Saxophones Buescher aristcrat 200 alto

[rob192]

Hi , just bought a buescher 'aristocrat 200 usa' alto from ebay. (need to get it yet). interested in views on this model, i am novice currently 'playing' jupiter Tenor.
I know, I should have asked first, but it had 5 mins to run and .......

comments good and bad appreciated - many thanks

 

[jonf]

I got one of these as my first tenor, nearly thirty years ago. They're not the greatest saxes in the world, to be honest, and nowhere near as good as the earlier Buescher Aristocrats. However, their tone is fine, and they're certainly OK to play. I've kept mine, out of largely sentimental reasons, and although it's not a patch on my Yanagisawa, or my Buescher True Tone alto for that matter, it still plays well enough. Worth making sure it's well set up. That can make all the difference.

Enjoy it!

 

[Bobby G]

When I started playing about 5 years ago my first horn was a Buescher Aristocrat 200. As I knew absolutley nothing about saxophones beyond knowing you had to blow in the thin end (I'd had a fancy for a sax for a little while, and I acquired it in a three-way swap involving my Fender bass guitar, some cash and the horn in a kind of 'pass what you have to the person on your left' deal) I thought it was fantastic; just being able to get some notes out of it that sounded quite good was such a wonderful feeling!

As I got into playing a bit more, I realised it was an OK horn, quite easy to play in my limited self-taught way, played in tune etc, and was told by an ex-pro at my first ever jam session that it sounded good and that I was getting the hang of it quite well. He also gave it the once-over and said it was a nice horn. I'd love to have another go on it now to see how I'd get on with it, but as a first foray into alto you should be ok with it.

 

[rob192]

buescher horn

jonf/Bobby G

appreciate your comments - many thanks, should be here on wednesday, so here goes nothing, i did have a yamaha alto a couple of years ago, sold it but kept my jupiter tenor as i was planning to focus on that. will be great to have both again - can annoy twice as many people!!!

BR - Rob

 

[rob192]

Buescher Aristocrat

Thanks for comments: well, I received the sax and .... you know the advice you always give to youngsters about not jumping in to quick and think before you buy etc?
hmmmm - should have listened to my own advice - horn arrived, case worth about 50p, horn with mouthpice and reed still in place... absolutely filthy (didn't want to touch it) cleaned it all up new reed disinfected and tried it - nothing..... still red in face from trying.
certainly needs new pads new cork etc.... it's a wreck!

Had it been a spares or repair price (which it should have been) i would quite look forward to slowly having a go at rebuilding it, which I guess is what I will do now (with some detailed instructions) but very frustrating as i was so keen to start playing it - oh well - live and learn

Rgrds - Rob

 

[Pjonah]

Its not called the Devils junkyard for nothing, sorry to hear of you disappointment.🙁

 

[jonf]

I'm an optomist

Oh well, that's a shame.

How about this as a plan of action?

1 Don't worry about the case. Woodwind and Brass are having a sale, and you can get a new case from them for fourteen quid! See

http://www.woodwindandbrass.co.uk/acatalog/winter_musical_sale.html

2 Get it as clean as you can, then put it away for the weekend, don't look at it. Then, after the initial disappointment has faded, get it out again and check it over really carefully. Use your other sax as a model and check every pad, cork, spring and buffer is in place. Note down any problems and take a pic of them. Chances are it's not quite as bad as your initial disappointment leads you believe.

3 If a detailed check doesn't make it clear to you what needs to be done, take it to your nearest friendly local repair man and get an appraisal. Then take a view of whether to pay them to fix it, whether you can do it yourself or push it back out with an honest description on eBay

Good luck with it.

Jon

 

[rob192]

Buescher Aristocrat

Thank Jon - now that is sensible advice - must say I'm calming down by the minute. 🙂

 

[rob192]

buescher

just to finish the story, i contacted the seller and managed to get £50 back towards repairs - so at least it makes me feel slightly better, and the sax will make a good ornament!

 

[jonf]

Well, that at least shows some decency on the part of the seller. :welldone