Saxophones Help needed with old Saxophones

[andy.ross001]

Hi

I have 2 very old Saxophones from my Grandad. He was playing them from about 1929 through to 1938. I am finding it hard to find any info or values for them on the web. I have no interest in keeping them as no one in the family are musical, the talent seems to have died with my Grandad!
One is a Selmer, it says made in France. It appears to be silver plated with a lovely engraving on the front of it. It has no.16041 wrote on it with british agent underneath. It also states it was made in France. The only other number I can find on it is 8038x.

The 2nd is a BUESCHER ELKHART. Again with a lovely engraving on the front. It is alot smaller than the above Sax. On the back it has 157681 low pitch license pat. dec. 811914 true tone.

Any helpon these would be much appreciated as Im sure you can tell I have not got a clue!!

Thanks!!!

 

[kevgermany]

Hi Andy.

Sounds like two nice saxes there. Both would need attention from a repairer before being put back into use. If you can put some photos up, it would help. Neck & keys as well as overall shots. Might be worth looking at the mouthpieces as well, some of those are quite valuable.

The Selmer: from the serial number(16041) it's a 1932 Selmer Super also known as a 'cigar cutter', a photo of the table of keys by the left little finger would confirm this. As far as I know the other number is a workshop number and doesn't mean too much as no records are available. These are pretty desireable saxes and depending on condition could be worth a lot of money. Probably low pitch, but may not be.
http://drrick.com/selmerrr.html

The Buescher: US made, One of the best of the US makes. This is a True Tone from 1924. LP means low pitch - it plays in tune with modern/current instruments. Fairly common and not as sought after as the Selmers, but still an excellent instrument.
http://drrick.com/buesc.html

Lots of pics of saxes at www.saxpics.com
Should help you confirm my diagnosis, but the web site's been a bit unreliable for a while now.

Price - impossible to say as so much depends on condition and who's looking at the time. Ebay's a good guide, but you'd have to be looking at the bottom end of the ebay prices as they've been sitting unplayed for so long and will need to be overhauled to be made playable. Check before having any work done, it's possible to spend a lot of money and have a sax that's less more than the overhaul cost.

 

[jonf]

Nah, Kev's wrong they're not worth much. I tell you what, I'll give you fifty quid for the pair.

Only joking, depending on condition they could be really quite valuable. As Kev says, pics can help give a better idea. One thing you can usefully do is have a look at the condition of the pads. Are they split, dried out or cracked, or soft and pliable? Repadding a sax is well worth doing on a decent sax, but is expensive if done properly.

 

[andy.ross001]

Hi! Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. The Selmer is a fine instrument and have many memories of my grandfather practising it late in to the night while I struggled to get some sleep! Will post some pics in a minute when I've re-sized them. In an ideal world I'd love to play the saxes but with a baby, four kids, an inherited house that may need to be sold soon, we've got way too much clutter and it seems a shame to tuck them away in the loft.

Your advice is so welcome, thanks Kev.

We'll have a look around and do some more research but you've set us off in the right direction

I love the idea of someone making the most out of the saxes, especially the Selmer which is quite a stunner. Grandad played the clubs in S London pre-war, then in Sussex through the 50s, right up to the mid 70s. I can't see any damage, apart from some of the felts looking like they need replacing, so it was much loved and very robust. Thanks again, and I hope someone with my grandad's soul for music ends up with it one day.

 

[andy.ross001]

jonf, for fifty quid I'll throw in the old rag that was stuffed in to the bell of the Selmer too!

None of us here have any musical talent but the pads look generally pretty good and are quite soft and pliable, as you mentioned. Guessing that's a good thing!

Ebay is tempting for a quick fix sale, but we'll do some looking around and find a dealer who know their stuff and can give us a fair price.

Was wondering what the best method of cleaning is? Could go mad with the brasso, but don't want to remove any of the 'lacquer' that I've heard mention of.

Pictures coming shortly.

Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. Happy new year!

 

[aldevis]

jonf, for fifty quid I'll throw in the old rag that was stuffed in to the bell of the Selmer too!

None of us here have any musical talent but the pads look generally pretty good and are quite soft and pliable, as you mentioned. Guessing that's a good thing!

Ebay is tempting for a quick fix sale, but we'll do some looking around and find a dealer who know their stuff and can give us a fair price.

Was wondering what the best method of cleaning is? Could go mad with the brasso, but don't want to remove any of the 'lacquer' that I've heard mention of.

Pictures coming shortly.

Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. Happy new year!

I would probably visit a honest repairer and sell it through him, if you REALLY want to sell it.
If you want to sell it as it is, this website is probably better than ebay (see the Yard Sale); at least it will end up in the hands of someone that loves saxophones.

Of course I will be interested too, but you can probably fetch more than I can offer.

 

[andy.ross001]

I hope these pics are the right size! Offers in excess of £50 please! lol

 

[aldevis]

It looks like a Cigar Cutter (I cannot see the actual cigar cutter from the pics), with the fork Eb.
If you are serious about selling it through here, please open a thread on the Yard Sale. Where are you based? I already love it.

 

[andy.ross001]

I will open a thread shortly. I am very serious about selling them both as quite honestly they are sat here collecting dust. None of us are at all musical and it's a shame for someone not to be enjoying them.
We are in East Sussex but travel to North Somerset twice a month.

 

[aldevis]

Hi


The 2nd is a BUESCHER ELKHART. Again with a lovely engraving on the front. It is alot smaller than the above Sax. On the back it has 157681 low pitch license pat. dec. 811914 true tone.

What do you exactly mean?

 

[andy.ross001]

We have 2 saxophones, 1 Buescher and 1 Selmer

 

[aldevis]

Is the Buescher smaller? Curved soprano?

 

[andy.ross001]

It is alot smaller

 

[aldevis]

STOP THE PRESS!

Thrilling! I am waiting for more comments from other members now....

 

[Nick Wyver]

Since you're in East Sussex you ought to go and see Rupert Noble in Hove. He'll get them sorted for you.

I may be interested in the Buescher too.

 

[aldevis]

Since you're in East Sussex you ought to go and see Rupert Noble in Hove. He'll get them sorted for you.

I may be interested in the Buescher too.

Rupert knows his stuff. And he is familiar with Cigar Cutters; he had a nice one recently.

 

[kevgermany]

Andy, be careful here.

Jokes aside, these saxes are worth a LOT more than fifty quid. The Selmer should be into 4 figures, even without a repad.

Nick's recommendation of Rupert Noble is good, but my opinion's based on what I've read on the forum. Selling to a dealer could be a good way forward, but there are unscrupulous ones around.... Ebay's a bit hit and miss, and unless you give a full description and so on there's a chance serious buyers may miss it.

Also please read the rules before posting for sale here. It's clear quite a few guys are interested, but it's up to you to name a price, and I don't think you're in a position to do that.

 

[Nick Wyver]

Nick's recommendation of Rupert Noble is good, but my opinion's based on what I've read on the forum. Selling to a dealer could be a good way forward, but there are unscrupulous ones around....

I wasn't particularly thinking of using Rupert as a dealer. I just thought he'd be a good chap to do them up.

If it were me flogging them I'd probably not bother but sell them on the clear understanding that they need overhauling and price accordingly. But then I'm a lazy sod.

 

[aldevis]

Actually Rupert is both a repairer and a dealer, he can probably make an offer "as it is" and a good quote for an overhaul.
The cigar cutter he had was deliciously set up. The automatic octave mechanism can be tricky.

 

[jonf]

Andy, be careful here.

Jokes aside, these saxes are worth a LOT more than fifty quid. The Selmer should be into 4 figures, even without a repad.

Nick's recommendation of Rupert Noble is good, but my opinion's based on what I've read on the forum. Selling to a dealer could be a good way forward, but there are unscrupulous ones around.... Ebay's a bit hit and miss, and unless you give a full description and so on there's a chance serious buyers may miss it.

Also please read the rules before posting for sale here. It's clear quite a few guys are interested, but it's up to you to name a price, and I don't think you're in a position to do that.

Given that it was me that made the joke about fifty quid (and I know everyone did take it as a joke) I'd just like to endorse what Kev says. Although the Selmer you posted the pics of looks like it needs a fair bit of work, it is still a valuable item even as is. Once restored to full playing condition it could be worth quite a lot. The other sax, the Buescher - which you say is a lot smaller - sounds like a curvedd soprano. These are also pretty sought after, and although not as valuable as the Selmer will still be worth several hundred quid, totally dependent, of course, on condition.