Ida Maria Grassi Tenor Info

[tjgrassi]

I believe the serial # is 14xxx.
Is it a Professional?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/p-38

[Sidepipes]

Hi, My Jade roller series tenor has SN 19XXX, my Professional alto has SN 48XXX. Unless your rollers are "green", I'd say it just predates the Jade series. It sure looks the same, though.

Sidepipes

[Maplesax]

I just bought a Majestic tenor also.
my serial number is 13XXX.
The guy i bought it from said its a pro horn that his dad used to play in some local band.
I have no idea whether it's a pro or not.
is there any way to contact someone at IMG to find out?

[J.Max]

Hi, My Jade roller series tenor has SN 19XXX, my Professional alto has SN 48XXX. Unless your rollers are "green", I'd say it just predates the Jade series. It sure looks the same, though.

Sidepipes

It's not. The Jade horns generally have Buffet style left pinky keys - that horn has the earlier Buescher-style ones. The earlier horns are good players, but I think that the Grassis got better as they went along.

[milandro]

Yep J. Max is absolutely correct. Older horn, '60 or thereabouts, definitely made prior to the Jade rollers series or with older parts. Not a professional instrument as we would understand it by today's standard but made well as almost all Grassi horns were.

[Sidepipes]

Yep J. Max is absolutely correct. Older horn, '60 or thereabouts, definitely made prior to the Jade rollers series or with older parts. Not a professional instrument as we would understand it by today's standard but made well as almost all Grassi horns were.

Wow, You guys have sharp eyes! I stand corrected. The pinky keys are definitely different. Still, a nice looking horn.

Sidepipes

[The A Train]

This is one is tempting me to get another Grassi, it looks mint and in my state too!>http://cgi.ebay.com/Grassi-Tenor-Saxophone_W0QQitemZ120303169129QQcmdZViewItem?hash =item120303169129&_trkparms=72%3A1163%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C 240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[milandro]

beautiful horn, possibly gold plated, the serial number checks (more or less) with the 1993 (should have been made around 1990) story and it is the pinnacle of the Grassi production. Not cheap but surely an adequate price for what something like that is worth.

Enjoyy! :)

[The A Train]

Whoops!,.she's starting to rise in price,..two bidders really dukin' it out for that one,..edit: SOLD for $1600...value of these Grassi on the rise it seems.

[supruet]

I am trapped with the temptation. ;) Bought that one. Not sure if it is a gold plated or not. The seller said it is Prestige and according to the serial number it should be early 1990s. Wait for the arrival at this moment.

Browsed through SOTW, some mentioned that Prestiges are inferior to Professional 2000s; some said otherwise. Be a bit confuse now. Never mind.

[DavyRay]

I think the earlier discussion is that the Prestige is gold-plated. I am really not sure that there is any functional difference between the Prestige and the Professional. The finish may have been the only difference.

Let us know what you think after you have time to look it over and play it.

[Captain Beeflat]

I am trapped with the temptation. ;) Bought that one. Not sure if it is a gold plated or not. The seller said it is Prestige and according to the serial number it should be early 1990s. Wait for the arrival at this moment.

Browsed through SOTW, some mentioned that Prestiges are inferior to Professional 2000s; some said otherwise. Be a bit confuse now. Never mind.

As I understand it, the Prestige was more expensive than the Pro 2000, yet the 2000 receives the most accolades. Perhaps the reason is that the Prestige is relatively rare, & few of us have played both, making an objective comparison impossible.
Anyone out there with both?

[supruet]

The horn has arrived, Prestige model, after a month in the custom house. The finish is definitely not gold-plated as far as I know. It is a kind of yellowish rather than orangish like the gold-plated one I have seen. There are some pittings of lacquer at bow-bell and bow-body rings. Some scratches as well around that area. Some discolouration on the mechanism around the rib from place to place. Things almost work smoothly except the octave key mech is not working properly (does not close the neck pip) when playing D2-F#2 before the octave pip at the neck opens. Need to see my tech soon.

Octave mech is weird to me. Somewhat like a mix between Buffet SDA and Selmer.

Sound is very impressive. Neither bright nor dark. It is quite thick. Not as velvetly as JK retaining some puch. Very responsive to mpc and strength of our blow. A keeper for me.

This makes me tempting for the Prestige Sop on eBay too (see other posts on this forum).

[J.Max]

As I understand it, the Prestige was more expensive than the Pro 2000, yet the 2000 receives the most accolades. Perhaps the reason is that the Prestige is relatively rare, & few of us have played both, making an objective comparison impossible.
Anyone out there with both?

I don't own both, but I've played both (soprano and alto). In general, the Prestige 2000 is a darker horn with more resistance to it. I also don't like the keywork as much as the Professional 2000. The left-hand pinky keys are similar to the Buffet S1, but they don't work as smoothly, and the two F# keys on the lower stack (side F# and high F#) are the same size, which feels a bit off. (The keywork on the Professional 2000 isn't perfect, either. I wish that it had a tilting low Bb key.)

The intonation on the Prestige soprano wasn't quite as spot on as the Professional, but I'm used to the Professional 2000 so that might not really be an issue. (I'm pretty sure that both horns are tuned to A=442.)

IMHO, the Prestige 2000 is a very good horn (and I might bid on this one to add to my Grassi collection) but I personally prefer the Professional 2000, as it's a more conventional feeling horn to me.