The Story

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. Gus Buescher and the Martin brothers (Henry, Robert J., Charles E. and Frederick) were all employees of Colonel Conn in Elkhart, Indiana before founding their own companies in the same town.  This one was made in the year Gus Buescher left his company as general manager. Thanks to saxophone.org you can even see a short documentary of instruments being made in the Buescher plant in 1924 .

The Instrument

It has been relaquered at some point in rich gold, which has somewhat obscured the engravings. Unlike its 1934 sucessor, the keywork is also gold-plated. There are a few other differences between the two such as the high E, F and F# keys on the bottom right, which are closer to the instrument and less ergonomic than the later horn; also the ‘pinky’ keys on this instrument don’t include one to play bottom Bb by sliding across as well as down – in fact this is also missing from the pinky cluster of my 1930 Buescher tenor. Although obviously a vintage instrument, it is has a strong come-and-play-me attraction. I’ll definitely be using it for my next alto gig.

The Player

So far I’ve only tried the saxophone with the mouthpiece it came with, which is a bit too closed for my liking. Nevertheless it already produces a rich, colourful tone. I expect it to be even better with my Bobby Dukoff! The keys require differing finger strengths, with the lower C, B and Bb notably more clunky than they are on more modern horns, especially after Selmer introduced its ‘balanced action’ horns in 1935.

Saxifications

• • Make – Buescher
  • Model – True Tone series 1a
  • Serial Number – 242500
  • Date of Manufacture – 1928
  • Place of Manufacture – Elkhart, Indiana
  • Finish – Gold laquer
  • Weight – 2.2 kg
  • Sound – Rich, colourful
  • Ease of Blowing – Easy, but needs big emboucher adjustment for lower notes
  • Ease of Fingering – Easy, but slightly heavy on pinky keys

Do you play a Buescher saxophone? If you can spare a few photos and short description akin to mine above, I can review your instrument here.

Filed under: Buescher Series 1a, Saxophone Reviews | Tagged: alto saxophone, Buescher, Saximus Maximus |