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Saxophones Buescher Sax

Agamemnon

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I found a Buescher sax in the attic at my parents house and am trying to find some information on it. It is a true tone, low pitch, I was told it was 20's or 30's. Serial # is 132197. It definetly needs a good cleaning and probably some of the pads replaced, if not all. I'm not a saxophone player, my father bought this at a yard sale years back, he was not a sax player either. Any help on the matter is greatly appreciated. I might be interested in learning to play but would like to know what I have and what it is worth in its current condition. I can try and post some pictures if that helps. Thanks for any helpful responses in advance.
 
TRUE TONE 5XXX – 254XXX
These are very common horns, which play rather nicely when set up properly. The later examples have snap in pads and Norton springs. There’s a real oversupply of alto horns. Most of the examples you will find will be in a satin silver finish. Add 20% for gold plate.http://www.saxgourmet.com/VINTAGE_SAXOPHONE_VALUE_GUIDE.htm

2nd source the http://musictrader.com/buescher.html which according to it, you have a True tone of 1923-1924 era. Rest info, from more specialists hopefully to come.
 
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Some good advice may be to put it back in the attic quickly and forget about it because the longer you are near to it,it will draw you to it and then you will be unable to resist blowing it and then you will be hooked forever by the force within the sax be safe and put the sax back where you found it before it gets you, or you could just blow it straight away and enjoy the rest of your life....John
 
Agreed,1923-'24 according to the serial no. These horns may be quite common but the are great instruments. When set up properly and fitted with an appropriate mouthpiece/reed combination they can produce a gorgeous tone. Greatly undervalued horns IMO.
O.C.V.
 
Yes. I also think it's a sax from -23--24. A 128XXX Buescher was made in Sept 1923.

Is it a high E - low Bb sax?
 
Thank you for the helpful responses. I've been away for a bit but I'm going to try and post some pics now to help narrow it down. Let me know what you guys think! 20121010_163819.jpg20121010_163900.jpg20121010_163916.jpg20121010_163933.jpg20121010_164000.jpg
I have the case for it as well but it is in a bit of rought shape, much like the saxophone I would imagine. But you guys are the experts, you tell me. Thankyou again, for all the helpful responses.
 
Hey mate,

Buescher saxophones are sweet players. This one should be no exception.

It´s just a matter of sending this sax to a good tech for a major cleaning, regulation and pad replacement and you´re ready to go.

Get this girl in playing conditions and you wont need to buy another sax for the rest of your life.

Cheers,

Raf.
 
Lovely. Could be a tenor or a C Melody. Check by comparing body size to a tenor, the C Melodys are shorter. Or if you measure the full height, holding the body tube vertical we can measure ours.

Pads I can see look good, was probably repadded not too long before it was put away. Unless they've gone hard or are torn, you can probably leave them on the sax.

For cleaning use a silver cloth and be careful not to dislodge any springs. Or prick yourself with them.

Well worth learning to play it!! Don't sell. It's certainly worth getting someone to go over it. But make sure the tech knows Bueschers - many have different pads to regular saxes, and some guys butcher the saxes to replace them with standard ones.

Not sure where you are, but in Germany I'd expect this to go, as is, at around 500 on ebay. ymmv.
 
there are still some pics & videos of 'my' [ex] silver Buescher C-melody in the yardsale for comparison. Recently sold, so no longer available btw.
 
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Can you see a difference between this tenor: http://saxpics.com/?v=gal&a=5777 and the sax in the thread?

It's really difficult without measurements.

Yeah Kev. You´re right...Now I have no idea. :)

It´s better to measure the length of the sax from the bottom of the bend to the top of the tube, without the neck. Altos are about 21 inches, C Melodies about 24 -25" and tenors are 27" to 29".

Raf.
 
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Just for the record I have measured Andy's former Buescher c-melody from the bottom (as it rests on the floor) to the top of the tube (i.e. the rim of the neck socket) at twenty-four and an eighth inches. My G4M tenor measures 29 and a half inches give or take a whisker.

Hope that helps, guys, but whatever it measures it should be a pretty sweet blower!!!

Dave
 
See if you can pick which one is the C-Melody and which one is the tenor in this side by side comparison?

Compare C Melody to Tenor.jpg
 
See if you can pick which one is the C-Melody and which one is the tenor in this side by side comparison?

View attachment 1727

I believe the c-melody is the one from the left, which is identical to the one we´ve been discussing on this thread.

You can notice the difference in the alternative F# key. The alt F# tone hole is right above the thumb hook.

The bell/body connector is placed slightly differently.

Its neck points slightly up, compared to the tenor; I guess it´s due to its smaller size.

Raf.
 
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The C Mel is silver, but it's very minor differences like the neck shape, space around the bow that give it away in a side by side.

Then I read the responses on this second page.... And by Silver I meant left/brighter, cos I thought the second was brass...
 
All gave correct answers. I have been able to spot C Mels since I owned one in high school, but I couldn't articulate "that C Melody look" because I had never analyzed the differences. When put side by side to me the striking difference is the longer bell section of the tenor as seen from the B key to the bell opening. These two models by the way have completely different alternate F# keys. The tenor (unfortunately) has the smaller F# key cup on a horizontal hinge that was found on the later Bundys and produces a very stuffy note. The C melody alternate F# is more in the style of most modern saxophones and vents as clearly as the regular fingering.
 
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