Saxophones MARTIN Comm-III finish ?

[turf3]

OK, those recently posted photos show a refinished lacquer that's deteriorated. It remains shiny where it's still in place, and the bare brass where the lacquer's come off has turned brown.

Extremely ordinary condition.

If you'd like to reduce the contract between the brown bare brass and the shiny lacquered brass, you could have a go with Simichrome on the bare brass areas to see if it will lighten them a bit.

I would NOT get into stripping finish on a horn in this condition. The finish that's still in place down under all the mechanism (and it mostly is) is protecting the brass from corrosion. Strip that off and the whole horn will become a big verdigris factory, primarily down under the mechanism where it's very difficult to clean off.

 

[turf3]

Why ? The warning labels on acetone say “use in a well ventilated area” Spoiler alert, your wife’s nail polish remover is acetone with a scented masking agent. Anyone ever had the misses do polish remover in the shed ?
...

I always do any work with solvents in a well ventilated area.

Honestly, is it more difficult to roll up the garage door, than to take all the keys off a horn make a HUGE tub of boiling water and try to take the finish off that way? (Not to mention that submerging the body of the horn in water is going to cause issues with the springs unless you take THEM out too ( a totally unnecessary task), or oil the heck out of them where they're pressed into the posts).

Like I say, it seems that an awful lot of people are afraid of acetone and so they propose all these complicated tiresome procedures to avoid it.

I just buy the stuff down at the hardware store paint section.

 

[murrayatuptown]

OK, those recently posted photos show a refinished lacquer that's deteriorated. It remains shiny where it's still in place, and the bare brass where the lacquer's come off has turned brown.

Extremely ordinary condition.

If you'd like to reduce the contract between the brown bare brass and the shiny lacquered brass, you could have a go with Simichrome on the bare brass areas to see if it will lighten them a bit.

I would NOT get into stripping finish on a horn in this condition. The finish that's still in place down under all the mechanism (and it mostly is) is protecting the brass from corrosion. Strip that off and the whole horn will become a big verdigris factory, primarily down under the mechanism where it's very difficult to clean off.

Thank you

 

[PigSquealer]

My Magna (#208XXX) - 59 tenor. The tech, former employee at SML 1968-1971 building saxes and repairing, allowed me to do the dismantling and cleaning of the Magna in his workshop. I kept the pads. Tone boosters.

View attachment 38366
An ad from January, 1960 tone boosters are mentioned.

View attachment 38368

Great information ! Thanks ! I’ve been trying to verify when Martin actually started using booster without any luck.
Your original samples show the booster sizing style and they’re flat.

A Magna sales brochure from 1961(copy sent to me from "The Shrine to Music Museum", SD) describing broader pad seats. Looks like tonebosters on pads?
View attachment 38369
From the same sales brochure.
View attachment 38370

This confirms with a picture in a factory brochure both the shape and size. That’s a larger pad with the booster close to the impression.

From a side of a sales broshure from mid 50's I guess, describing "The Martin Tenor". No tone boosters are mentioned.
View attachment 38371

The other "The Martin" have owned, and still have, most of the pads were just with a rivet. My "The Martin Baritone" sings better with oversized brass resotechs.

This narrows the change timeline to around five or six years. Interesting the mention of fine quality kid still in use.
Thanks again for taking the time to document this.

 

[thomsax]

Great information ! Thanks ! I’ve been trying to verify when Martin actually started using booster without any luck.
Your original samples show the booster sizing style and they’re flat.

This confirms with a picture in a factory brochure both the shape and size. That’s a larger pad with the booster close to the impression.

This narrows the change timeline to around five or six years. Interesting the mention of fine quality kid still in use.
Thanks again for taking the time to document this.

Maybe it was just the Magna saxes that had tone-boosters? Magna reached the market in the mid 50'?

Saxes that I've bought in Sweden used to in better shape than saxes from USA? One of the worst Martin I've seen was my 1957/1958 "The Martin Alto". There were 5-6 different types of pads/toneboosters; original with rivets, modern with plastic resonators, modern with cone plastic resonators, modern with domed metal resonators ..... some pads were were too small, some pads were too thick, shelack, contact glue, .... it was a disaster. I wanted a good used sax I searched on the countryside (far away from a tech) and the owner had changed hobby. From sax to golf, tennis, fishing ...... . When the sax was not playing so well they just put it in the case and did somthing else.

 

[PigSquealer]

Maybe it was just the Magna saxes that had tone-boosters? Magna reached the market in the mid 50'?

Saxes that I've bought in Sweden used to in better shape than saxes from USA? One of the worst Martin I've seen was my 1957/1958 "The Martin Alto". There were 5-6 different types of pads/toneboosters; original with rivets, modern with plastic resonators, modern with cone plastic resonators, modern with domed metal resonators ..... some pads were were too small, some pads were too thick, shelack, contact glue, .... it was a disaster. I wanted a good used sax I searched on the countryside (far away from a tech) and the owner had changed hobby. From sax to golf, tennis, fishing ...... . When the sax was not playing so well they just put it in the case and did somthing else.

The thing is that you’ve found a factory record that at least one Martin had boosters. The year too.

I’ve seen some really mixed pad sets too. Selmers still hold the record in that category. Funny thing is that the owners of these mixed bag horns play them really well. Like they’ve played the finish off.

I like your style on going for a country drive. I did that seeking motorcycles.

 

[Stocker]

The Magna was introduced in 1959, and yes, tone boosters were advertised as a Magna-exclusive feature, at least during the RMC era.