Kohlert Winnenden Tenor - Back from Overhaul

[AJL]

Whoa.. what a sax! No wonder Kohlert was voted best R&B horn.

A honker with style. Coupled with a Link 7* and Rico Jazz Selects in med/soft, this horn does it all. It whispers and talks.. push it and you would think you were on a vintage 10M or Buescher Big B. I am in love once again. Warm.. Big.. Fat. Very light and fast keywork with absolutely no rod endplay. An engineering marvel. Try one .. you'll love a vintage Kohlert. Too bad they were caught in a contract that cost them the biz.

BTW.. I overhauled this sax myself with the expertise of Mr. Paul Heimann of Russelville, AR. Details can be found in the Saxophone Maint & Repair section for those interested.

[ncm]

Well I'm a new convert to Kohlerts. I just bought a tenor and despite needing a repad it is a wonderful horn. It is built like a tank and the keywork is great.

I'm curious as to whether you have pics of your horn since the overhaul?

I read another post that said there are now knock-offs of Kohlerts being made? Is this true? I saw a "new" Kohlert tenor on ebay and was curious.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2512776429&category=16 234

My serial number is 67xxx.

[AJL]

Well I'm a new convert to Kohlerts. I just bought a tenor and despite needing a repad it is a wonderful horn. It is built like a tank and the keywork is great.

I'm curious as to whether you have pics of your horn since the overhaul?

I read another post that said there are now knock-offs of Kohlerts being made? Is this true? I saw a "new" Kohlert tenor on ebay and was curious.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2512776429&category=16 234

My serial number is 67xxx.

Hello NCM

Here's a link for a pic: http://www.geocities.com/heimannshornshop/repairlessons.html

On the knock-offs question: Yes it is true! They look to be Asian products and surely not to be confused with the German built Kohlerts. It would however be interesting for someone who owns one to come forward with a report. Particularly if they also own or have had contact with the real German Kohlerts.

If you don't mind me asking, what other makes have you owned or do you presently own?

Kind regards,

[ncm]

I have a Buescher TT alto (silver plate) and Bari(lacquer). A '47 Top hat and Cane, '48 Big "B" and a gold plated TT, all altos. I also have a 76xxx Mark 6 alto and a SA80 series II in silver plate.

I'm new to Tenors and consider the alto my main horn. That may change as I repad this tenor:)

/ncm

The thing I noticed on the link above is that I have pearls on all the keys and on the keyguards. The horn on the link has normal keyguards.

[AJL]

ncm

You have some sweet players.. no doubt about that! Your Kohlert will have to work hard to have a say. I personally believe it will. They are wonderful instruments and surely worth the effort and expense of an repad or overhaul.

The older deco Kohlerts did not have pearls keyguards. My serial number is #8571

Please keep us posted on how you like you Kohlert after the repad. I am interested in hearing your thoughts.

[Paul Maass]

AJL: glad to see your post, I have a 54 Winnenden tenor which was a bargain and a gorgeous sax as shipped, Unfortunately Fed WREX piled a ton of stuff on the carton and crushed it.
The case flexed in, bending the bell lip AND pushing the brace into the main tube ,carrying a couple posts inward too,thus distorting the rods and the toneholes
I have been debating what to do with it, as FED WREX refused to make good on it, saying that whereas the case was not broken, they did not believe they caused the damage.
after reading your post, and considering how much I like my 54 Winnenden alto, and how much MORE than that I love the sound and playability , and evenness of scale and consistent tone top to bottom of a Kohlert-made Boosey & Hawkes Fogware which spiderjames, the seller of which refers to here on SOTW as his Edgeware---I have decided to put the money into the tenor, IF it can be made right again

[Harri Rautiainen]

http://idrs.colorado.edu/Publications/DR/DR13.1/DR13.1.Lein.Kohlert.html

[michaelbaird]

Don't just fall in love with the tenors. Try a 57 alto! I've read that the Baris are great too! I'm a Selmer VI snob and I'm blown away by the quality of the Kohlerts. I have a deluxe Tenor and a 57 alto. I also own a Kohlert bass clarinet-it is a "bad old dude." It is a shame that people aren't raving about them more...good for me. :twisted:

[michaelbaird]

I just picked up another Kohlert tenor off of e-bay. It needs some work but I got it for $332.00 plus S&H. This one is laquer and looks like a 57 but has no model name # 58010. It has a good scale similar to the 57 alto, different from the deluxe, rolled tone holes, reinforced neck. It is a big bore horn. I can't wait to get it overhauled. This new to me tenor feels alot like my mark VI. It has equal the response in the altissimo range.

[Hurling Frootmig]

I have a similar model with a serial number around 62k. The engraving is very art deco. I have a Kohlert Winnenden mouthpiece that I use with it. I had to have my tech put on a really thick neck cork for the mouthpiece to fit well. This is my classical setup.

I played a new Keilwerth recently and found that the necks are interchangeable between the horns. The intonation of the Kohlert improved with the Keilwerth neck.

[michaelbaird]

Just took my Kohlert Deluxe in to be repadded. I'm going to get the best metal resonators for it. Dexter played an old Conn with rolled tone holes and a Dukoff. I plan on sounding like him.

[michaelbaird]

I just got my Kohlert deluxe tenor after a repad with the selmer domed resonators. It plays fantastic and the keys even vibrate from the resonance. It has a huge tone. I plan on taking my 57 alto in soon.

[goodsax]

Reading these posts makes me feel even better about being a V. Kohlert & Sons alto owner. It shares many of the assets posted in this thread including the pearl adornments even on the G# pinky key. It also has a thin resonator ring under the bell lip and a C/D trill key I haven't seen on any other sax. Not to mention it's a great sounding sax. I prefer a Runyon custom 6 with my Meyer 6 HR a close second using Rico Royal 2-1/2's.

[michaelbaird]

They aren't VIs, but they can come very close. I have fun playing the Kohlerts. They are hand made instruments for the most part. My tenor and alto are very resonant horns. When playing an instrument like an oboe, resonance is where it is at period. I need to gimp the keys out on my tenor more. I need to by risers for the right side keys and it should work just fine. I've already glued on palm key risers. I can't get that Dexter resonance as much with my VI, but I bet I can with the Kohlert. Having both horns in my asenal of weapons, I can sound like anything now. I've got a total of $900.00 invested in my Kohlert tenor. For what I've got horn-wise, I did good! It will definitely make a great ballad horn.

[Peterogping]

I bought my Winnenden tenor (s/n 7012) one year ago on ebay in Germany and spent quite some time searching for the optimal mouthpiece. A Link STM 7* was good but a Runyon Custom 9 was much better. It had however to move over when I got my Morgan Excalibur 8EL. (Mr. Morgan recommended a large chamber assuming that the horn was a Martin clone (which it is, according to my tech, construction-wise, but not tone-wise)).

[bassax]

I've got a 17xxx Winnenden. Got it about a year ago for next to nothing. It's truly a great playing horn with lots of power and soul.

I've tried a bunch of mouthpieces with varying chamber sizes and I'd agree that the ones with the smallest chambers don't work as good as the ones a bit larger. For the moment a RPC 110 (red letter) with the small bullet baffle is my favorite, I'd put that mouthpiece in the medium chamber category. My favourite before that was a Meyer NY 7L medium chamber.

So my advice based on my own experiences would be, look for a piece with a medium chamber.