Additional Comments
The Chinese & Indian
people are quite talented metal artists, as documented by the prolific
flow of decorative brass items that make it to our shores from these regions.
These very clever people are quite adept a copying things, and when these
copies involve working mechanics the process is called 'reverse engineering'.
The result can look quite good, however much of the real engineering and
craftsmanship that creates the unique qualities of a precision piece of
equipment is lost in the process. This is especially true of musical instruments
like the saxophone, where 100s of precision dies and dozens of skilled
craftsmen are required to make a single high quality instrument (please
see our article on the Yanagisawa
plant in Tokyo). We're all too familiar with the deluge of Mark VI copies
that flows from The Far East -- the so called 'disposable saxophone', but
there is another class of classic sax design copying that has been going
on in India and China for a long, long time. So long, in fact, that the
design is that of the later Adolph Sax instruments: 1) no bis Bb; 2) keywork
low B to high F; 3) double octave keys; 4) G# tone hole located on back
of instrument; 5) side Bb tone hole located in line in upper stack. No
doubt these were copied rom an example of the real thing that somehow found
it way to The Far East perhaps a hundred years ago. Below is a listing
we carried for some time in our for sale section before we realized it
was one of these horrendous, nearly worthless copies. Most of these are
bare brass, but we've seen them show up on eBay in nickel plate finish,
and even some where the keywork has been modernized a bit. They always
look faintly like an engorged alto clarinet, so take your clue should you
see something of this general look with no name and no serial number.
Antique
E b Alto Saxophone
... probably late 19th Century French ...
beware:
knockoff from India -- virtually worthless -- avoid these -- write if you
have questions ...
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Always wanted
an Adolphe Sax piece for the saxophone collection, but couldn't justify
the price? This is an authentic contemporary model with very good cosmetics.
It appears someone put it back into 'looking' condition without intending
to make it a player. These don't play very well even in perfect shape,
and are High Pitch anyway, so no big waste. A determined individual could
probably make it play, though it is quite interesting just to study and
show off to fellow saxophiles. The design is very close to the later A.
Sax altos: 1) no bis Bb; 2) keywork low B to high F; 3) double octave keys;
4) G# tone hole located on back of instrument; 5) side Bb tone hole located
in line in upper stack.
Definitely
looks handmade, meaning a one-off creation where the parts from another
built by the same craftsman may not interchange. No engraving at all --
not even a serial number. Neck is bent down somewhat & some of the
keys could be better aligned. Otherwise, no apparent damage. This brave
old Centurion wears a beautiful aged bare brass patina. Makes an impressive
display piece just as it is. Sorry, no case or mouthpiece. We will
double box for safe shipment.
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