Provenance is everything. Many Fender Stratocasters built before 1970 could have been played by Jimmy Hendrix but very few were. The one he played at the Woodstock festival – was bought at auction by Microsoft’s Paul Allen in 1993 for $1.3m.
I acquired this alto recently from a seller who was told me it came via an estate sale in New York and was once owned by Hank Mobley. Continue reading
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: 6M, Alto, Conn, Saximus Maximus | Leave a comment »
Unpacking my latest ebay purchase raised lots of questions – including who made it, when, why it lacks a middle Bb key and what’s going on with the mouthpiece. This one’s a bit of an enigma and I’m sure some of my clever readers will be able to correct my assumptions (as always!).
Continue readingFiled under: Alto, Orsi, Saxophone Reviews | Tagged: alto saxophone, Dupont Artist Ideal, Orsi, Saximus Maximus | 2 Comments »
As you can see from other posts on this sites, I love Buescher saxophones. They are sturdy horns – built to last. I was lucky enough to find this one recently on Facebook Marketplace. It was very reasonably priced and came with a newish case, strap, vintage Lafleur mouthpiece and a few reeds.
Filed under: Buescher Series 1a, Saxophone Reviews | Tagged: alto saxophone, Buescher, Saximus Maximus | Leave a comment »
I acquired this alto from a charity shop in Reading via an eBay advert. It’s a simply brilliant horn.
It was named after the year it was made, 1932.
Continue readingFiled under: Alto, Boosey & Hawkes | Tagged: 32, alto saxophone, B&H, René Guénot | Leave a comment »
I have been intrigued with French saxophone manufacturers for many years, so it’s great to be able to review another one on this site. From the example of this sax, Pierret seems just as good as most other French makers, of which only Selmer is still in business. I came across Pierret as a saxophone brand when discussing the maker of an unusal instrument some time ago and so was excited to see one on ebay, which I snapped up. Pierret was in business from 1906-1972, although it’s possible that it was selling previously manufactured stock for its last few years. Continue reading
Filed under: Alto, Pierret Oxford | Tagged: #saximax, alto saxophone, Pierret | 1 Comment »
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. Continue reading
Filed under: Condor | Tagged: alto saxophone, China, Condor, Far East, Saximus Maximus, Taiwan | 4 Comments »
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. Continue reading
Filed under: Amati AAS22 | Tagged: AAS22, alto saxophone, Amati, Saximus Maximus | 2 Comments »
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.’ Continue reading
Filed under: Selmer Pennsylvania Special (Kohlert) | Tagged: baritone saxophone, Geoff Sansome, Kohlert, Saximus Maximus, saxophone, Selmer | Leave a comment »
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. Continue reading
Filed under: Buescher New Aristocrat | Tagged: Alto, Buescher, Elkhart, Saximus Maximus, saxophone | 2 Comments »
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. Continue reading
Filed under: Selmer Pennsylvania Special (Kohlert) | Tagged: Baritone, Boz the Sax, Kohlert, Maestro Music, Pennsylvania Special, saxophone, Selmer | 6 Comments »
Saximus Maximus 