[maxmelvin19]

Hi there I'm new to this forum, my name is Max and I'm from London.

A girl at work told me that her auntie has an old sax in a plastic bag (plastic bag?!!!) in the attic. From her description I think it's a tenor and it was bought second hand in a pub over 40 years ago. She told me it had an engraving and a small circle with something written in it on the bell (Selmer logo?). I dared to hope… Mark VI?!

This is the info her aunt emailed me, could someone knowledgeable please decipher it:

Sax details: Brevet- France and etranger selmer-soleagents ex. Canada H selmer and so ltd 12 moore st. w. 124627- brev-sgdg 383098 engl.pat.no.11.824 d.s.a patent pending/ mouth piece: berg larsen 85- 2 sms register design 854

Should I be getting excited?

Also, she is obviously ignorant of what she may have. If she offers me a couple of hundred quid for it, is it wrong to accept? Bear in mind that it is probably in terrible shape and I would have to get it completely overhauled. She basically wants it to go to someone who would really appreciate it. It's not like I'm not going to get it fixed up and and sell it on eBay for £6000- I want to play it.

Any help would be great, I'm going crazy here!

 

[maxmelvin19]

Also I'm an alto player so not knowledgable about tenor sax mouthpieces. How good is the berg?

thanks

 

[Martinman]

The Berg has a really small tip opening, but it might be worth something if it is as old as the sax.

 

[Seasax]

go and see it!
perhaps, if it is in such bad shape that you wouldn't want it, take it and sell it to me!!! please!
the berg could be opened up to play nicely as well.

 

[Seasax]

i just checked, that's an SBA and i will DEFINATELY have it if you don't want it.

hope that helps

 

[maxmelvin19]

Thanks a lot. Which number did you look at? 12xxxx came up as a '65 mkvi on a database. I found that information quite confusing - I'm sure you know better than me.

What do you think about the moral dilemma though? What should I offer her for it?

How much would a complete overhaul cost?

Thanks for the help

 

[Seasax]

the brev-sgdg 383098 section was only put on SBAs, none of those numbers are serial numbers i think.
a complete overhaul would be very costly and you would want to use top quality pads. watch out though, you may dislike the lefthand thumb rest and octave mech. ergos. many people don't, but i love them, i prefer the pearl thumb rest to large plastic thumb rests.
perhaps offer her $100, she has never played it, supposedly, and will be happy whatever she gets from it, then i will double what you payed for it if i have to. seriously.

 

[altoblues]

Make sure all the parts, esp. the neck are together. Depending on a wide variety of things, an overhaul could cost you between $500 - $1000.

This is a vintage, professional level horn and is sought after by players and collectors. Morally - that's all up to you. If it is indeed an SBA or BA, these horns can fetch quite a lot of money. A LOT of money if it is indeed a tenor.

(The serial number, BTW, would be on the back of the horn under the right hand thumb rest, not on the side of the bell where the rest of these numbers were taken from. MAKE SURE you get the serial number straight before you proceed on anything ... if it is an earlier horn, it could still be a nice player but would be worth considerably less money, thus eliminating / reducing the moral confusion).

 

[altoblues]

IMHO - offering her $100 is an amazingly crappy thing to do.

 

[Seasax]

well, the seller doesn' know what it is or what it is worth, so you can always increase the offer if they won't accept it, it's not really morally wrong, you're doing the horn a favour and the seller will be happy with what ever they get.

it is DEFINATELY an SBA, all the selmers had different brev. sgdg. number, that is an SBA.
and that number is definately not the serial number.

 

[Martinman]

It could be a worthless pile of scrap metal, so $100 is a reasonable offer, maybe offer to pay her more if it fixes up nice. If it is just a bunch of junk it would maybe be good only for spare parts right? Now, if it was in mint condition and didn't play at all that is a different story, since it still would have collectable value. Typically if a horn is in a plastic bag it means it is in pieces.

 

[Seasax]

thanks for the backup martinman



I still want it though
i'll restore it myself

 

[Martinman]

thanks for the backup martinman

I still want it though
i'll restore it myself

I want to play it

 

[altoblues]

And if it's not, (and how often is a Selmer a worthless piece of junk) you've just knowingly ripped off someone's nice old aunt. Bad Karma. I'm not saying you should give her near market value ... it needs an overhaul, she just let it sit for years etc, but you should work something out with her and figure out a price that is a little closer to fair, while still being a deal. I dunno, a price with three zeros on it seems like better karma for what could turn out to be a $10 000 horn. You'll feel better about yourself. Knowingly ripping off old ladies is not cool.

 

[Martinman]

And if it's not, (and how often is a Selmer a worthless piece of junk) you've just knowingly ripped off someone's nice old aunt. Bad Karma. I'm not saying you should give her near market value ... it needs an overhaul, she just let it sit for years etc, but you should work something out with her and figure out a price that is a little closer to fair, while still being a deal. I dunno, a price with closer to $1000 seems like better karma for what could turn out to be a $10 000 horn. You'll feel better about yourself. Knowingly ripping off old ladies is not cool.

Like I said in my other post, the guy could offer to pay her more money if the horn works. Heck, the parts might not even be all there. And she bougth it in a pub...this screams "wall horn".

 

[Blowhard2]

Identify this Selmer please

To solve the moral question ( and feel good if you buy it), why not ask if you can take it to your fabvourite repairer for his opinion on condition , what it is worth now, the cost of repairs, and what it will be worth in a fully repared and palyable state? That way you can make a reasonable ( less than "Retail ") offer, and everyone gets a good deal - That's exactly what I did with my MK 7, which was left to a non playing son . He got a good price , and I a good horn , and everyone was happy - and no regrets or pangs of conscience later !

Blowhard2

 

[Seasax]

i still agree with martinman, the circumstances sound incredibly like a wall horn.

 

[Martinman]

i still agree with martinman, the circumstances sound incredibly like a wall horn.

Can you picture the holes in the body? I can...and I don't like it!:evil:

 

[Seasax]

but still!


it's an SBA!!!


by the way, is this in the UK or US?

 

[Martinman]

but still!

it's an SBA!!!

by the way, is this in the UK or US?

I assuemd UK.
The "Canada" thing made me wonder though. Either the horn got around or it is overseas over here.