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Saxophones What's a Martin Handcraft alto worth?

DavidUK said:
:confused2:

Seen one online in good condition structurally, no dents/dings. May need a few pads, may need more.
Buying unseen, what would you pay?
I don't need one, of course I don't, but a couple hundred pounds maybe?

Trying to resist...>:)

Steve doesn't help: Martin Handcraft Orginal alto sax review

:doh:
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how often do these come up in your region? I think anything under 300 pounds is respectable in the condition you described. I’m not suggesting I really think you should buy one. But then again Martins are really nice. But would know that if ya never had one>:)
Can you see my media pictures?
Not sure if the sax was case Candy or the mouthpieces were the case Candy. Anyway you look at it 73 quid was a great deal. Actually I cut the deal over social media. Just for the Sax. I could have refused to complete the transaction upon inspection. The two mouthpieces convinced me it was worth acquiring. Sax needs full repad Otherwise solid.
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I've had three Martin's, two Indiana altos, one Magna tenor. Handcraft is supposedly a pro horn so may keep my interest a little longer. Seller has interest from someone two streets away which I'm not. I'll hear if it's gone when they meet up, tomorrow. Potential buyer presumably jogging on the spot as he examines it outside.
 
Might be a stencil but it DOES have the front F, which only around half of these of that era had.

These are HIGHLY UNDERRATED splitbellkey horns. People go ga-ga over Chus and TT's...but quite honestly....these are as GOOD as a Chu (less problematic actually as they do not have the bow geometry which tends to cause a gurgle, as the Conn does)...and while I think the TT is the BEST splitbellkey ever made (the altos, not tenors)....the Martins are not far behind.

I never bought one to flip, because they are just not discussed much anywhere...but then a client approached me with refurbing one he had landed for $100 (silverplate, too).

I was impressed by it. Then oddly, someone else approached me with the same thing (actually not quite...they wanted to trade theirs in towards a Yas 23. I convinced them just to let me work up the Martin...as they'd save $100 over buy-trading for the Yama).

So, let's put it this way...given their invisibility on the market, and given this one is a stencil and quite possibly a relacq....$500usd is the max one would go for here in refurbished, playing shape. $350-400-ish if not refurbed, but clean and playing decently. A project one might fetch $175-200 (150-160 quid tops) here.

So if they are asking 200 quid and it doesn't need a total repad, it is a fair price.
 
JayeNM said:
given this one is a stencil
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Although technically it IS a stencil, I don't think it's what we'd traditionally think of as one, ie a second line horn rebranded to order. I'm pretty certain these are bona fide Handcrafts in all but name and are contemporary with them. My guess is that Martin had no real outlet in the UK, so was content to sell its current model via a local company without fear of competition.
 
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Having had a go at re-padding now (the Yamaha Vito) I could give this a go but how do bevelled tone holes complicate the matter? I'm aware of solder leaks but I'm talking more of uneven tone holes. Same remedy as STHs... tone hole file? Can't see why not.
Or... is this NOT a good one to practice on? :confused2:

Oh... and the r/h pinky table seems to have at least three rollers whereas the usual is two? Any ideas? Just a later amendment when they added front F perhaps?
 
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A Martin #182 XXX sax is made around 1952 or 1953. If it's a 132 XXX it made around 1939.
Martin dropped the Eb vent in the mid 30's. Last model was Martin Handcraft Standard. It's probably a Martin stencil. The toneholes on the toneholes you can see is not fully with bevelved toneholes rims. What it's worth? I saw one here in Sweden for 12000 s e k? But I also saw one for 5000 s e k. I would pay c 3000 s e k for a Martin Handcraft from the 20's. Less if it was not playable.
 
DavidUK said:
Having had a go at re-padding now (the Yamaha Vito) I could give this a go but how do bevelled tone holes complicate the matter? I'm aware of solder leaks but I'm talking more of uneven tone holes. Same remedy as STHs... tone hole file? Can't see why not.
Or... is this NOT a good one to practice on? :confused2:
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OK, so first off....I have refurbished around 100 Martins...quite likely more. The tonehole thing is WAY, WAY (did I say WAY ?) overemphasized. I think maybe....10% of the Martins I have done had tonehole stack problems. And those that had, had clearly been neglected or taken some serious body blows.
That's all I am gonna say about that, here. No reason to fear Martins because of their toneholes.

Regarding uneven holes, yes...file 'em. The tonehole edge/face on Martins are quite broad, and the chimneys very stout. I usually do not see dramatically uneven holes because of this, but they can certainly take filing just fine.
 
DavidUK said:
Always tricky buying from someone who doesn't play sax often. You never know what you're getting!
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If you need some more confidence in your Martin studies look here.

The Martin Story - Martin Handcraft saxophones

The Martin Story, detailled information about Martin Handcraft saxophones
www.themartinstory.net
I can guarantee you those tone holes are extremely tough. Like mentioned above rarely do you need to level those. If needed and you don’t have the tools. One can always take it to a tech for just that service. Hole leveling. Other than the engraving being buffed practically off I see nothing wrong with this unit for the value.
 
good sax. depends if you want one. i can't understand why they're not more popular. as for what it's worth i should think it's worth about twice whatever you pay for it, david, going by your track record....
 

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