[montague saxby]

Hey Guys, this is on an auction site here in Poland....
http://allegro.pl/fareynolds-martin-1939r-saksofon-tenorowy-i1998885320.html
Scroll down the page for pictures....
Basically this is what the ad says...
"Tenor F.A.Reynolds with 1939 serial no. In 1939 MARTIN produced the instruments for REYNOLDS.This is probably the COMMITTEE 2, friend musician claimed.Instrument underwent repairs and tuning of a few months ago, pads felts etc"
The asking price is 1,000 usd (650 British)

From what I have researched the Reynolds horns were later, hence my confusion with the seller stating this is a 1939 horn, is this correct ?
I have no idea on these instruments although I have always liked the martin sound..
Is this a decent Tenor / Price ?
The condition looks very good.

 

[bruce bailey]

It is a Martin but not a Comm. II. It appears to be like a Handcraft Standard or an Indiana. Compare it to photos on www.themartinstory.net. The horn looks to be in very good shape and should be a nice player. The case is the same as the post war Martins so I am not too sure it is from 1939. It may be from 1950.

 

[Grumps]

Is this a decent... Price ?

A bit high for a stencil.

 

[bruce bailey]

Well it is a pretty nice looking horn and being in Poland where Martins may not be too common,the price may be OK. If it was a US horn, I would put it at about $600US.

 

[JayeLID]

Most stencils were earlier Handcrafts or Handcraft Imperials....I don't know of a Comm II or Comm III ever appearing as a Stencil.

It might be a relacquer as well.

A Handcraft Imperial, original lacquer is worth about $700 in overhauled condition. Relacquered maybe $600. One can argue, I suppose, that a stencil would be worth about $500 or so (i.e. an Olds Ambassador).

Now...given it is in EU and old american horns are a bit less available there, that could effect the market value over there...tweaking it upward a bit.

So I agree...a tad overpriced. I also agree...looks nice and it'd be a good player if it was setup right.

 

[Wind_Mill]

Just adding my 2 cents....

Looks like an Indiana stencil to me but that brace on the neck.... hmm did Reynolds have that done? I've seen other Reynolds-labeled horns and they usually had something cosmetic to differentiate from the maker's base model, but usually they left the neck alone.

Jaye, off-topic but someone recently had a Reynolds stencil for sale around here that was a Musicman or some other CommIII variant.

 

[Jorns Bergenson]

It is a Martin but not a Comm. II. It appears to be like a Handcraft Standard or an Indiana. Compare it to photos on www.themartinstory.net. The horn looks to be in very good shape and should be a nice player. The case is the same as the post war Martins so I am not too sure it is from 1939. It may be from 1950.

I have one of these but it is in bad shape (flattened neck, a couple of of missing keys, nail holes in the bell from being mounted to a wall). Like Bruce says, it is essentially a Handcraft Special. The neck brace is the same on both horns. That Reynolds looks very nice, though.

Edit: As Wind_Mill points out below, the round rod brace on the Reynolds is not the same as on the Martin Standard. I didn't look closely at the pictures in the link above to see that the neck is not the same as mine. The flattened neck with my Reynolds doesn't match in serial number to the body. The Reynold's neck was most likely swapped out with a Martin Handcraft Imperial neck due to the serial number.

 

[RootyTootoot]

£650 for a Martin stencil, even in good shape, even a tenor, is very high (IMO).

I would have thought that is an Indiana rather than a Handcraft, isn't it? Which (to me, at least) would make it less of a goer. My experience of Martin stencils is a bit dim and distant though so don't take any of that as gospel at all.

I think stencils of the older Martins can be absolutely brilliant. But part of the attraction is their being cheap to buy. This isn't very cheap, IMO. But if you play it and you think it's an absolute killer then that's different of course.

 

[montague saxby]

Well Thank You all for the replies - that is appreciated...
Many years ago I used to have a Martin Indiana, which was a great horn if I remember rightly, but as some have stated, the price being part of the appeal to that particular sax. This Reynolds sax, from what people say is overpriced, but then most sax/music/electronic/computer stuff is here in Poland... go figure!?..
I also think it will not sell at the listed price and generally people are open to offers, so i will keep my eye on it.

 

[JayeLID]

Jaye, off-topic but someone recently had a Reynolds stencil for sale around here that was a Musicman or some other CommIII variant.

Thanks for the info, very interesting...if you can dig up that ad, lemme know.

That's highly unusual for an american maker to stencil their top-shelf model.....almost never happened.....

 

[Wind_Mill]

Thanks for the info, very interesting...if you can dig up that ad, lemme know.

That's highly unusual for an american maker to stencil their top-shelf model.....almost never happened.....

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showth...-engraving!!&p=1776355&viewfull=1#post1776355

 

[Wind_Mill]

The neck brace is the same on both horns. That Reynolds looks very nice, though.

I've never seen round brass rod stock used for Martin neck bracing. So the standards had that?

 

[bruce bailey]

Go to themartinstory.net and compare photos.

 

[JayeLID]

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showth...-engraving!!&p=1776355&viewfull=1#post1776355

...sunuvab#tch....wow, you learn sumthin' new every day...thanks for that....

 

[Wind_Mill]

I know no one will agree but these Martins -- stencil or not-- (like all the other great American makes) aren't made anymore, and thanks to the internet and websites like this one, many of those that were gathering dust in attics are now back in circulation on the second-hand market. Probably in a few more years these things are going to feel a bit more scarce and current prices (in this depression era) are going to seem quite cheap.

 

[montague saxby]

So......someone stated it may be a relaq ???
What makes you think this ??
The honey gold colour ??
I like the colour of this sax by the way...
So it's probably an Indiana (Reynolds) Stencil...Overpriced...

It's not often you see good quality vintage USA horns for sale here, B&S, Amati, Weltklang = yes, plus the usual Yamahas, Yannies and overpriced Selmers......so this one popped out whilst I was perusing this site.....
Thanks all for the info.