[Pete]

I've been debating how to write this, for some time, and now that I've received some e-mails about Domain Transfer, I figured it'd be a good idea to post da information, as www.saxpics.com may be offline for a bit, while we get all the server stuff straightened out.

I had wanted to wait for the check to clear, first, too. Another week+ for that, but I figured I'd get a bunch of e-mails if the website goes offline for any length of time, so I decided a post here would be the best idea.

So, I'll offer the buyer-approved quote from the buyer:

"Saxpics.com will be under new ownership shortly and it will be sponsored by USA Horn."

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OK, the rationale (again, not being punny, but hey. BTB, I'm cutting and pasting some details that I e-mailed my host, Mark Bushaw, regarding this):

Completely out-of-the-blue, two different dealerships contacted me regarding buying my website, while I was on vacation last month. It's I had told USA Horn that I'd give them the first option to buy the website if I ever planned on selling. (I think that promise dated all the way back to 2003.) I told USA Horn how much the other dealer was offering and they matched it.

My desire to sell was really prompted by a confluence of events:

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm now back in college after a layoff of 17 years (this is my third stint in college: first was right after high school and the second was after a hiatus of about 3 years). This has cut into my time for working on saxpics.com and, well, just about anything else. I didn't really want the website to lie fallow, but I didn't see any other option. Both usahorn.com and the other prospective buyer said that they wanted to add to what I had built, rather than turn it into a marketing platform. (Another company e-mailed me in the past and actually offered me *more* cash, but I had no desire to turn saxpics.com into Pharmaceutical Marketing 101 -- in other words, someone found out that I get a lot of hits, but didn't care squat about saxophone.)

Secondly, my wife quit her job and moved to a different one -- at a $5000/year paycut. Combine that with the amount of college tuition I'm having to pay, I was overly stressing about how everything was going to get paid. I now don't have to stress. Something to be said for that.

There were actually several people and dealerships that have contacted me in the past regarding buying my website. Some were very serious, but I could never really bring myself to actually sell.

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One important question may be, "So, what's up with the Calendar?" That project is STILL a go. I have talked with a couple other sax websites and they said they'd be happy to advertise it and I'll pop it up on my new website. The calendars and the contents thereof were not included as part of the sale of www.saxpics.com.

Another important question is what's going to happen to the SOTW original eesite forum archive pages that I had hosted on my website. The short answer is that they will disappear (there are a variety of reasons for this). However, my statistics indicate that fewer than 30 people per week used the search function there (and that's the main reason I never put up more archive pages), so I tend to doubt that too many people will be affected.

I WILL still answer sax-related questions through my various e-mails. I also hope to do a few more things for SOTW in the near future and may contribute to www.saxpics.com on occasion.

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What's Next for Me?

1. My new website idea.

You can see my "tests" at http://saxinfo.scribblewiki.com/ (and yes, you can post and edit stuff). It's based on an idea I shared here about a month ago. It's nice because it's a) low impact (the research I have to do is very slight), b) YOU can edit it yourself: I don't have to be the end-all, be-all fount of all knowledge and c) I can play with a Wiki from any computer, anytime, as long as I've got an Internet connection.

I've said, a couple times, that if Wikis and Coppermine Photo Gallery were around when I designed www.saxpics.com, I'd have used those. They do most of what I'd want them to, but in a more convenient format.

Anyhow, this new website may eventually move back under the servers of my long-time provider, Mark Bushaw. I'm still testing.

2. I will petition Harri and the gang to change my user name, here, and possibly give me a title like, "The artist formerly known as saxpics". I want to do this for a few reasons, but mainly to avoid cofnusion with the "new" www.saxpics.com.

3. I'm going to assist, if necessary, with moving www.saxpics.com to the new server. Primarily, there are some interesting little hacks and cracks that the good folks at Coppermine Photo Gallery made for me when I started using that product and they're a little tricky to configure.

 

[Pete]

Thanks folks -- and stickied, too!

Actually, SIMA, one of the things I've always had a problem with IS maintaining saxpics.com: I never expected it to be as large as it is. If you've ever e-mailed me and said, "Hey, why don't you add a new section on $whatever?" or "Could you fix $problem?" you'd get my response of, "I'll get to it in approximately 1 year or so."

I believe USAHorn has a staff member devoted to all things technical and will be able to fix all those problems, along with his other duties. (It'd be fun if I could work on saxpics.com 8 hours a day, every day and get paid for it.)

bfoster64, the sale price was more than I had asked for, but a little more than 1/2 what that marketing company was going to give me. I'm compensated enough that I'm not gonna be hurtin' for cash, though. (Mark Bushaw said I should have held out for some sort of vintage bari in addition to the cash buyout .) The next step is that I have to talk to my financial adviser and find out what taxes I have to pay and/or what forms I have to fill out. That's probably not going to be fun.

 

[Pete]

@ TJ: It was important to me that the person/company that bought saxpics.com was somewhat known in the saxophone community: there were a couple of individuals -- both just "came upon" saxpics.com -- and said that they wanted to buy. (There were a couple folks from SOTW that mentioned buying in the distant past, but no real firm offers.)

The idea that saxpics.com would go to someone whom I didn't have any real confidence would keep the website up and running was one of the reasons why I removed saxpics.com from public sale a couple years ago.

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@ Carbs: I'm in the Bachelors of Science, Information Technology (BSIT) program of study. Yes, I'm about 25 years older than the oldest class member (currently). Unfortunately, the school I'm attending did not allow me to transfer all my credits and "work experience". Essentially, I "have to" be in their classes for two years. So far, I've had the ability to teach two of three classes. I think I'm going to be fairly bored until I get to one of the programming classes. Then I'll be bored, not because I already know more than the instructor, but because coding gives me a headache (no offense to the programmers out there; it's just not for me).

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@ Art_Salt: All those, with the exception of Palo Tung, have posted here, FWIW.

Not getting too involved, I had to alter the eesites code very significantly to post what is currently there. I have not had the time (and definitely didn't want to expend the effort) to post more stuff. However, you might request Harri contact me and work out something so that we move the SOTW old forum stuff to the SOTW server, etc. (Yes, I have archives back to year 1 of the eesites forum, missing a few months here & there.)

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@ Ferret: The 'site will be completely theirs.

I really didn't like the idea of being told what to do with "my" website and I tend to treat others the way I want to be treated, so I didn't want to "shackle" USAHorn (or any buyer) with, "I'll sell this to you, but the condition is that I have creative control. It's all mine! Hahahahahaahahahaha ...."

Anyhow, it is possible that I will still contribute. There is no real "agreement" yet on that -- and I'd want to see in what direction they're going to go, first.

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@ alsdiego: You're welcome.

I initially started saxpics.com as a, "Look at the pretty pictures!" website. It evolved into history and such.

Hover, the overwhelming majority of e-mails I have gotten are on what to buy or how much is my horn worth. Not that I have a problem with that, but it was never my main focus. With my new websiteage, I can change that focus, a bit, while still be able to say, "Look at the pretty pictures!"

(Hey, it's hard to say that, say, the Vibratosax isn't pretty to look at.)

 

[Pete]

For one who re-trained as a programmer aged a mere 32, I can sympathise ..... why, may I ask are you putting yourself through this? (BSIT looks alarmingly close to B*LLS*IT )
Best of luck, anyway.

I had a choice: I could get yet another couple certifications (I've got, oh, 15-20 of them) or I could finish my degree. My company would pay for a portion of either.

From what I have read, employers are finally picking up on the fact that some certifications mean absolutely squat (for instance, one of the certs I have is as an MCP [Microsoft Certified Professional] for Implementing Internet Explorer Using the Internet Explorer Administration [tool]Kit), but a degree may be helpful when the next round of layoffs come.

As someone once said,

We all know what BS is. MS is more of the same. PhD is piled higher and deeper.

 

[Pete]

martysax is joking, of course, but there IS such a thing as a "History of Science" degree, so I'm sure he could work that title.

(BTB, I'll still put a date in the 2008 calendar for ya, marty, if you're gonna be buying more than one.)

In any event, I'm a computer tech: I fix computers and users. I had to go for a program of study that had "IT" or "IS" in the title or my employer wouldn't pay for it. Otherwise, I was considering finishing the dual-degree program I started 17 years ago, Computer Science and English, but changing Computer Science to Biology (I had been offered a full scholarship in that once -- I turned it down to go to school for music).

Even though I had lotsa college credits and "life experience" (i.e. I worked in the same field for 22+ years), I still have to complete the minimum class time, no matter what the degree. That equals to about 2 years.

Oh. If there really was a BS in the History of IT degree program offered, I would take it.

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@ Giganova: Good luck with your projects, too.

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@ TJ: Pseudo-clarifying, there was at least one gentleman here that was very high-profile and is very well respected by the sax community that said something to the effect of, "If you ever really need to sell and can't find a buyer, look me up." I did greatly appreciate that, too.

As I was mentioning to another gentleman who e-mailed me regarding this topic, I do still feel a little ... unsettled ... regarding selling the 'site. Where it was and with me at the "helm", I was pretty confident that it would continue in perpetuity, even if it never got updated again -- but, as I mention above, I didn't want to tell a buyer, "You must do things the way I want or I won't sell". (Although I felt like saying exactly that to many folks.)

BTB, if you want to do anything at all for me and/or my new project(s), just head on down to my Wiki and add/edit stuff and/or comment on how it should be improved. Or send a picture or three for my calendar project. Or say you'll advertise it on your website. Or just send cash .

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Neil, you think I'm "patient"? Really? Kewl! I'll have to mention that to my wife!

Seriously, I do appreciate all the kind words everyone has written. Remember, I'm not going anywhere, just my website is. Heck, I got an e-mail this morning asking how many Martin Handcraft Imperials were made (probably 5000 to 6000, btb).

 

[Pete]

First of all, my thanks to Pete for an almost immeasurable contribution to the saxophone community. There are/were many greats in the saxophone world out there - I'll let the reader supply the names. But I don't think anyone has created a more lasting contribution than Pete has. Many artists . . . many craftsmen . . . many companies . . . but only one resource with the expansive coverage of saxpics.

If your only instrument is saxophone, you might assume that every instrument has a Pete/Saxpics website equivalent. How sadly mistaken you would be. On clarinet, we can't even get decent information about what was being made 30 years ago - go try to find information on my 1974 Buffet Super Dynaction Bb clarinet! We have been most blessed by Pete's passion - I'm glad to see he is being rewarded and set free to create yet another resource.

All the best, my friend!

Thanks.

Speaking of clarinet, as you may know, the clarinet was my original instrument: I played Bb soprano, bass and contrabass clarinets in high school -- and also attempted Eb soprano and Eb alto, on occasion.

I have thought about doing a "Vintage Clarinets Gallery" or some such, on occasion, but there are a couple of major logistical issues with that, the number one of which being the sheer volume of data: "modern" clarinets, just taking the data in the Wikipedia entry, were first made in the 1700's -- essentially meaning that clarinets have been around about two-and-1/2 times longer than saxophones. Right there, that'd mean a website two-and-1/2 times bigger AND I haven't mentioned the fact that there are a lot more members of the clarinet family than there are in the saxophone family (and those members are much more widely produced).

But, I've gotta say, I like them clarinets, too. Heck, even if I considered only 20th and 21st Century clarinets, there are some very pretty variations: King Silver-Sonics, Buffet Jubilees (clear plastic, copper keys), rosewood, boxwood, mahogany ....

 

[Pete]

It's hard to believe how close Saxpics.com came to disappearing from the web some 6(?) years ago. I'm so glad I was in a position to help keep this wonderful resource alive.
I can't imagine how hard its going to be for Pete to 'cut the apron strings' and let it grow into something new. I hope they keep a small dedication somewhere on the site to acknowledge the work that Pete put into creating the best musical instrument reference website in the world.

Still think you should of negotiated a bari in the deal!

Hey, it's Mark! He's my host. Everyone say, "Hi!"

When I look at saxpics.com, I think how inadequate it is. I know I'm overly harsh on myself: I'm one person and I did all that in ten years, but there's still so much to be done and could be done.

Again, I wish Wikis and Coppermine Photo Gallery were around 10 years ago.

As far as I remember, I first said that I'd be interested in selling my website in 2003 and, for a variety of reasons, I didn't. I actually listed it for sale here in 2005-ish and then removed it after awhile, essentially for the same mix of reasons.

It is difficult, btb: I probably won't accept the fact that it isn't "mine" until my e-mail addresses are removed from the 'site. (I can say that 1/2 of the check cleared yesterday, so it's officially 1/2 less mine, now.)

One of the things I do hope is some of the folks that I've met when I was doing only the vintage thang will still e-mail me. Just because I don't have the website anymore doesn't mean that I'm not interested.

Yah, I had actually considered horns from three folks that put bids on my website -- one was a VI bari, btb -- and I really was tempted, but I haven't played at all for 5 years and very little in the past 15. I've been singing, but I'm on hiatus because of school.

However, if someone wants to send me a bari, I wouldn't mind. Hmmm. Mark, you still have that S1?

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@ Giganova: From what I understand it's going to be a "home improvement project" over what I currently have, not, "Let's just knock it down and start it from scratch." However, if it still is going to be in similar format, I would not mind at all if they change the format of the "information pages". As I said, a Wiki would be really, really nice.

 

[Pete]

Well, the checks have officially cleared. Officially, the website is now no longer mine.

 

[Pete]

Now, why don't you write to the owners and challenge some of the facts on the site?

"It's 'saxophone', not 'saxaphone'."

Now, you just have to wonder which website I'm talking about.

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@ Searjeant: The website will still be there, according to the new owners -- I just won't be working on it.

I have a couple other things I'm working on ...

* College (I've got a big paper due this week).
* My new Wiki (which I'm contemplating changing a bit).
* The Official Unofficial Arizona Get Together.
* The 2008 Calendar.
* An article I need to clean up in the For Beginners section (marty can point you there).
* A CD I was asked to review, which I'm halfway finished.

 

[Pete]

Well, if you go to www.saxpics.com and www.usahorn.com you can see that they've got the "server switch" message up. If you check GoDaddy.com, the switch has been completed. To an extent. Like, USAHorn's not in Las Vegas .

I've noticed that some of the formatting on the website has changed, but the content hasn't. I only checked a couple pages, tho.

 

[Pete]

It's my stupid bass player's fault. He manages the site.

Do you realize how much $#!t I give him for this? You are not the only one on this forum to notice!

 

[Pete]

Possibly the final post for this topic ....

I went out and bought myself a nice, shiny new domain name and moved my Wiki that I've been working on there. It's http://thesax.info (catchy title, no?) and it's still hosted by that hoopy frood, Mark Bushaw. I also have a new Gmail account at [email protected], but you can still use my old accounts, too.

Please check it out, if you get a chance.

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I did notice that saxpics.com was offline for awhile this AM, but it's back, now.

 

[Pete]

Sorry I haven't checked here in awhile.

Thanks. I will probably use the logo. No one's ever designed one for me before, so I dunno what to say other than "thanks".