- Messages
- 7,853
- Locality
- Near Lutterworth, Leics.
- Price of Item
- £200
Info from when I purchased it, and started restoring it here: Technical - Stecher - Bearer of reasonable news...
"Before" photos here: Stecher Kohlert 57
I've dismantled it, had the bell dent removed by Matt at Sheward-MIR (not perfect), the octave mechanism straightened (Matt again), immersion plated all the keys with H S Walsh's Silver Solution (although this will wear off again eventually) and was about to finish the body polishing and plating before sending it for a full overhaul including straightening around a dozen RTH's, re-padding, new springs, corks, etc.
All keywork is boxed with bagged activated charcoal to keep tarnishing at bay.
At the end of the day the sax will be almost perfect apart from the immersion (not electro) plating, but before I finish it to my spec by asking a tech to overhaul it as above at a cost of around £350, I wondered if anyone would be interested in it as their own project? I showed the body to Paul Carrington a while back to check the tone holes were straightenable and he was un-fazed.
Is £550 finished about the market value for a freshly overhauled Kohlert 57. That it's a stencil for Stecher makes it either very rare (as I can't find another Stecher saxophone anywhere on the 'net) or less desirable as it's not a "proper" Kohlert. You choose?
I'd be interested in opinions of finished value. Due to the immersion plating it'll never be cosmetically perfect, but should be playing spot on when overhauled. I could have left it with the brass showing through to let it tell its life story, and I think it's had a full one, but chose to re-plate somewhat out of interest to see how well immersion plating would go. It's a very time consuming process and I must have spent 50 hours on the keywork. But the hard work is done now. I realise it's a "hidden gem", although an iconic horn, and that this lack of mass market appeal will keep value low when finished.
If nobody is interested "as is" at £200 I shall soldier on. There is a slight part of me which would like to see it finished, and for it to blow my SA80II out of the water, but I doubt that and would then have another battle of the saxes on my hands! Hence my ad here.
Viewers welcome, so you can check condition and the displaced keywork.