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Sax on the Web Forum Archive / Baritone Saxophone / Buescher 400

Collin J.
User ID: 0081374 Oct 10th 9:39 PM
I was checking out our school bari, an ancient, abused sax, and noticed Buescher 400 on the bell. I hear people saying good things about Buescher baris, could this be a diamond in the rough, or is it a standard school issue bari?

StevenW
User ID: 8952923 Oct 10th 10:56 PM
Any of the Bari B-400's I've played were nice saxes! The bell key arrangment flops about a bit when you move or swing the sax which can draw your attention until you are used to it - gave me the feel something was amiss (familiarity that was all).

While my SML bari was away for overhaul the local university was kind enough to offer me the loan of whatever Bari was not assigned - they had a Mk-VI that was pink from acid bleed and had been let go in setup to match and a B-400 which seemed less hammered, likely as the Selmer-draw had left it on the racks while the Mk-VI would be assigned out. I did a simply play off and took the B-400 (needed perhaps but a few minutes of reseating and tweaking vs. the Selmer looking to take more and being stuffy).

The earlier B-400's are more sought after due to superior keywork materials and a perceived better build, but in the heat of the fray I seriously wonder if the nature of the individual bari and how it is setup would overcome any pre-Selmer/post-Selmer ownership of Buescher issues.

regards,

StevenW

Buescherbabe
User ID: 3104274 Dec 21st 5:23 PM
Well, I am the proud owner of a Buescher 400 baritone sax. I needed a fill-in bari player for the quartet and figured if I could provide the horn, I would have more luck finding someone to join us. I played (as well as I could play it, being an alto and soprano player) a prettier, newer one, but found it didn't sound as nice as the older one (@1963).

Collin J. User ID: 0081374	Oct 10th 9:39 PM I was checking out our school bari, an ancient, abused sax, and noticed Buescher 400 on the bell. I hear people saying good things about Buescher baris, could this be a diamond in the rough, or is it a standard school issue bari?
StevenW User ID: 8952923	Oct 10th 10:56 PM Any of the Bari B-400's I've played were nice saxes! The bell key arrangment flops about a bit when you move or swing the sax which can draw your attention until you are used to it - gave me the feel something was amiss (familiarity that was all). While my SML bari was away for overhaul the local university was kind enough to offer me the loan of whatever Bari was not assigned - they had a Mk-VI that was pink from acid bleed and had been let go in setup to match and a B-400 which seemed less hammered, likely as the Selmer-draw had left it on the racks while the Mk-VI would be assigned out. I did a simply play off and took the B-400 (needed perhaps but a few minutes of reseating and tweaking vs. the Selmer looking to take more and being stuffy). The earlier B-400's are more sought after due to superior keywork materials and a perceived better build, but in the heat of the fray I seriously wonder if the nature of the individual bari and how it is setup would overcome any pre-Selmer/post-Selmer ownership of Buescher issues. regards, StevenW
Buescherbabe User ID: 3104274	Dec 21st 5:23 PM Well, I am the proud owner of a Buescher 400 baritone sax. I needed a fill-in bari player for the quartet and figured if I could provide the horn, I would have more luck finding someone to join us. I played (as well as I could play it, being an alto and soprano player) a prettier, newer one, but found it didn't sound as nice as the older one (@1963).