Saxophones Hanson silver and gold or raw

Jay

Senior Member
I have a Hanson ST8 coming, hopefully on Friday, to see if it wants to live with me 🙂 So exciting :sax:

I have a lesson on Monday evening, so I will see what Garry thinks of it too.

Supposing it gets expert approval, and we also like each other.... finish?

I really don't like lacquered shiny gold. My chief objection to a Yamaha (very trivial I realise). Nor really silver plated - and anyway, would it need Duraglit every three seconds? Silver plated with gold keys is very pretty but maybe too blingy (and expensive) for me, and anyway still the Duraglit issue. I was interested in the antique finish, which they've stopped doing :rolleyes:

What do folk think about raw? I am not good at taking care of things. I am a slobbery beginner. Raw might look dreadful quite quickly? Or do they wax dip them or something? What I really wanted was matte lacquered, not necessarily antique just not shiny.

😀 So many choices :sax:
 
The one that's coming is the ultimate in bling, the silver-and-gold. But that's partly because it was ready to go, and could get here in time for my Monday lesson.

I can swap it for another one, or not keep it at all, if I don't like it.

They can come in lacquered brass, silver plate, silver with gold, gold plate, black with lacquered keys, black with silver keys, and raw, I think.
 
My ST8 is gold and silver and initially thought it would look too "Essex" for me. (Sorry essexonians).
It looks fantastic in the flesh, and now I wouldn't swap it for any other finish. It goes lovely with my white stilettos.

You won't be disappointed Jay. They are lovely instruments and it has stopped the GAS attacks.
Having said that, a nice 10m would be acceptable, or a decent Martin.

Let us know how you get on with your new toy.
 
My ST8 is gold and silver and initially thought it would look too "Essex" for me. (Sorry essexonians).
It looks fantastic in the flesh, and now I wouldn't swap it for any other finish. It goes lovely with my white stilettos.

You won't be disappointed Jay. They are lovely instruments and it has stopped the GAS attacks.
Having said that, a nice 10m would be acceptable, or a decent Martin.

Let us know how you get on with your new toy.
That's great to hear.
I have to sell my little sheep flock (complicated) which I mind about very much. So to remove the sting a bit, I wanted the money to go into a nice tenor, rather than disappear on housekeeping etc.
I want a sax I will play for years to come, I don't want GAS and never quite loving the sax I've got because I'm always looking for a better one. So much research, and Hanson being both British and local-ish, and the 5 year warranty, and people raving about them - that's what I'm going to try.
 
It sounds like a good looker, Jay - the next thing is to make it sound good! Let us know how you get on with it.

I had a silver plated alto for a few years, and didn't polish it from one year to the next - just a wipe with a cloth once in a while. Silver gets a nice patina, more mellow than freshly polished - I wouldn't have thought it would be a cleaning problem at all.

I had a girlfriend from Cumbria - a farm near Troutbeck, now sold out of the family after three generations. She was a mountaineer, and we had a walk up Saddleback and also went up a few more adventurous hills, including Scafell Pike. Impressive scenery in your neck of the woods!
 
It sounds like a good looker, Jay - the next thing is to make it sound good! Let us know how you get on with it.

I had a silver plated alto for a few years, and didn't polish it from one year to the next - just a wipe with a cloth once in a while. Silver gets a nice patina, more mellow than freshly polished - I wouldn't have thought it would be a cleaning problem at all.

I had a girlfriend from Cumbria - a farm near Troutbeck, now sold out of the family after three generations. She was a mountaineer, and we had a walk up Saddleback and also went up a few more adventurous hills, including Scafell Pike. Impressive scenery in your neck of the woods!
Good to hear that the silver didn't take too much looking after.

Yes, now I've got to learn to make it sound good, I'm enjoying working on that 🙂

I do live in an incredibly beautiful place - I'm very lucky. Mind you, Cornwall's not lacking in scenery either 🙂
 
Maaaan! Don't get the fake antique look. Yuk!

Is it silver plate or nickel? I like the look of a silver body with gold keys. Very classy. And yes black nickel body with silver nickel keys is very smart, also the other way round is cool. To be honest, it doesn't really matter what they look like. I have an all nickel alto, an all brass tenor and a genuine antique Bari with custom dents and a faint smell of mildew. I've had a blow on a hanson tenor and alto and they are fine instruments.
 
Most silver tarnishing is due to sulphur in the atmosphere from pollution, if you live in the countryside away from the cities that'll be less of a problem. You can also get anti tarnish strips to put in the case to absorb any sulphur and prevent tarnishing.
If it ever does need polishing, Haggerty and other manufacturers make foam type cleaners that take the elbow grease out of silver polishing and aren't abrasive. One of my friends uses it to clean up old silver jewellery and it's amazing stuff - no more Duraglit..!!
As long as you wipe off any spitty dribbles and sweaty finger marks, it should stay clean
 
I have a silver plate ST8. I live in the country.The main body is fine - I do wipe a silver cloth over bits of it from time-to-time.
upload_2014-7-10_0-28-34.jpeg
 
You may find the silver is protected by clear lacquer, so check with them.

To my eye silver is preferable to nickel, looks nicer. Some people are allergic to nickel, so think about it if you want a nickel finished sax.

I've got a couple of silver, unlacquered saxes. Just need a clean off with a duster most of the time. Silver cloth two to three times a year. Watch for contact with rubber, this often tarnishes the silver very quickly. The rubber foam on my Hercules and B&M stands doesn't do this.

Don't use any abrasive or liquid polish. If it's not lacquered, just a silver cloth when it needs it. Abrasive polishes not only wear the plating away, but also get in the hinges. Liquids get on the pads as well.
 
Hey, good to hear so many people have them and like them 🙂
I think the siver-gold is silver and gold plated, not nickel. I hope so as I'm allergic to nickel.

I am like a kid waiting for Christmas now.......😛
 
Hi Jay, I got a Hanson ST6 earlier this year and I absolutely love it. I'm sure you'll have many hours of enjoyment with yours. Can't wait to hear how you get on with it. 🙂
 
They are the worst I've come across. I sent them emails enquiring about their saxes and I got no response - nothing. - they simply don't care. I'd go elsewhere....🙁
 
They are the worst I've come across. I sent them emails enquiring about their saxes and I got no response - nothing. - they simply don't care. I'd go elsewhere....🙁
But if you phone him, on the free number, have a mug of coffee to hand and go for a wee first you might be talking for some time.
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

Members' Blogs

Trending content

Forum statistics

Topics
29,577
Messages
512,747
Members
8,733
Latest member
JonnyLashes
Back
Top Bottom