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Marveltone Saxophone Manufacture

1K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  Grumps 
#1 ·
Wondering if anyone knows the history of the Marveltone Saxophones. Could these have been built by Martin? Also curious about the Tenor Low Pitch stamp on this as it would appear to be similar in size to a C horn. This instrument appears to have been overhauled at some point and then put back in the case till now.
 

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#2 ·
Kent, that certainly looks like a C-melody, but that "Tenor" stamp by the serial # is interesting! Looking at the keywork and tone holes, I'd wager it's a Martin stencil. I could definitely tell you what it is if I'd see it in person. I replied to your PM btw!

John
 
#5 ·
Welcome to SOTW!
Good looking sax.
I'm struggling to remember if I've ever seen a tenor with the word tenor on it. A,C or T yes.
A full tenor measurement is approximately 29" without the neck. C Mel is 24" alto is like 22"
It's hard to see the pinky table in your pictures as to what Martin.
As a Martin serial number in dates it at Late 1925 early 1926.
I don't see this name on any stencil list.
Click on model details and study.
http://www.themartinstory.net/version7/cookieLaw.php
 
#7 ·
It's not a Martin - a Martin of that era would've had concave tonehole beveling and "Low Pitch" spelled out below the serial number instead of just "L.P.".

In all likelihood, this was built by the Elkhart Band Instrument Co. in the early 1930s. It looks very much like my Elkhart-built Wurlitzer stencil.
 
#11 ·
I think someone with a real steady hand scribed "TENOR" on there with a vibrating engraver, to try to sell it as a tenor.

It looks Martin-y to me, and I THINK I've seen that kind of tone hole on Martins, but I'm not sure. York, maybe? Never seen a beveled one on a Holton, but I haven't seen that many Holtons.
 
#18 ·
It amazes me sometimes how you guys see these things, it looks perfectly reasonable to me but what do I know. The horn looks a bit odd but the stamping looks ok. The best way to find out is get a tuner and blow it.
 
#20 ·
One way to know it's a C melody is to see where the top F tonehole sits. On this one, it's not that obvious as the photos show the horn with the plug in the receiver. But that top F tonehole is right up against the neck receiver, which is a telltale sign for a C melody. On a tenor that tonehole should be an inch or more below the receiver. So now that you know it's a C melody, you have to wonder where the "TENOR" came from. You just don't see that on vintage horns, so it's a huge red flag. Go ahead and click on the picture. Click on it again. Then once more and it'll show up much bigger and clearer. You'll see a rough cut to the letters and know for sure the "TENOR" is not a stamp. Someone added it at some point to fool a buyer. This is not one to take a chance on getting out and blowing.
 
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