Aristocrat altos - 450 and Big B - on ebay

1914 Views 19 Replies 7 Participants Last post by homildo5512, Aug 5, 2007

homildo5512

Discussion Starter · Jul 28, 2007

450: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160140720894&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

Big B: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190134433276&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009

The first is ended already but I thought it looked interesting.

The second seems wonderful! (the world recordholder for Circular breathing - Kenny G?)

Both are so cheap, especially compared with Conns and Selmers of similar vintage which are going for thousands of dollars more. Is there a catch?

I'm new here (hello!!) and new to saxaphones, so please forgive my possible naievity. Bueschers have a good reputation and these look like prime examples. Any ideas?

1 - 20 of 20 Posts

JL

· #2 · Jul 29, 2007

homildo5512 said:
Both are so cheap, especially compared with Conns and Selmers of similar vintage which are going for thousands of dollars more. Is there a catch?

Well, who knows what the reserve price is on the Big B? The seller may be looking for a relatively high price. That 140 did go for a very, very good price and the buyer might have got a real steal, assuming the horn was in decent playing shape. On ebay you never know for sure.

The claim regarding a world record for circular breathing is a bit suspicious, but again, who knows for sure?

One thing is sure, those are both excellent vintage altos, assuming they are in good condition.

homildo5512

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 30, 2007

Well the Big B went for $700 - Wow, it did look beautiful.

As you say, you can never tell with ebay. Thanks for your answer!

Rackety Sax

· #4 · Jul 30, 2007

homildo5512 said:
Well the Big B went for $700 - Wow, it did look beautiful.

As you say, you can never tell with ebay. Thanks for your answer!

The high bid was $700, but that didn't meet the reserve, so it didn't sell. I'm guessing the reserve was at least $1000.

Seasax

· #5 · Jul 30, 2007

yer, i'd double that,
the first one though looked great

Chu-Jerry

· #6 · Jul 31, 2007

chitownjazz said:
The high bid was $700, but that didn't meet the reserve, so it didn't sell. I'm guessing the reserve was at least $1000.

The reserve was $999 - and it is sold.

saintsday

· #7 · Jul 31, 2007

Congrats! That's a beauty.

Chu-Jerry

· #8 · Aug 2, 2007

Just got the Big B in. Beautiful! Looks almost new except for the age darkened lacquer. This thing could be a museum piece. All original factory setup as far as I can tell and it still plays nice! I'm going to have to recork the neck to get the mouthpiece to fit properly, gotta push it all the way on to get a seal right now. But I might not have to change anything else.

saintsday

· #9 · Aug 2, 2007

And who says there aren't any bargains left on eBay? If one had to have a horn in a week, you'd be hard pressed to find anything that would stay with this one unless you wanted to spend close to 3 times the price and even then you would be very lucky to do as well. Good job, Jerry.

JL

· #10 · Aug 2, 2007

Congrats, Chu, you got a fantastic deal. How's the horn play/sound? Guess I don't have to ask, but let us know anyway.

Chu-Jerry

· #11 · Aug 3, 2007

Here it sits in its (very nice) vintage tri-pack case:
(click picture for high-res image)

See less See more

saintsday

· #12 · Aug 3, 2007

WOWSER!!! Museum piece is right.

Chu-Jerry

· #13 · Aug 3, 2007

saintsday said:
And who says there aren't any bargains left on eBay? If one had to have a horn in a week, you'd be hard pressed to find anything that would stay with this one unless you wanted to spend close to 3 times the price and even then you would be very lucky to do as well. Good job, Jerry.

John, I bet there are very few Big Bs left in the world in this nice of original condition. It's the "minty-est" one I've ever seen. Considering the condition I think it was indeed a bargain.

Jaice Singer DuMars

· #14 · Aug 3, 2007

The only nicer one I've ever seen was mine, which wound up with a fellow SOTW'er.

Chu-Jerry

· #15 · Aug 3, 2007

Jason DuMars said:
The only nicer one I've ever seen was mine, which wound up with a fellow SOTW'er.

Must've been hard to let it go.

JL

· #16 · Aug 3, 2007

It is quite beautiful, but Chu, how does it play? I still can't get over the tone and power of my 156 tenor, even after playing it for nearly 5 years. If the altos are equally good, then you've really got something.

Chu-Jerry

· #17 · Aug 3, 2007

JL said:
It is quite beautiful, but Chu, how does it play? I still can't get over the tone and power of my 156 tenor, even after playing it for nearly 5 years. If the altos are equally good, then you've really got something.

Well, I really can't test it out properly yet because none of my mouthpieces fit tightly enough on the neck cork. I was able to get my MC Gregory to seal by shoving it all the way on. So I wasn't able to tune it. But based on first trial, it plays very nicely. It's brighter than I expected, resonant, and freeblowing; seems to have a 'ring' to it. The key action feels great. I'll replace the neck cork tomorrow and give it a workout.

JL

· #18 · Aug 3, 2007

Cool. Your description sounds a lot like the tenor, especially the part about it being freeblowing with a "ring" to it. You could wrap a piece of adhesive tape or something on the cork if you want to tighten the mpc. But then you did say you're changing the cork tomorrow.

Let us know after you give it a good workout.

Chu-Jerry

· #19 · Aug 3, 2007

Ok, got the neck recorked and gave it a whirl. Wow! What a great horn!
I played it for about an hour. This thing sounds as good as any of my best horns.

Surprisingly all the old original pads are sealing fine with a light touch and look good too. The scale isn't bad but it could be improved a bit with some adjustments. The corks are old and maybe some have collapsed a little since 1948. I already tweaked the "D" which was playing flat. The low C keyguard was pushed down a little, the case supports part of the horn on that guard or maybe someone did it intentionally. When I straightened the guard it let the key open further and the D was better in tune.

Overall the tone has a nice solid core and has an even timbre throughout the full range. It's really responsive. It can subtone and play softly easily - sounded great playing Bach. And it gets an edgy bite when pushed hard. I ripped through "In The Mood" a couple times and it practically wanted to play itself. Then I switched over to the VI to compare and the VI had me stumbling a couple times on the same tune. I always considered the keywork on my VI to be the best, but the Big B just felt very good for some reason. Playing through a number of the old standards it sounded right at home.

It's a keeper.

See less See more

homildo5512

Discussion Starter · #20 · Aug 5, 2007

Well done!!!!

1 - 20 of 20 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.