H.N. White "American Standard" tenor

[David Spiegelthal]

For about the last year I've been playing on a 1920's (I think) vintage "American Standard" tenor, which as I understand was one of the student lines of the H.N. White Company (which is mainly known for their "King" brand). My horn is lightweight and the mechanism is simple, but it plays very well and I really enjoy it. I was just wondering if anyone else has experience with these horns.

[tophatsax]

David,

I'd love to know what others think too. I've never played it, but have one hanging on the wall in my study.

tophatsax

[David Spiegelthal]

TopHatSax,
You may be waiting a while for feedback --- note that my post is from nearly two months ago, and yours is the first reply!
As for the horn, I play mine regularly on gigs, and even though it ain't pretty I really like it --- the most in-tune tenor I've ever played, surprisingly. Currently using a refaced stainless Berg 105/2 on it (opened up to about 130 or 135) --- very versatile setup, have used it in many settings.
Get yours off the wall and into the shop!
Cheers,
DS
Calverton, VA

[tophatsax]

David,

My main tenor is a '51 Top Hat & Cane (just sold my Mark VI to buy it), so the very tarnished American Standard will stay on the wall for a while anyway. Thanks for the reply.

tophatsax

[frobig]

Well, at least Siver-Dip the thing for gosh sakes! It'll be a better decoration that way. Meanwhile, is there really such a thing as enough playable horns?
By the way, for a long time my only alto was an American Standard. It had been overhauled and played OK, but I never played it in a group, and don't recall playing it against a tuner. I think I'd rather play Conns or Bueschers if I'm going to play anything with split bell keys, even though I'm a die-hard King fan. The American Standard always sounded a little thin to me, but then I didn't have a decent alto mouthpiece until I got my Yanagisawa anyway, so who knows?

[shmuelyosef]

There is such a thing as too many unplayable horns...

[David Spiegelthal]

Yes, but a person can never have too many PLAYABLE horns! The more the merrier......bring 'em on!

[David Spiegelthal]

Update (one year later.....) With an additional year of regularly playing my 1925 silver-plated H.N. White (King) "American Standard" tenor sax in professional as well as community band settings, I can report that I love this instrument and have no desire to play any other tenor! The intonation is as close to perfect as anything I've tried, the sound is nice, and the ergonomics (on the tenor) are comfortable for me, thought admittedly rather different than most modern tenors. It has been totally reliable and rugged, too, and still looks nice with minimal tarnishing a year after restoration (admittedly I wipe the entire instrument with a soft cloth after each playing, that helps a LOT, on any instrument).

I now also have its alto "twin", a 1925 silver-plated King, which is equally attractive and plays equally well, although I find its ergonomics more awkward than the tenor's. I don't understand why I've read some negative postings about the intonation of these 1920's King saxes, as the three I have experience with (my own two as well as another silver-plated alto I restored and sold some months ago) all play very well in tune, with modern as well as vintage mouthpieces.

I probably wouldn't recommend vintage saxes such as these for serious professional classical playing, but for just about any other genre I don't see any drawbacks.