[BrentB]

I periodically check the various sites for an inexpensive and decent alto that is not a YAS23. Patience paid off and I found one this week.

Today I received this Martin RMC Indiana from about 1962 (ser# 882xx) that is an absolute time capsule. I emailed the seller several times during the auction to make sure of certain things, and it all worked out. From the looks of the case and the horn, it appears this horn was played a few times and put away. Included in the case was the original Martin mouthpiece (barely scratched), ligature and cap, some old chain neckstraps, an old box of 25 Rico reeds (1-1/2), and the key for the case locks, still sealed in an envelope.

While it played well top to bottom out of the case, all the keys need fresh oil. Today I disassembled the palms and left table keys to clean and oil those first. Keywork is tight.

Pics from this afternoon:

The low Eb pad has hardly any discoloration.

The clean brass visible through the B/Bb toneholes is how the whole instrument looks, including the neck.

 

[click]

It looks pristine!

Congratulations on your new Martin!

 

[1saxman]

Soldered-in tone holes! That horn is going to have character.

 

[Maddcow]

Soldered-in tone holes! That horn is going to have character.

How does this affect anything? I'm curious.

 

[chilehed]

Daaaaaamnnn! Sweet find!

 

[click]

How does this affect anything? I'm curious.

https://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?37653-leaks-in-soldered-tone-holes

https://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?364196-Martin-soldered-tone-holes-protection

 

[JayeLID]

The Soldered Toneholes thing is...while not exactly 100% bullsh#t.....

WAY...WAY....WAY.....

over-emphasized.

I have refurbished well over 200 Martins at this point. It is NOT an issue which would somehow ever hamper the performance of the instrument or require costly repairs at some point. It is NOT an issue which even regularly appeared on 85%+ of all of 'em I have done.....

For whatever reason (well....actually I know the reason, ONE online review which made all sorts of unfounded assertions about the inevitability of Martin toneholes causing problems - something which again is BS)....this spread a'la internet fire.....and the brand has suffered because of it. Unnecessarily so.

So anyone who says 'ooh, those toneholes = trouble !".....are, to put it bluntly....wrong.

A Martin would have to have been seriously neglected to make those outlier issues a 'norm'.


Indianas... one of my favorite models of sax. Period. Vintage, modern, whatever. In every way, shape and form, these will BLOW AWAY almost any contemporary alto....

Yours (OP) in an RMC-era one, they had the cool sheet metal guards, very spiffy !

Just a great horn. Congrats. Enjoy.

 

[BrentB]

It looks pristine!

Congratulations on your new Martin!

Daaaaaamnnn! Sweet find!

I couldn't believe it, and my wife just laughed when she saw it. Except for two blemishes, it looks brand new.

While I have another Martin alto (a handcraft-ish stencil from early 30's), it's a project horn still under the knife and isn't playable. I've been wanting just a basic alto so I can record some trios and quartets, and stumbled upon this Indiana.

Soldered-in tone holes! That horn is going to have character.

It has something, alright. Heft. It has heft.
(This is my 3rd Martin with soldered chimneys so I'm aware of the problem but fortunately haven't experienced it yet.)

I've gone over the rest of the keys to check timing, and it looks good. There's some double action on F but the pad cups are otherwise in sync so I'll have a tech look at that for possible adjustment. At this point I'm going to disassemble and clean the pivots and rods, and re-oil to make it snappy.

 

[PigSquealer]

What a great find in beautiful condition. Completely untouched from the factory. How nice is that ! Any emblems on case inside or out. I’m also curious if the case has any interior smell. It’s old and in unused condition...

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

 

[Tommysug]

What a great find in beautiful condition. Completely untouched from the factory. How nice is that ! Any emblems on case inside or out. I'm also curious if the case has any interior smell. It's old and in unused condition...

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

Ahhhh, actually it's only the Holton brand that has the smelly case Mr. Squealer:razz::razz::badgrin: YOU should know that
Beautiful horn, almost and I say "almost" identical to my '68ish Imperial.

 

[BrentB]

What a great find in beautiful condition. Completely untouched from the factory. How nice is that ! Any emblems on case inside or out. I'm also curious if the case has any interior smell. It's old and in unused condition...

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

Thanks, and no problem, I thought fellow enthusiasts would like to see it.

Surprisingly, the case doesn't smell. Last night I cleaned and oiled the horn, and freeing the old oil certainly stank, but the case itself is unscathed. I dealt with a stinky case before, and no thanks!

 

[BrentB]

Today I finished up the final adjustments the horn needed, and it's quite a player.
Last night I completely disassembled it, and cleaned all pivots, rods, and screws (and all the hinge tubes). The old oil was pasty is places and stank, so it was good to put fresh oil in there.

There were only a few things that needed attention:

• All keys needed fresh oil.
• The G# key was sluggish to return. After cleaning, both the pad and key each moved freely, but were slow to return. It was caused by some white goop, maybe cork grease, smeared on the cork and contact point between the key and pad arm. I wiped all that off, and now the key is snappy.
• On the right hand, the E key had zero double action and a good height, so I used it for the F and D keys that had extra movement The D key's foot cork had come off, and the F key had too little. They were otherwise in sync with the aux pad cup. I trimmed the corks off, installed new cork on each foot, and sanded to correct height. The lower stack feels good now without any distracting clunking.

I'm happy how this has turned out. It looks nice, and it's a good player!

Obligatory under the knife:

 

[JayeLID]

Very nice.

(This is my 3rd Martin with soldered chimneys so I'm aware of the problem but fortunately haven't experienced it yet.)

When you get to #13 or #14...you may....may....come across it for your first time.

But just as likely not....and far more likely not if the horn hasn't been neglected.

 

[bruce bailey]

I love it when there are horns like this. I just got a Magna alto in equal condition with new pads for a steal and it made my day/year!

 

[BrentB]

I love it when there are horns like this. I just got a Magna alto in equal condition with new pads for a steal and it made my day/year!

Wow! Now that would be a good find.

 

[Figaro]

What a beautiful find. Congratulations!

 

[lostcircuits]

Those are gorgeous players, I had (still have) a '57 Indiana as my first horn ever and it was in not so great shape but it was overhauled and one sweet sounding horn.
And in that condition that your's is in, just breathtaking!

 

[MartinMusicMan]

Lucky bastard. I have an Indiana alto, a Music Man tenor, a The Martin bari. They're all wonderful horns. Yours is in terrific shape. Barn find indeed.

 

[nhmaf]

Time capsule is right! Holy cow is that ever pristine!

 

[pontius]

I thought this thread was going to be about finding a MK VI tenor in barn in Indiana.