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.’ Continue reading →
Filed under: Selmer Pennsylvania Special (Kohlert) | Tagged: baritone saxophone, Geoff Sansome, Kohlert, Saximus Maximus, saxophone, Selmer | Leave a comment »
Posted on January 27, 2012 by Martin Hingley
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. Continue reading →
Filed under: Selmer Pennsylvania Special (Kohlert) | Tagged: Baritone, Boz the Sax, Kohlert, Maestro Music, Pennsylvania Special, saxophone, Selmer | 6 Comments »
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 →
Filed under: Conn 16M | Tagged: 16M, Conn, Director, Elkhard, Saximus Maximus, saxophone, tenor | 6 Comments »
Posted on September 17, 2011 by Martin Hingley
Posted on March 20, 2010 by Martin Hingley
Posted on March 15, 2010 by Martin Hingley
The Story
I acquired this unusual saxophone from Johnny Roadhouse in Manchester. Having looked at all of their vintage instruments on the wall, I eventually turned to look at this one which was standing on the top of the counter. I already had a couple of C Melody saxes, but had never seen a C Soprano. I also liked the idea of having a good English make in my collection.
As usual the staff at the shop gave me great service, throwing in some reeds, a pad saver to go along with the two mouthpieces in the case. When I forgot to take the reeds home they were quick to post them on to me – all good reasons to count this as one of the best places to shop for vintage saxophones. Oh – and this time the sax was in good playing order, an excellent tribute to the repairers there. Continue reading →
Filed under: Hawkes & Son (Martin) | Tagged: Boosey & Hawkes, C Soprano, Hawkes & Son (Martin), Johnny Roadhouse, Martin, Saximus Maximus, saxophone | 4 Comments »
Posted on March 14, 2010 by Martin Hingley
I’m pleased to introduce you to my new site. I’m going to publish lots of interesting information and ask for contibutions from saxophone players and collectors across the globe.
My aim is very simple – to include all the revelant information you need to know about when thinking about acquiring, selling, fixing a specific saxophone. I want to save you time when you get the thing home and want to know more about it.
Filed under: Saxophone Reviews | Tagged: Saximus Maximus, saxophone | 2 Comments »
Saximus Maximus 