I learned on a Selmer NY Buescher Tru-Tone stencil and was able to get a good tone out of it I think. Gave the sax to Michael Wilbur when I upgraded, its 101 now. Can see a video of him playing it on my channel.
I would have given up saxophone if I had not discovered vintage saxes. Although the ergonomics are not as good, the timbre and feeling works for me. Everybody is different, there is a saxophone for every player.
I play a 1922 Conn New Wonder with a couple of small adaptations. The tone is incredible and I love it. Also surprisingly your fingers do get used to the layout. Great for ballads and when pushed the volume is mental! Fast bop isn’t my thing, but. I don’t think it would be the best thing for playing everything at a thousand miles an hour 😂. Interesting post by the way, thank you.
Nigel, I've got a question that's both serious and a little fun. Do you have any idea what kind of mouthpieces were around when this beauty was first crafted? And more importantly, how would they sound on this horn? I recently picked up a complete set of modern "Rascher" mouthpieces for my soprano, alto, and tenor, and I have to say, I'm loving the mellow, rich tones they bring out across the full range of each horn. It's like discovering a new voice for each one. You know, just like you were pleasantly surprised by the responsiveness of that vintage Adolphe Sax tenor-even in the altissimo range-I had a similar experience with the "Rascher" mouthpieces. I'm not usually a gear head, but after starting with a Brilhart and then moving on to a Selmer Paris Soloist for my alto, the "Rascher" really blew me away. So, what do you think-have you ever considered trying a vintage-style mouthpiece on this stunning vintage tenor? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Great question! I’ve never tried a vintage mouthpiece like that but I’d love to find out how it would sound on an old horn too. That’s like a real piece of history.
How is the octave mechanism ? About 40 years ago, I learned to play on an old tenor, that had been lying around on the attic of the grandfather of a community band member. It has 2 octave buttons, 1 for middle D to G, and an additional one for the higher notes, it did not have the automatic octave mechanism yet. And also, what about the pitch, high pitch vs low pitch. They told me that this tenor was good to learn to play, but that I needed a more recent instrument once I was able to play along in the community band, as the pitch was different form what is currently used. So I realize now that the tenor I learned to play on, must have been a really ancient one. I also took it apart completely, to give it a decent cleaning, and make it shine again, the mechanism was really simple, compared to the Yanagisawa horn I have now.
Wow that’s sounds really interesting! The octave mechanism on this Selmer was really smooth actually and surprisingly like a modern sax in feel. Felt very natural to use. But 2 octave keys??🤯
Great sound on this sax Nigel. I love this type of vintage tone, similar to an old Martin and Buescher that I have. I understand old saxes like large chamber mouthpieces to get this vintage mellow tone. What mouthpiece and reed were you playing on?
Thanks Nigel. I’ve been considering trying out exactly that combination of Jody Jazz custom dark and legere french cut. I’m even more interested in trying it now! Keep up the great work in sax school.
I have no.479 of this sax. I found it in a cupboard at work (school) in an unplayable state but a good tech got it working and now it plays great. I’m surprised but happy at the valuation 😂
I like the old saxes as the arthritis has set in as I age it is easier to reach the low Bb and the old brass used was of much better quality. As a tech for over 50 years all instruments have quirks it's the players job to adapt to the instrument
Sounds lovely. This is the one thing I miss about a gold plated Selmer 22 I owned which was made in that year.....it had such an incredibly sweet tone. I wish I could have kept it, but the ancient keywork was very uncomfortable.
I have a very old York alto and an early 1920's Wurlitzer (Martin?) bari sax. Both only have two side keys. So they only go up to Eb. I have not figured out how to play E and F as altissimo. That vintage horn of yours sounds fabulous, even through my phone speaker!
Sounds pretty sweet to me. What tunes were playing on it Nigel? They were lovely, the type of old melody I'd love to add to my own repertoire. Nice video mate.
Amazing and beautifully done. Douglas Pipher would be very interested in this. Check him out. He has the archive info on Selmer and will trace the provenance of any Selmer sax. He is always looking for more info on the story. He has made some great videos on the history of the factory. This sax is unusual being so old and in modern tuning and you play it beautifully. It would be of professional interest to classical players who perform orchestral repetoire using saxophone, such as Ravel's Bolero as it has an authentic period sound. Mouthpieces in those days were much shorter than customary today and that will affect the sound. Sax definitely knew what he was doing. I'd love to know why the altissimo works to well. I suspect its just the internal acoustics are so well set up nodes and antinotdes just form in the right places, and hence the gorgeous sound.
Eventually, I think that a reasonable saxophone player would like his instrument to be as comfortable and easy to play as possible. If this 100 years old saxophone is difficult to play, then no motivation to buy it. I had many years an old CONN 16M tenor saxophone. Once I moved on to Selmer SA-80II, I immediately understood what a crappy saxophone I had. I bought my son a Yanigasawa T-880 tenor which I tried myself and saw how easy it is to play, and he just loves it (even claims that it's better than my Selmer, which is excellent for me). A saxophone that is difficult to play - no reason to buy it.
I think this Adolphe Sax instrument is built by Selmer in the early 30's....... It has the same appointments as a 1930 Selmer Super Sax I used to play. And Barnard Repair has one just like it from 1931. Still old!
Yes. According to Barnard Repair Selmer bought the name in the late 20’s and they kept using the last address. The one they have is 3xx serial number like this one. The 1930 Selmer I owned had the same peculiar high f key as these horns did so that fits the timeline. They’re great old horns….
I dont think they started pitching the sax to 440hz A until 1914, usually states so on the back of the horns I've seen. Should be a clue to its age, as well as how hard it is to get in (modern) tune I guess lol.
I have a 1923 Conn tenor that sounds incredible, but is horribly uncomfortable to play. I appreciate the older stuff for the sound, but man... I'm not giving up my modern ergonomics.
