Can anyone identify this model for me..

[otomah]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2512765827&category=16 232

[stitch]

Can't help with the id-ing, but it looks to be the one he bought from the starving musician on 20 feb (check his feedback) for $186 - if he gets his BIN that's a good profit!

[Hornlip]

Martin made it, but that's a stencil, not an official "Martin" horn. That said, it looks to be identical to the mid-50's Martin "Indiana" I used to have. In turn, the Indiana was nearly idential to the '20's Handcraft alto I have, except the Indiana had improved keywork and a bigger bell with tone-holes on one side.

I know someone who's got a silver-plated "WM" Martin-made tenor, and he seems to think it's a pretty good horn, and he's got a 30's Committee tenor to compare it against. From the pictures I saw of that, it also looked to be an "Indiana" copy.

Though stencils have the reputation of being made with inferior tooling and materials, I get the idea that Martin didn't really slack off much when they made their stencils & their sub-pro horns. The Indiana, if you don't know, was officially Martin's student or intermediate-line horn. Mine was better than any student alto I've every laid my hands on, especially in tone, and the action was light & precise, and the intonation was very good. So long as it doesn't get very expensive, this horn could be a good deal.

[otomah]

It is interesting that starvingmuscian sold it as needing an overhaul. While he is selling it as ready to play with no mention of recent work by a tech. I did email him to ask what he had done to the horn. I'll be interested to see his response. Some of his recent deals have gotten negative feedback based on allegations that the horns conditions were misrepresented. This looks like one "good deal" I'll let go by. There's just something about those silver horns though...


Tom

[stitch]

Let us know what response you get from him :wink:

[rrex54]

Yes, I'm sure this is the same horn that Doug bought off eBay. From a friend I've heard that Doug/Lotsasax typically takes the horns and does a quick once over on them to get them in good shape and send them out the door again. He typically seems to get cosmetically challenged horns (unlike this one) and turn them quickly.

Hornlip is correct that I absolutely love my WM tenor. Equating the horn with the Indiana is accurate in some ways -- I suspect that the serial number is part of the Indiana sequence -- including the stencils Martin made for the Indiana Band Instrument Co. prior to acquiring it. The tone hole with the ogee edge and the LH pinky cluster on my WM are like both the Handcraft and later (two tone) Indianas. However, I would not equate the WMs with the later Indianas in one regard: the octave mechanism.

I have a Handcraft alto, later Indiana alto, Handcraft Committee (Searchlight) tenor, and the WM tenor. Of those the best octave mechanism is clearly the one on the Indiana. The Handcraft and WM share the same octave mechanism that is just a wee bit complicated -- read with more friction points. It took 3-4 trips to different techs to get it set up right (think leather -- or better, teflon -- rather than cork at key juntures!) on my alto. Although my WM has the same mechanism, it has yet to give me trouble. Really it's just something that takes patience to get set up correctly, but seems perform well when properly set up.

(BTW while I see weaknesses with the Handcraft style mechanism, the H. Committee mechanism has its own problems -- at least on the tenor. There Martin put two indepentently moving tubes on one LONG rod -- a rod that will never be straight. Again, outside of the second time I picked my horn up after overhaul, it has behaved very well. It's just that the design is not the best for trouble-free performance.)

(Lest my octave mechanism comments be off-putting, consider the devotion that player have to Conn's 6M. Talk about a complex/hairy octave mechanism -- look at the underslung mechanism some time!)

My WM tenor has quite old pads (mostly non-resonator, non-rivet!), a couple of which are questionable and a couple of adjustment problems. DESPITE that, it blows much more easily and responsively than my H. Committee. It has lows that match the best of the Martins and Bueschers -- and a simple LH thumbrest rather than the later heart-shaped rest that leads me to curse the H. Committee. It may just be me, but it literally pains me after a while. Overall I find it much more comfortable to play than the H. Committee. Soundwise I can't do a fair comparison with the H. Committee given the latter's reasonably fresh overhaul and flat resos. I think with a similar set up the horn would hold its own in terms of sound -- and still be easier to blow.

The bell on the alto looks typical of Martin. However, the WM tenor I've got has a wider flare than any of the post Handcraft tenors I've seen. The opening is the same once you get past that, so I do not have a good sense if it would tend to spread the sound or maintain the focus of the H. Committee horns. Again, however, the WM alto seems quite typical of Martins alto horns.

I won't comment on price nor do I know the playing condition of the horn on eBay. However, if my experience with the tenor is any measure, get the WMs when you can!

[rrex54]

Darn it, I rambled on and on and did not comment on one thing. I think that the H. Committee has a bit lighter touch than the WM, but I find the latter superior to my Handcraft alto -- and that remains my main alto!

[otomah]

I got a quick reply back for lotasax he said -

Replaced 1/3 of the pads (the rest were really very decent), dismantled
much of the keywork, cleaned and polished. Many bumper corks and some
felts replaced. Adjusted for play condition.

Sounds resonable to me 8)

[citysax]

What do the initials WM stand for on a MARTIN sax? Does anyone know?
I own a Sop with initials MW and not WM and the letters are against each other and not intersected as on the photo of this alto in the post above.
Is this another Martin stencil?It is not a vintage sax I bought as new 5 years ago, its serial no. is 475xxx.
Thanks

[Hornlip]

The Martin company that made the above mentioned horns doesn't make saxohpones anymore at all. In fact I'm not sure it exists any more. However, I think there's a european company, maybe italian, that makes "Martin" horns. In any event, yours and the above aren't related.

[soreliprick]

Montgomery Ward?!