[Stephangus]

Pretty Please help me identify these pieces.

I have absolutely no clue about the first one. Alto. Rubber. Came in a shoe box purchase with a bunch of other stuff. Any Ideas?

The other one was sold to me about 20 years ago (pulled out of a shoe box as well, I recall, in a ratty old house in Detroit). Guy said it was a '57 Dukoff.

What say you? Thanks.

 

[Stephangus]

Actually, the first one could be Bakelite, for all I know.

 

[EZ]

Second one is unmistakably a Dukoff from the pre-silverite super power chamber era. I wonder, though, if yours is nickel plated or solid stainless steel. I recently got a Dukoff like the one you show that is stainless steel - not nickel plated brass as most of this design are.

I should post pictures of mine...

 

[Stephangus]

EZ, I think you pinned it. Definitely stainless, not plated brass. It also seems galvanized or something in the chamber- it's rough; unfinished.

So, is '57 accurate? Is this rare?

It's a tricky piece to play, but I dig the complexity. Used to hate it, truth be told- had no patience for it.

Ah, the benefits of age...

 

[EZ]

It's a cast piece - the roughness is just the unfinished casting. If it's plated, it's probably not stainless. Not always easy to tell from pictures. In the hand, it's easy, though.

I don't know timelines, so 1957 could be a possibility - I just don't know.

Even the Dukoffs of old can stand for a little tweaking, though they were generally finished with a little more care than I see out of the silverite pieces. High baffle duckbilled pieces have to be set up just right and/or a patient embouchure in front of them.

I think these are pretty rare - not too many mpc handlers have seen one. Like bird-watching!

As far as your other piece, I can't put my finger on it, but I have some blanks that look similar to it - no name, and no history to peg it.

 

[Stephangus]

ez, what are your impressions of that stainless dukoff? Are you planning on refacing it?

 

[EZ]

I've done some slight work to it and I really am liking it a lot, though I will probably do a little more to it down the road. It's still a bit reed picky, but a Fibracell is fantastic on it.

 

[super20dan]

for a while dukoff used to offer these made in solid silver -this could be one of them

 

[Stephangus]

After 20+ yrs. in my possession, It's never tarnished.