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So who here has the oldest alto that is their main horn?

8K views 56 replies 38 participants last post by  rzzzzz 
#1 ·
Just wondering. I really have an appreciation for 1920's saxophones as well as the music from that era. So, even with no auxiliary top F key, what are y'all playing on and more importantly, why?
 
#11 ·
Too nice to not live most its life in the case.

View attachment 244852
That is beautiful. I've always wondered whether there ever was a sax where all the key touches had pearls - yours is the first where I've seen pearl on the palm keys and LH pinky table. Perhaps some King Zephyrs did (since they had them on side keys) - I don't know.

Please tell me what it is - I have to plead total ignorance on the make (Conn?) and designation of your sax - I'm just learning about the pre-war models recently. It's very beautiful.
 
#16 ·
Not exactly my main horn but I regularly play it at gigs: Conn S# 3255 (1901). My main alto is a 1934 "The New Aristocrat". But mostly I play tenor (Buescher TT 1924 and Aristocrat Series III 1951).

Most of my horns are vintage from 1915 (Martin Handcraft sop) to 1941 (King Zephyr bari).
 
#33 ·
1935 Conn 6m transitional, underslung NY neck. Had it forever, close to needing an overhaul, with the right mouthpiece you can play anything. I have bought and sold many horns this is the standard for alto as far as I am concerned. My daughter made me promise never to sell it. And my tech is always trying to buy it off me. He is semi retired and been working on pro -horns for more than 50 years.
 
#22 ·
Mostly a Bari guy, but my *alto* is a beautiful 1929 Buescher in silver/gold washed bell.
 
#23 ·
Ok, so far we have . . .
  • 1923 Conn
  • '50's Cleveland 613
  • 1933 Selmer Super
  • 1946 King Super 20
  • 1942 Buescher 400
  • 1934 Buescher New Aristocrat
  • 19?? Conn Virtuoso Deluxe
  • 1947 King Zepher
  • 1947 The Martin
  • 1926 Buescher True Tone
  • 1929 Buescher True Tone
 
#48 ·
If you are looking for a professional review of the data, the 1923 Conn is the oldest alto in the list, and is actually played.

I don't understand why people keep adding horns that are newer, other than alto, or not "main" horns. Your question seems so simple.

For those that respond having never read a thread, it was Post #2!

1923 Conn NWI , gold plated. I 've chosen this over many great horns.
Its the tone and expressiveness. I just can't find anything I love as much.
 
#27 ·
I was given my King H.N. White Model by a teacher about 40 years ago. It's not the most awesome horn but I've traveled the world with it and it's like a faithful, old friend. A friend that sounds pretty good in my opinion.

Anyway, I just looked up serial number on saxophone.org and it states that it's from 1919. So happy centennial to my friend!
 
#29 ·
Don't play an alto, but I play a vintage C-melody. It's a 1923 Pan American. I inherited it from my mother. She played the horn in 1927, her senior year in high school. Speaking of 1920s music, the only piece I know for sure that she played was "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover" -- a new song that year. Her father gave her the horn. It had belonged previously to a relative who died, who was probably the first owner. It still has two or three of the original kangaroo skin pads. One nice thing about owning a horn from the 1920s is that the techs seem to enjoy them.
I think it has a good sound. I play it in jams where nearly everybody else is playing a guitar. Works for me.
 
#30 ·
1924 Buffet Crampon Evette-Schaeffer alto.

When I was first getting seriously interested in the saxophone (just last spring, although it feels much longer ago) I chanced upon this horn in a local auction. It looked like a barn find that had been rescued from a manure pile, maybe not really quite that bad, but definitely a cosmetically challenged horn with lots of verdigris and patina and a little lacquer. So I got it pretty cheap. Invested a little in getting it cleaned up and made playable (thanks to George Jacobs for doing some great work on it for me!). It cleaned up nicely, in fact I almost didn’t recognize it as the same horn when I got it back from George. It has a good sound, dates from before the Evette-Schaeffer became Buffet’s entry-level student instrument. I’ve enjoyed it a lot since I got it, although recently it’s started sharing playing time with a couple of more recent acquisitions, a Conn New Wonder II (circa 1926-27) and a Martin Imperial (1967), as I like their sound a lot too. I think I’m in danger of becoming a saxophone slut, with each new horn I hear seducing me away from the previous one. That just may be my cross to bear, but I’ll do my best to suffer through it.
 
#32 ·
I have older saxes, but my burnished gold 1933 Selmer Super is the alto I use unless the band is screaming loud. It has the most beautiful sound I have ever heard in an alto. It seems to play best with an old Brilhart Tonalin mouthpiece. I could even use it on loud rock & roll gigs, but I use a Mark VI with a louder mouthpiece in those situations.
 
#36 ·
Same story here. 1928 TT for 20+ years but I also have a New Aristocrat that I've had longer but is in minty condition so has stayed home a lot.

I've had altos made prior to 1928 that were fine, but I won't frustrate myself with the lack of front-F.
 
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