[Scott Ramminger]

For all you King experts out there. . . I was browsing ebay and noticed a Super 20 that was listed as a Silversonic. It had a lacquered bell, and I assumed the guy had just made a mistake.

However, on looking at the pictures, I noticed that the the word "Silversonic" is engraved on the bell and that some of the lacquer is gone from the bell with the silver peaking through. Here is the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-King-Super-20-Silversonic-Tenor-Saxophone-Sax-/200627657661?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb6571bbd

I've never seen a Silversonic with gold lacquer on the bell. Did King sell the horns like this, or do you think someone just relacquered the horn and had the bell lacquered over?

Just curious. . .

Scott

 

[BarrySachs]

Yes. King would sometimes put lacquer over silver. The thought being that saxophones were usually gold-brass coloured and a "2-tone" saxophone might not appeal to everyone's aesthetic. On the early non-silversonic models they would lacquer over the silver neck. This lacquer didn't stick to silver very well and would eventually wear off. You can sometimes see this lacquer residue on king silver necks.