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Anyone else gettin lucky?

3554 Views 22 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  bruce bailey
I bought '49 10M today, got one hell of a deal. Got it off of Craigslist, for $250. Relaquered a while ago very well, and theres no signs of repair damage, and it plays great.

I wonder if this is a continuing trend? First my friend Jacob grabs himself a 30s 10M for $275... now myself, who is next?
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A year ago I found a Chu gold plated tenor on craigslist. It had all new reso pads but the finish had been lacquered over. I paid $150 and cleared over $600 selling the mouthpieces that came with it. Also a traypak case. These deals are out there if you act fast. I got a reply from the guy and had the money in my pocket and was at his house in less than an hour, 60 miles away.
Yeah, I just missed out on a The Martin tenor a year ago for $500 and from the pictures, it might have had its original finish. I did score an early Aristocrat tenor a week later for $200, but it needed an overhaul, some dent removal and it had been refinished. Sold a mouthpiece in the case for $100, so all in all I've got a $100 bucks into it. It's been with a tech for a year though (knew that going in... unique situation), and I'm not sure when I'll ever get it back. Some day, hopefully.

Anyhow, it used to bug me when folks would speak of Craig's List on the forum; but now the cat is certainly out of the bag, so to speak.
Man.... with 4 kids running around the house, I can't afford gettin' lucky anymore! :(
Got lucky again today (strange as how that phrase changes when you are 60). I won an ebay TT that looked good but I thought it was a C melody but since it looked good, I paid the $252 shipped. It arrived and is a Buescher TT Tenor with 95% plating and all new snap in pads, original mouthpiece and a new Protec case. I was thinking I needed the case and would resell the "C" for a few bucks. Nice day.
good job!

In case anyone is interested, I traded that 10M today at Junkdude's for the Martin I wanted. Love the Conn sound, but the Martin feels better for me.

So I'm a happy guy. I got a Martin tenor I really like for $250 when it all comes down to it!!
Just picked up a '61 Conn 10M for $575 w/ shipping. Missing most of the lacquer, but mechanically she looks sound (having her shipped directly to my tech, so I'll know more on that in the next couple weeks). Not an "amazing" deal, but certainly not a bad one either. The seller (AmSaxPlayer) was really great to work with, I would recommend him to others in the future.
Two weeks ago I bought a Martin Indiana tenor from a woman on Craigsllist.
She only played it for about six months. It was just overhauled, new pads. Original laquer with a nice patina. Overall in great shape.
Took it to my tech and he said it didn't need anything. It has that rich, velvety
dark Martin sound. Paid $325. I play it more than my Allora. The Allora is built like a tank and the weight of it hurts my back. Seems like the Indiana weighs about 1 1/2 pounds less.
Candy
I got a '67 10m for 700 AUS (when the exchange was at like 1.7 to the US dollar) in original Laq it just needs to be done up and it's a beast of a sax. It doesn't seal anywhere but it still has a monster sound. Can't wait for it to be done up in a few weeks
Once I was randomly calling people looking for deals (yes, I called someone selling 2 saxes for about $100 each just to see what they were.) I was casually looking at ads but for some freak reason I came across a great deal. This art collector who had these two older Buescher saxes, an alto and a tenor, the alto was a nice 333x Aristocrat and the tenor was a later 400 style bell Aristocrat. They both were in good shape (except for pads) and the guy seemed to really have no idea what they were and just wanted to get rid of them, so I at least got the alto because I already had a nice tenor and I underestimated the value of the tenor (I later found out it was good earlier Buescher, I thought it was like a Bundy or something not that great.)

In the end I never got the alto repadded and sold it, but if I would have been smart and bought and held onto both of those I probably could have fixed and played or sold them for a decent profit after fixing them.

The alto came in the old worn but functional original case and had colored plastic string tied to it.. (kids?) Sometimes there are people out there who think this stuff is junk and just want to get rid of it.
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As martin said, I got my 10m for $275. It was relacquered, but the horn is still extremely heavy. I'm getting a full overhaul from Junkdude's tech. The 10m was actually a birthday present from my parents so I'll only have around $600 into a 10m with a new protec case and a bunch of old boxes of ricos, a brillhart level air, and an S80 C*.
I've reported my lucky pawn shop horns elsewhere so I won't go into it again. Just wanted to say that it looks like the internet is taking over that role, you guys seem to be getting great horns.

Martin Williams, I think you swapped the Conn for the Martin so you could have a horn with your name on it! :)
Frank D said:
Martin Williams, I think you swapped the Conn for the Martin so you could have a horn with your name on it! :)
Plus it looks great next to my Martin Bari!!

No, I traded the Conn in because the Martin was more comfortable for me. It was actually between the Martin Committee I chose and a King Super 20, and the Martin was a better deal and it played great for me.
Lucky?

I don't know how much it's luck, rather than standing in the right spot at the right time. Just bought a tenor, #198xxx, rolled tone holes, nail file, relacquer some time back but it's got that goldhoney patina. A couple of the mouthpieces will be sold (has anyone heard of a Berg-copy metal piece from Japan, brand name Lucky?) but for my $300, she's the horn I've been waiting for. Time for me to find a teacher and all the tunes in this old horn. Maybe, I am lucky. Peace.
Yeah, I'm lucky. I was digging around in the instrument room of the Portuguese band I play with, and guess what I found?

1927 Conn New Wonder Series II soprano. Relacquered long ago, but in incredibly playable condition. In a Selmer MKVI case.

Get to "keep" it and play it free!!!

"Somedays I amaze even myself..."

dv
Craigs List ?

Ok, I am new to this site, what is and where do I find craigs list?http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/TrebleClef.gif
:treble:
ladybug said:
Ok, I am new to this site, what is and where do I find craigs list?http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/TrebleClef.gif
:treble:
It's an online, classified ad sort of site which has regional pages specifically for your area. It is in no way affiliated with SOTW:

www.craigslist.com
Go on GOOGLE and type in Craingslist and your City. It will bring up a page with all kinds of stuff from apartments to cats to MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. You will need to wade through piles of amps, guitars and other junk BUT there is always some gem waiting for you. Watch out for things you can't go look at as it is full of scams like everything else today.
About 4 years ago, my wife spotted a want ad in the local paper: vintage Conn for sale, $250. She called me up and I went over on my lunch hour. Guy was a weird junk hermit: house full of garage sale/flea market crap. I said where's the horn? He pulled out a case I recognized at once as a Conn Director case from about 1965. I said "Nope, not interested in that." He said, "I have another one, though, that won't play." Bring it out. It was a 1950 Lady Face 6m with leaky pads. I said, "Nope, it won't play, but I'll pay you the same for that one you're asking for the shiny one." Wrote the check on the spot, spent another $300 with a horn mechanic, and had my alto!

It pays to watch those ads. Even in these days of the internet, when everyone seems to know what everything is, you might still hit paydirt.
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Just picked up a Chu Berry alto (lacquer, with a few small dents), untouched RTH, decent (but leaking) pads, with a Beechler mouthpiece for $200 this weekend thanks to CL.

Ebay recently treated me to a gold-plated Buescher TT (series VI) alto that looked terrible, but once the tarnish was cleaned off, looks brand new. Not even a ding, with 100% plating. All of the original documentation and accessories, including a Buescher spring hook (never saw one of those before). $390 shipped.

fm
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