Hello;
Sorry for the late response- I had no interest in these until I found a tenor made in Holland on ebay and started searching (running across this thread.) As far as I can tell it is likely made by the same people who made LaMonte saxophones (the ones stamped made in Holland- not made in Italy.) Both yours and the one on ebay have the same bell brace, guards, and from what I can tell the same key work. Here is a link for while it is still posted (with apologies to anybody doing an archive search...)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200184276281
According to another SOTW poster, in regards to Lamonte saxophones "These saxes were also made in Holland by Schenkelars (Eindhoven). As per a Duch sax web site the La Monte brand name was also sold in NL imported (Italy) saxophones. However, I have a La Monte with rolled tone holes that looks identically to the Schenkelaars and has the made in Holland in the back...Lastly, Schenkelars branded the same model as Concord's (1962) sold to NY Board of Ed."
To me, the last sentence would tell you that they were never the most expensive pro level horn.
The long and the short of it is that if you have a sax that plays well for you but needs some tweaking it may be worth the $$$. If you are looking at a complete overhaul you may as well buy something "better." The money you put into it will never be recovered if you want to sell it. Finally, if it just needs a few pads you could take this as an opportunity to learn how to do basic, simple repairs yourself. Do not be afraid to remove a key and replace a pad. (I hope that I am not insulting you, I do not know how much work it needs or if you are afraid to remove a key. I have a great friend who is one hell of a good player, but if a pad fell out I think he would go looking for the nearest tech...)
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