peterpick
Member
vintage saxophone prices, i can tell you, (and as you most certainly know,) are a matter of fashion. there is little reason involved and less sense. it cannot be (for example) that a selmer mkVI is 10 times better than a couesnon monopole, because after all what could be, and how could it be measured? certainly the mk VIs i have and have had are wonderful horns, but they are not 3 or 4 times better than an SML super 45 either, because they are the best saxes i have ever played. and then there is the plain fact that altos and tenors from the same family or model group do not play, sound or behave the same as each other. i don't think the selmer mk VI tenor is as good as the alto, although naturally i have only played a few tenors, and i'm sure the soprano isn't. the SML gold medal tenor, either mk 1 or mk II is quite different from the alto, the alto mk 1 is sweet and warm, but the tenor is a magnificent roaring beast. the SML soprano is wonderful, as is the couesnon - these are among the best i have ever played.
however, all this is a mere preamble to my theme: there are saxes out there that play really well and cost comparatively little. there were dozens of manufacturers in france before the sax boom subsided, the asian manufacturers got going and selmer ate them all. Courtois are remarkably well built saxes with a bright, clear tone, excellent intonation and good ergonomics. they often have rolled toneholes. there are several models over the course of the 20th century. J Gras are warm-toned saxes with high build quality. Dolnets are much better than you'd think from the fact that you can't give them away, as long as you avoid 'studiums', and 'M70s'. the dolnet bel-aire and the royal jazz are exceptionally good, the royal jazz has all sorts of twiddly bits, like pierret 'super artistes' as opposed to 'artiste competitions'. pierret made any number of models from early in the century to about the 1970's, when they collapsed into selmer. the models designed with or for the wonderfully-named hippolyte poimboeuf and produced from the 40's to the 60's have strikingly spindly keyguards with all sorts of engraving. these include the modele 6 , the excellent modele 8 (i never saw a modele 7, but there surely must be one) super artiste and artiste competition models. they play with a dry, focused, bluesy tone and are just fine. later super artistes have a closer relationship with selmer, at one point pierret worked inside the selmer factory. Beaugnier, another sax-only company, produced saxes for themselves and others under the rubric 'fabrication artistique' they have notable supporters on this site and made tight, solid, good sounding saxophones. their best-known model is the 'special perfect' but this differs only in detail from their other saxes, and they also made various other models, few of which are distinguished by name. i have a beautiful alto with rolled toneholes, for example. Couesnon, who i mentioned earlier made distinguished tenors and sopranos - they sound marvelous - and i have a collection of 5 different models of alto, currently. the best are marked 'monoploe conservatoire', but over time even these vary considerably, some models (also at some point badged as besson) have rolled toneholes and a switchable g# linkage on the little finger table (like many SML's), later models do not, but have a high f#. Malerne are solidly built saxes with good intonation. i have recently been seeking out robert drouet saxes, they are delightful hand-made instruments with an exceptionally sweet tone but may need a vintage or large-chamber mouthpiece to keep in tune. the same applies to maurice boiste, i had a truly extraordinary boiste with one of those trouser guards that looks like a pastry-cutter. most of these ones are called 'virtuoso' but this one was even more exclusive and wasn't called anything at all except boiste. it weighed half a ton (approximately) and played with the darkest tone of any alto i ever tried, but it would not play in tune without a specially selected mouthpiece. it was beautifully made, with not a fraction of lateral movement of the keys on the rods, a wonderful, lockable g# coupling and a deep golden lacquer finish. there are less extraordinary-looking boistes, the 'serie artiste' for example and they play better, with good intonation and a tone not unlike a courtois. the best unknown sax i bought recently, however, is a lyrist. i have heard 2 different stories about this brand, one that it was adolphe sax's son's company (adolphe edward sax, i believe) and another that it was owned by courtois. i do not know which is true (though until selmer bought it in 1928 there was an adolphe sax company) but the lyrist alto i have, the briard model, has rolled toneholes and sounds just beautiful, rich and fat and warm down low, almost like a tenor, and has good intonation. i cannot vouch for other lyrist models, some of them seem rather flimsy.
i've probably missed some out. you may know more than i, and you may disagree with my assessments, buit i can say i have put in both the time and the money to know this much. i was going to write about the german makes i know too, but i can't be bothered now. maybe later....
however, all this is a mere preamble to my theme: there are saxes out there that play really well and cost comparatively little. there were dozens of manufacturers in france before the sax boom subsided, the asian manufacturers got going and selmer ate them all. Courtois are remarkably well built saxes with a bright, clear tone, excellent intonation and good ergonomics. they often have rolled toneholes. there are several models over the course of the 20th century. J Gras are warm-toned saxes with high build quality. Dolnets are much better than you'd think from the fact that you can't give them away, as long as you avoid 'studiums', and 'M70s'. the dolnet bel-aire and the royal jazz are exceptionally good, the royal jazz has all sorts of twiddly bits, like pierret 'super artistes' as opposed to 'artiste competitions'. pierret made any number of models from early in the century to about the 1970's, when they collapsed into selmer. the models designed with or for the wonderfully-named hippolyte poimboeuf and produced from the 40's to the 60's have strikingly spindly keyguards with all sorts of engraving. these include the modele 6 , the excellent modele 8 (i never saw a modele 7, but there surely must be one) super artiste and artiste competition models. they play with a dry, focused, bluesy tone and are just fine. later super artistes have a closer relationship with selmer, at one point pierret worked inside the selmer factory. Beaugnier, another sax-only company, produced saxes for themselves and others under the rubric 'fabrication artistique' they have notable supporters on this site and made tight, solid, good sounding saxophones. their best-known model is the 'special perfect' but this differs only in detail from their other saxes, and they also made various other models, few of which are distinguished by name. i have a beautiful alto with rolled toneholes, for example. Couesnon, who i mentioned earlier made distinguished tenors and sopranos - they sound marvelous - and i have a collection of 5 different models of alto, currently. the best are marked 'monoploe conservatoire', but over time even these vary considerably, some models (also at some point badged as besson) have rolled toneholes and a switchable g# linkage on the little finger table (like many SML's), later models do not, but have a high f#. Malerne are solidly built saxes with good intonation. i have recently been seeking out robert drouet saxes, they are delightful hand-made instruments with an exceptionally sweet tone but may need a vintage or large-chamber mouthpiece to keep in tune. the same applies to maurice boiste, i had a truly extraordinary boiste with one of those trouser guards that looks like a pastry-cutter. most of these ones are called 'virtuoso' but this one was even more exclusive and wasn't called anything at all except boiste. it weighed half a ton (approximately) and played with the darkest tone of any alto i ever tried, but it would not play in tune without a specially selected mouthpiece. it was beautifully made, with not a fraction of lateral movement of the keys on the rods, a wonderful, lockable g# coupling and a deep golden lacquer finish. there are less extraordinary-looking boistes, the 'serie artiste' for example and they play better, with good intonation and a tone not unlike a courtois. the best unknown sax i bought recently, however, is a lyrist. i have heard 2 different stories about this brand, one that it was adolphe sax's son's company (adolphe edward sax, i believe) and another that it was owned by courtois. i do not know which is true (though until selmer bought it in 1928 there was an adolphe sax company) but the lyrist alto i have, the briard model, has rolled toneholes and sounds just beautiful, rich and fat and warm down low, almost like a tenor, and has good intonation. i cannot vouch for other lyrist models, some of them seem rather flimsy.
i've probably missed some out. you may know more than i, and you may disagree with my assessments, buit i can say i have put in both the time and the money to know this much. i was going to write about the german makes i know too, but i can't be bothered now. maybe later....