[nuendosan]

I just bought a nice looking old silverplated horn for my son, and wanted to restore it to playing condition and the sax didnt say much about its origin. Just a serial number and the name Dore on the front. But as I removed the old pads who clearly was the originals I came across an interesting inscription on the inside of the low Bb cup....

"fabrique pour Strasser Marigaux et Lemaire
Echantillion de produit
1934

A. DOUCHET

Rene Guinot et Cie"

and.... since SML had their fist model La Strama Super made by Rene Guinot Albert Douchet et Cie this points to the fact that SML DiD use the Super Artist model as a kind of rip off model. Strama is by all means probably a contraction of STRAsser and MArigaux....

wonder if I should mount the Bb pad on the front and turn the cup just to keep that nice watch cover decoration intact

 

[Pete360]

Wow great find! I had read the other thread regarding the horn and I thought it looked like a Pierret but that engraving on the key cup would definitely have to make it a pre SML.

Btw I have never heard of engraving in a key cup before

 

[nuendosan]

no why on earth do that? unless you are french artiste and want the world to know just how important you are ha ha ha.... I have seen Martins with names in them but in the tone hole.

looks like they put a watch engraving in a cup.... lucky I didnt do the usual brutal screw driver cleaning in the cups.... some of the pads were bent out like a hat - they were that old, so I could se that the cup had never been scratched... so I cleaned it in white spirit - something I do every now and then - it much easier when its french shellac

 

[nuendosan]

by the way. the name Dore....

If I recall right the french use do re me fa sol la bi do for a b c d e f g so.... do re is like the 2 first notes in every scale - could give a hint to the name... and

what sax manifacture calls there models: Super Artist Model..... why not just Super Artist..... The MODEL indicates that they want to emfacise that this is a Super Artist..... model.

DO are also the 2 fist letters in Douchet and RE the 2 first in Rene....

So my guess is that the name is a kind of JOKE - french humor

 

[nuendosan]

Ups I misspelled the last name its: Guenot not Guinot. At least thats what it says in the engraving