• Ease of Fingering – Good balanced keywork

Please contact us if you also have a Pennsylvania Special – especially if it’s a soprano or bass. It would be great to get a complete set reviewed here.

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’.

The Instrument

This was named the Director by Conn, although it is more commonly known as a Shooting Stars model. Officially it is a student model, lacking the rolled tone holes and micro tuner of their top-line models of the time. It was made in 1963 in Elkhard Indianna, before production moved to Nogales, New Mexico. It comes at a very long line of fantastic saxophone manufacturing in the most important town in the world for horn production.
What Conn said in 1959:
“Professional in everything but price, this tenor designed for the student has many of the top improvements of the higher priced saxophones. Hydraulic expanded tone chamber and tapered bell bow adds to the full tone of this model. Features:

• drawn tone holes, tempered nickel plate on all keys, adjustable pivots,
• Automatic high F, LUSTRE-CONN finish.’

For a drawing from the 1959 Conn catalogue, see above.

The Player

This is a very good saxophone – a wide loud tone, unobstructed by the huge number of extra thick keys found on more modern instruments. I played it for ten years, before swapping over to my Buescher, which is heavier and more mellow. It has more ‘direct access’ than any other saxophone I’ve played.

Saxifications

• Make – Conn
• Model – Director ‘Shooting Stars’
• Serial Number – C71324
• Date of Manufacture – 1963
• Place of Manufacture – Elkhart, Indianna
• Finish – brass lacquer body with nickel-plated keys (Finish 25)
• Weight – 7lb 4oz
• Sound – Loud, open
• Ease of Blowing – Open, takes big lungs
• Ease of Fingering – Simple without the mass of big keys of more modern instruments

More about the Conn Director saxophones can be found currently on the Web from saxpics.

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.

The Instrument

Subsequent research proved that this is a Weltlang saxophone, with ‘made in GDR’ market on the body under the serial number. The telling feature is the upper octave mechanism with one band held inside two – see the picture above. It’s finished in gold lacquer with silver keywork. It has an F# key, with lower keyholes on the right of the bell – in other words a modern design. The serial number dates it to 1962. The keys require a lot of finger pressure to open or close them, with particular strength needed for the bottom keys under the left little finger.

The Player

I haven’t had the horn looked over by my fixer upper yet and it seems to leak a bit below the bottom F. However the sound is loud and true. The weight of the saxophone is also relatively heavy. It stays in tune across both octaves and the higher notes in the top octave are particularly strong.

Saxifications

• Make – Weltlang
• Model – Commodore
• Serial Number – 9204
• Date of Manufacture – 1962
• Place of Manufacture – East Germany (GDR)
• Finish – gold lacquer, silver keys
• Weight – 7lb 2oz
• Sound – strong and loud/li>
• Ease of Blowing – full, but easy
• Ease of Fingering – clunky – especially on the left pinky leys

I can find no real information on Weltklang saxophones and would welcome any further information.

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.

The Instrument

Yamaha makes a number of different models from student through to professional. This comes from the 80 range – near the very top. It is very well made and has all the keywork you would expect from a top notch horn. It has good etching and a strong dark gold lacquer.

The Player

I’ve played this myself a few times when my Mark VI was at the doctors. It has a different feel, with a smoother, clearer tone across the range. I speculate that Yamahas play slightly sharper at the top end than Selmers. Perhaps someone who has tested these scientifically (as I believe Hawks shop in London did) could confirm. The action is very balanced, although there is perhaps less play than on a Selmer. The tone is warm and full, but again perhaps a bit less expansive than classic vintage instruments.

Saxifications

• Make – Yamaha
• Model – YS62
• Serial Number – 064076
• Date of Manufacture – 1974
• Place of Manufacture – Japan
• Finish – Gold lacquer
• Weight – 5lb 5oz
• Sound – Warm, but not expansive
• Ease of Blowing – Easy but full
• Ease of Fingering – Balanced and simple

More on Yamaha saxophone history can be found on Steve Goodson’s Saxgourmet site. Do you play a Yamaha alto? Please let us know how you would compare it with American or European instruments by commenting on this post.

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.

The Instrument

This is a stencil branded by Selmer. It was made by Kohlert – not made by Keilwerth, Amati or Karl Meyer. It has been well played, unfortunately with gold paint applied to the worn lacquer many years ago. Consequentially it has just about the worst finish of any saxophones I’ve ever seen.
In terms of design it is consistent with the baritone and alto versions also reviewed on this site, although the left hand ‘pinky’ cluster lacks many of the pearl coverings of the alto. It is a thoroughly modern instrument with all lower keys on the right of the bell. The octave key has a stylish design.

The Player

Perhaps because I haven’t had this repadded, this doesn’t play very well. It is clunky in comparison to many of the other saxophones I’ve played and is heavy and stodgy. It is difficult to blow and has a poor ‘middly’ tone. I intend to spend more time playin ghtis in future to see how it can be improved through better restoration.

Saxifications

• Make – Selmer (Kohlert)
• Model – Pennsylvania Special
• Serial Number – 27878
• Date of Manufacture – 1938
• Place of Manufacture – Czechoslovakia
• Finish –Silver plated
• Weight – 5lb 3oz
• Sound – Poor, middly
• Ease of Blowing – Weak
• Ease of Fingering – Clunky and difficult

Do you play a Pennsylvania Special? We’realways very interested in reviewing your saxophone here – especially if you have a soprano, C Melody or other stencil versions of our reviewed here.

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.

The Instrument

This is the third Pennsylvania Special we’ve looked at, including alto and tenor versions. We noted before that these were stencils made for Selmer by a number of different European manufacturers. Quite surprisingly for what is now the strongest saxophone brand, there’s a lot of variation in the quality of our small sample. It was not made by Keilwerth – at least it does not bear the tell-tale ‘Best in the World … Made in Germany’ marks I find on the Crestone or alto mentioned above. Kate’s baritone was probably made by Kohlert, although possibly made by either Amati or Karl Meyer if we follow the information on saxontheweb. At the bottom end it goes down to Bb – rather than A found on most modern instruments.

The Player

Having briefly played the instrument I was impressed with its lightness in comparison with the Selmer Mark VI - much better for holding it up for long periods. Kate’s baritone is a good instrument – plays easily with good balance in the keywork, albeit without the facility of the Mark VI. It has a full round sound.

Saxifications

• Make – Selmer (Kohlert)
• Model – Pennsylvania Special
• Serial Number – 27X,XXX
  Date of Manufacture – 1937
• Place of Manufacture – Czech Republic
• Finish –Silver palted
• Weight – 12lb 2oz
• Sound – Full, round
• Ease of Blowing – Easy
• Ease of Fingering – Good balanced keywork

For another review of a similar baritone, read our post. Do you play a Pennsylvania Special? We’re very interested in reviewing your saxophone here – especially if you have a soprano, C Melody or other stencil versions on the instruments already featured here.