Saxophones Conn, Amati, Weltklang or Buescher

[mark_addy]

Awesome insight, thanks a lot!
If you had to choose one saxophone without being able to test it (which is my case), which one you would actually take?

I missed this question. I am with @Colin the Bear - in these circumstances and on your budget, something new, Chinese, with a guarantee. I bought my girl a new G4M tenor because she got fed up of bits falling off the older, cheap alto I bought her, and I realised that what was a 5 second fix for me was a big pain in the arse for her (age 12 or so) if I wasn't standing behind her all the time. It worked out well.

 

[felixmrdgez]

Update: I will be able to meet with the seller, this next Monday since I am travelling to this city. So I will check the saxes in person. Is there anything I should not miss, underestimate or forget when checking them?

 

[turf3]

Update: I will be able to meet with the seller, this next Monday since I am travelling to this city. So I will check the saxes in person. Is there anything I should not miss, underestimate or forget when checking them?

Check intonation with your preferred tenor mouthpiece. None of these instruments is likely to have inherently poor intonation, but certain horns will behave better with certain mouthpieces.

Since they're all pretty old and not top line instruments, check for looseness and wear in the mechanism; this can cost considerable to get out.

 

[skeller047]

Also check the condition of the pads, especially the palm keys and low Eb. If they obviously need replacement, this is a valid negotiation point.

Basically you just need to verify the instrument is playable as is, and won’t need any significant work done in the next 6 months or so. At 600 euros, having to do a clean-oil-adjust service in a month or two will add 200+ to the price for a workable instrument. That’s more than the mouthpiece I recommended above…

 

[JayeNM]

Update: I will be able to meet with the seller, this next Monday since I am travelling to this city. So I will check the saxes in person. Is there anything I should not miss, underestimate or forget when checking them?

OK well that changes things. So you will play test all ?

That will tell you everything.

Check if all notes 'speak' easily or not. Does any note 'vanish' or jump to a different octave ? Do you have to 'try' a note three or four times to finally get it to speak ?

This indicates leaks. Better not to put the responsibility of getting the leaks repaired ON YOU. Ask seller to attend to that.

Intonation...yes useful. Bring a tuner. If one sax seems more in tune on all notes up and down the registers, that would give it an advantage. NOTE - "in tune" means within around a ten cents variance up and down all notes. For me, for vintage, I actually say 12 cents off is even acceptable on a playtest. So do not get stressed about notes which are 5 cents flat or sharp....that is a meaningless variance.
But if you are getting 15-20+ cent variances on, say, three or more notes, on a certain horn....then that horn would fall to bottom of the list, IMHO.

Then lastly, feel and tone. Do all note fingerings feel easily accessible ? Or do you have to 'reach' your finger for certain ones....or do your fingers feel squeezed kn certain places (meaning they actually touch each other where you want some space).

Are any keys DIFFICULT to press ? Requiring MORE finger pressure than is comfortable ?

Good luck....let us know.

 

[Pete Effamy]

I really want to explore dark, husky, deep , mystic tones. I feel like modern saxes have no character.

With your lack of experience / hours on a saxophone it won't matter what you buy, and it wouldn't matter much for a good player either as what you describe tonally is really a technique called subtone - playable on any instrument.

Think of it in flute terms. I'm terrible on flute. I can sound like the wind blowing down a drainpipe on a cheap Chinese flute. I also sound the same on a Haynes. And a Powell...

 

[LostCircuits]

Update: I will be able to meet with the seller, this next Monday since I am travelling to this city. So I will check the saxes in person. Is there anything I should not miss, underestimate or forget when checking them?

You have no experience with tenor so all you could possibly achieve is bark up the wrong tree. It will certainly help if you try the different options but this is one of the cases where you will be better off trusting the seller. From all I have seen, especially the pictures of the Buescher, he knows what he is doing so anything you might find will most likely be related to your own lack of proficiency.

And if you try to appear smart you will probably achieve the well known effect of "Oh dear, another one who heard it from the reeds that King Midas has donkey ears", or in this case, read it on the internet.

Still, if you can try the horns in his presence, and if you do something that makes the horn sound bad, he will most likely be able to give you advice and tell you what you need to practice to overcome the issues. I highly doubt that you will be able to get the low notes to speak and your intonation will be all over the place no matter which horn until you develop a good embouchure.

Trust the seller and make sure you communicate that you really rely on his expertise, that's the best way to establish a good relationship. And 10 years down the road you'll find out whether you made the right decision and by that time it won't matter anyway. Life goes on...