Selmer USA Alto #820137

[honkytone]

Just picked this one up on eBay and I must concur, it's a fine horn: the perfect low-cost modern complement to my old school altos. No substitute for a vintage Parisian Selmer, I'm sure, but now I can abandon the temptation to spend a small fortune and feel OK about it. Virtually new pads, played right out of the case, though it wants a cleanup and to have the nearly inevitable tweaked octave mechanism straightened out a bit. Otherwise perfect. Intonation is very good, nice heft, smooth keywork, good finish. Nice floral engraving, a little more finely rendered I think than some of the later ones I've seen pics of. You can tell some of the parts aren't quite the quality of a Paris horn, but that doesn't stop if from playing and sounding great. It actually reminds me a lot of my earthtone Allora alto--which I guess makes sense if they're both designed as Mark VI wannabes--enough so that I'll probably sell the Allora in the near future.

[EZ]

Now you just need the "Alpha" and you'll be all set! Very cool.

[honkytone]

Nice new avatar, ez. Is that one of those Hubbell space telescope pics? Earl Anthony's favorite ball? Or...wait...could it be the toothplate on a bronze Dukoff?!?

[EZ]

It's actually an ice berg.

I mean... a nice Berg.

[sycc]

I read in a late '80s Downbeat magazine trhat Donald "Duck" Harrison uses a Selmer USA Alto. He said at first he wanted to send it back due to it having a dark sound but he eventually came around and really liked it's sound. I have played on a Selmer USA 825xxx alto sice 1988 and I really like it. I have tried Yanis, a Super-Action 80 II,a Sx-90,Cannonballs,and Yamaha altos and I still really like it.I like it as much as my youngest daughter's Yani A-901 and older daughter's Cannonball. Like it as much as my Selmer (paris)Soprano and Baritone. I also have a USA Tenor 823xxx.