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’. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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Kohlert Modell 1927 (1927)

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Martin Hingley

The Story

We’re very pleased to bring you a review of this excellent, unusual German saxophone written by Peter Chadwick – a keen player based in the West country…

I bought this instrument from eBay out of curiosity (it wasn’t expensive!). I have become a fan of European saxophones after dumping my Martin to buy a Selmer Pennsylvania Special (see an earlier article by Saxuimus Maximus). I have been unable to discover much about pre-war Kohlert instruments although there is a lot of company history to read if you are that way inclined. I understand that during the late 1920’s Kohlert used the year of manufacture as the model name. I have seen pictures of a “Modell 1926” and a “Modell 1928” – mine is a “Modell 1927” and doesn’t look much like the others. Continue reading →

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Keilwerth Crestone Toneking (1957)

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Martin Hingley

The Story

This was made by Julius Keilwerth in Germany in 1957. I bought this from Tony at Maggini Supplies around 2001. It was at the beginning of my quest to acquire all historic and unusually saxophones. As usual I made a trip to our local reservoir on a Sunday morning to pick the instrument up from the ack of Tony’s car. Continue reading →

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Selmer Mark VI Baritone (1979)

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Martin Hingley

The Story

The Snakey Spat Band was a fantastic funk band playing in Abingdon from the mid 1970s and the first real band I played in, joining at the age of 17. Poignantly it split up in 1979 in the same week Dexies Midnight Runners reached no 1 in the singles chart. It contained great musicians, including Tim Cairns, Squirrel, Dave Ball and George Day. The horn players included Murray Powell, John WIld, Pat Kelly and his son Julian, Andy Kinch, Andy Miller and Pat Crumley – my saxophone teacher: so I was very lucky to be good enough to play with them. Shortly after the band split Tim and George started the Big Boys Blues Band, playing blues and soul music and I’m still playing in that horn section today, moving from alto to tenor over the years. In the early 1990s I decided to buy a Mark VI to play when needed. Anyone who’s read my review of my Evette and Schaeffer bari can see why I couldn’t use that one. Continue reading →

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