Saxophones Galasso

[MarkSax]

Olá, meu nome é Rodrigo. Eu toco saxofone tenor. Tenho um saxofone tenor Galasso — é um modelo antigo, mas muito bom. Podemos conversar sobre o saxofone?

Bemvindo ao Cafe, Rodrigo. aqui você encontrara muito pessoas legais e alguns .....e podemos conversar tudo o qué você deseja sobre saxophone. Muito gente conhecedores sobre todo os aspects de instrumento.

 

[MarkSax]

E una copia de un instrumento italiano o Francese?

 

[MarkSax]

Bocal Van D v16 e muito bon. que tamanho?

 

[Rodrigo Z]

É uma cópia de um instrumento italiano ou francês?

Italian. Not a copy.

 

[Jeanette]

Bemvindo ao Cafe, Rodrigo. aqui você encontrara muito pessoas legais e alguns .....e podemos conversar tudo o qué você deseja sobre saxophone. Muito gente conhecedores sobre todo os aspects de instrumento.

Welcome to the Cafe, Rodrigo. Here you will find many cool people and some..... and we can talk about everything you want regarding the saxophone. Many people are knowledgeable about all aspects of the instrument.

I understand why you responded in his native language but please also post an English version 😁

 

[JayeNM]

It was the first attempt at an automatic translator that converted ‘out of sight, out of mind’ to ‘invisible and insane’.

What's the problem there, exactly ?

 

[JayeNM]

Hi Rodrigo and welcome to the cafe!

I don't know much about saxophone brands or models. But I typed "What is a Galasso tenor saxophone?" into Google and I got quite a long summary. I suggest you do the same (in Portugese)!

The top-level summary was: "A Galasso tenor saxophone is a highly regarded vintage musical instrument tightly linked to the history of wind instrument manufacturing in Brazil." The search result goes on to note:
- the much admired sound and build quality
- as a 'vintage' saxophone (with a 'vintage' key layout and heavier keys), it may be less easy to play than a modern saxophone

A few video's mentioned in the Google search results are shown or below. Only one of them has (automatic) subtitles in English. f you search on YouTube for 'Galasso sax' you'll also find other reviews (in Portugese).

So my guess is that you'll find a lot more information via searches in (Brazilian-)Portugese media rather than in English.

Best wishes,

Mike

good sleuthing...they appear to have started as vintage...the tables of the two middle vids show vintage keywork, the first and last, modern table...and the last tenor has no alt F# key....the last vid the fellow seems to have good timeline info.

The company existed independently from 70s to 90s, then waz sold to the Brazilian instrument company Gope in the 90s. He claims tge Weril connection is misattributed.
Gope is a name that drummers with the vintage bug might recognize....drum heads and hand percussion show up occasionally here with their name/logo.

HIS SAX is a Gope-era Galasso, so 1990s, and despite the absence of the alt F# it does have a modern table, unlike the likely earlier versions ....Seems vid #1 is also the Gope iteration...

new name to me, glad it was brought up

 

[milandro]

Hello, sorry I don't show up here very often, thank for inviting me, Galasso...does it have anything to do with Galassine which is a Brazilian company?

Never heard of this " brand" . Of course it may be an Italian stencil but if that is the case (a video is not the best way to identify an instrument , stills are the pictures that one needs) this may be (although I am not convinced this is an Italian saxophone at all!) an Orsi.

You need to show plenty of let and right side pictures and then details of the left hand table.

This video says that the Galasso is Spanish

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qppghKNenLU



As far as I know there is not any such brand in Spain.


This one says it is Brazilian

I am 100% sure these are NOT Italian saxophones, probably a Weril connection?

 

[JayeNM]

The vids @MikeMorrell provided identify it as a Brazilian fabricated brand for around 20-25 years or so
Again, the gent in vid 4 says no Weril connection...rather than the brand being purchased by Weril, it was purchased by Gope.

@Rodrigo Z 's horn, pics in his other thread, appears to also be of the Gope era, so early 90s modern keywork...also minus the alt F#....

 

[Pete Thomas]

I have merged the two threads about Galasso

 

[JiJi]

Indústria Irmãos Galasso Ltda.
Rua Castro Alves, 373
Liberdade / Aclimação district
São Paulo, Brazil.

This address appears in a Brazilian trade directory of musical instrument manufacturers dating from the early 1980s.
The original company was called Indústrias Irmãos Galasso.
It was based in São Paulo, Brazil.
Brazilian corporate records indicate that it was established on July 26, 1966.

The company manufactured wind instruments, including saxophones, trumpets, and clarinets.
From 1983 onwards, the brand and its equipment came under the control of Humberto Rodella and Gope.

An article about the Galasso brothers:
Irmãos Galasso
Click on the newspapper page

An interesting article:

Saxofonista Rafael Stuart

rafaelstuart.blogspot.com

Cordialement...

Translate of the page:
THE OPERATORS
GIVE MUSIC
'Irmãos Galasso' is a São Paulo factory of sopro instruments. Making sax, flutes and clarinets - made by 14 people who work in an artisanal way producing an average of 50 instruments per month.
The factory installations are more like an office, where industrial sophistications are absent. His main attraction is his dedicated instrument assemblers -- a profissão em vias de extinção.
Galasso is installed on the quiet streets near Aclimação, in São Paulo. A wooden door as you say "Careful. Bravo Puppy", I'm not sure if it's right or not right. Logo uma fe-ra preta me fareja e se põe a pulsar. Scared by the reception, I wait to be attended to by someone. It's Nivaldo who sees me receive the logo as he takes it inside the office, where some operators precisely manipulate several sax in the assembly phase.
The instrument assemblers of Galasso have points in common in the history of their profession: they are all in need of activity because their country, also assemblers, will initiate them. All of them are antiques in the profession and in the firm. In fact, they do not want the same profession for the children because they allege that the salary is not enough to support a family. In fact, a monthly income that revolves around two 12 thousand Cruzeiros should not motivate the most young people to continue pursuing their country career. Mainly, because it is a profession that requires a high degree of specialization. To be an assembler you need to be a welder, fitter, polisher, and also a lathe maker.
There are few instrument assemblers in Brazil. "Caso o SENAI does not create a school, this profession will be extinguished quickly", guarantor or "seu"
Alfredo, o mais anciente da Galasso. "Seu" Alfredo did not know how to lift his hair so that he taught his profession to all of his four sons. "My filho is an economist, I don't want him to take a minha profissão. Even when he became interested in music, I wasn't happy. I made a sax for him, but I breathed a sigh of relief when he gave up the instrument. A function of a musician is all about us, "despite both being beautiful," says "seu" Alfredo.
Sindicato dos brinquedos - The instrument assembler's salary was better. In 1944, the category was affiliated with the Metallurgical Union. However, from that time on, the Union of Brinquedos and Musical Instruments was added. Com isso, a class, very reduced, lost very much. "The ferramentiro and the lathe operator earn more than 70 cruzeiros per hour, while we, who do the same type of work as them, earn 55", says "his" Antônio Luiz, who began his professional career at the age of 14, and also raised his hair for the rest of his life, at the age of 77, ainda faz instru-
ments.
To learn this trade you must work two years, not least as an assistant. José Alves da Silva, who has had a year as an assistant and has said very well in the opinion of his colleagues
Neuza Ribas
--OS
But later on, I don't want to continue in the profession. He intends to return to Pernambuco, his land, and set up a business on his own. Despite enjoying his activity, José has many difficulties supporting his family.
We are all artists -- Even dissatisfied with the low salaries "and the fact that this is the factory that pays the best in the whole country," guarantor Pedro Idalino of the instrument assemblers gostam very much from their profissão and falam dela with certain pride: "We are all artists. Our work is an art that, unfortunately, vai Because of this salary and all the specialization that we need, no one will feel encouraged. Here it is, every month, a lot of work, but we don't have to work for more than three months," says Nivaldo.
My neighbor in the street of one of them offers me a cup of coffee. I'm thinking because a professional is so strange that he is not paid. Nenhum let them know how to answer me. Pergunto sees no brigam to return to the Metallurgical Union. Seu Pedro Idalino comments, while delicately hanging on a sax that has already been assembled: "We need a leader. And it is difficult to see a Lula from a class on the way to death."

 

[Rodrigo Z]

Sim. Back then, the parts came from Italy, and it was assembled in Brazil. I’m going to look into when it was manufactured; the serial number says "63," but I suspect it’s more recent—some people suggest 1978. That’s what a luthier told me, at least.

 

[Rodrigo Z]

View attachment 38504View attachment 38503Possuo um saxofone Galasso antigo, de 1963. É um instrumento excelente. Este saxofone tenor teve suas peças fabricadas na Itália e foi montado no Brasil. A fábrica foi fundada por imigrantes italianos, os irmãos Galasso. É um instrumento simples, com poucos recursos, como era típico daquela época épocView attachment 38503View attachment 38504

This tenor saxophone might be from the 1970s.

 

[Rodrigo Z]

Yes. 1978, 1979.

 

[JayeNM]

This tenor saxophone might be from the 1970s.

How did you conclude this ?

I only ask because, the 4th video above claims Galasso existed from the 70s to 1990 then was sold to Gope.

@JiJi dug further and found the company was founded in '66 and sold to Gope in '83.

The keywork in the two middle videos clearly show a vintage style keywork. This would coincide with the idea that the saxes were assembled in BR from European parts. (the alto looks Italian parts, the tenor in video 3 looks VERY German/Czech).

But the keywork AND loss of the side F# key indicate a significant change in design specifications. Also the tube stack holes now stop being vintage-style, in-line.
One might assume, reasonably, THOSE changes happened after Gope took over.....1983 (?)

Your sax has those design changes. Looks like a modern horn just sans the F#.

So where did you find info stating yours is a '78-79 ?

 

[PigSquealer]

Another interesting feature is the finish. Silver or nickel plating wasn’t exactly popular during the 1960-1970’s era.