Embassy Alto Saxophone - copy of something?

teacherken · 04-29-2004, 09:28 PM

I've come across an alto saxophone that I would like to get some history on. It is engraved Embassy on the bell and has a serial number of 98889. The case is a vintage Boosey & Hawkes case, looking to be approximately 15 years old. The sax has been abused so I'm trying to decide how much effort to put into restoration.

I have not been able to find any mention of Embassy at any of the very good links described throughout the forums nor can I access the Boosey site.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Ken

**spiderjames** · 04-29-2004, 10:05 PM

The embassy tenor I had was a Buescher stencil. There's a link on the saxpics website that has some info on stencils that can help you or post a picture here if you can. The easiest way for me to identify a buescher is the octave mechanism or the keyguards.

**soybean** · 09-14-2008, 07:43 PM

After doing a bit of research, i discovered more information about Embassy. They were made by at least three different companies. My alto was made by Couesnon in France and is a professional grade saxophone. I've also seen an alto made by Pierret that seemed to be an intermediate or student horn. Spiderjames mentions his Buescher tenor. The 'Embassy' and 'Acadamy' names were used by Besson/Boosey & Hawkes for certain markets in the 60's.

BrianZKeefe · 11-01-2009, 08:16 PM

My Embassy alto seems to be built on the same bench (SN 98883!) Did anyone ever identify the builder? Its in a case marked Boosey & Hawkes, with a white mouthpiece marked "KING" A. Doesn't look like any of the Couesnon or Buescher on sax pics.

**soybean** · 11-12-2009, 06:39 AM

Wow, six numbers away from the serial number in post #1. Does it say "made in France" or anything else on it? It sure looks to be older than the 15 years he estimated. I'm guessing it's from the 1960s because of the two-tone finish. and definitely not a Couesnon.

**AhCheung** · 11-20-2009, 04:31 AM

Looks very Buescheresque to me...