I Played a 100-Year-Old Saxophone

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

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[@soarsbrokenchains7527]

I’ve got a pair of Kings, 1 is 103 years old. The other is 64 years old. I love the sound of those horns!

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Nice!

[@AndrewLeadsford]

You play beautifully, what a tone, gorgeous

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Thanks!🙏

[@stevejohnson174]

I have this old Buescher baritone saxophone dated to 1916. Sounds great!

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Nice!!

[@janeallen2562]

I have loaned a sax this week beusher it's between 97/98 years old and sounds great

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Wow, that sounds like another interesting instrument. Thanks for watching.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Wow, that sounds like another interesting instrument. Thanks for watching.

[@gangofgreenhorns2672]

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.

[@varnalofaro]

beautiful sound and beautiful song to go with it, but you can make anything sound awesome👍👍👍

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Thanks Varna! You can grab the song pdf + track inside SaxSchoolOnline.

[@evanjones7186]

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.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Cool, thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed the video. Your Conn sounds like a nice instrument. 👍

[@nathanmoore3293]

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 😂

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Wow, that's brilliant!

[@AndrewLeadsford]

Just picked up the TE tuner app, thank you Nigel

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

You’re welcome!

[@sisface23]

I LOVE vintage saxes and have a growing collection of Buescher saxophones. I would love the add an original Adolphe Sax to my collection! 🤩

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Brilliant. Sounds like you need to get one👍

[@william7964]

Hi Nigel, great sound, great video and explanation. Would be interesting to have a future video on the Grafton sax

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

I agree. I’d love to check out a Grafton sax. Thanks for watching.

[@sheireland3737]

Ive got a conn new wonder 2. In fact i have two of them. 100yrs old this year in fact. Beautiful sound.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Wow!!

[@davidsmusic]

what a good video!

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Glad you liked it!

[@peterolsson3662]

Great Horn with plenty of character. I don’t have spare money for collecting Instruments but if I would, this one would be on my list.

[@DuncanS-TenorSax]

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.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Glad you found what works for you!

[@ME-rz6en]

wonderful playing! check out the horns of the Rascher Saxophone Quartet 😉

[@SteuartHedington]

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.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

That’s the trade off with old saxes.

[@marcbohets6671]

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.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

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??🤯

[@enispenvy9174]

You sound amazing on this horn.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Thanks! And thanks for watching!

[@coilhead]

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!

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

ok that's really interesting. So do you think they still used the Adolphe Sax brand in the 1930s?

[@coilhead]

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….

[@coilhead]

And nice video btw. I appreciate the bit about changing horns!

[@robertdluzen7938]

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!

[@robertdluzen7938]

I meant to say only two palm keys

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Thanks, glad you like the sound of it. I'm not sure what I'd do with 2 side keys either!

[@marccontet7480]

I guess the sax has been fully revised before testing. I mean changing pads and checking the mechanisms?

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Yes it’s been well maintained. Do you like the sound?

[@lyntedrockley7295]

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.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Thanks, I’ll check him out.

[@bobpremecz5429]

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!

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

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.

[@benhostetler268]

You should try a Conn 10M or King Super 20 they’ll blow your socks off.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Love to give one a try!

[@stephenabbs9134]

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?

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Thanks! Glad you like the sound. I’m using a Jody Jazz Custom Dark 8 / Legere French Cut 2.5 reed.

[@stephenabbs9134]

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.

[@zoomboy57]

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

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Great point. Thanks for watching.

[@ketong71]

I'm surprised it had a front F key. The old Conns and Bueschers prior to the 1930s didn't have any

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Me too.

[@Milton-s5i]

I play a 100 year old Conn Saxophone I wouldn’t trade it for the world

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Wow. Very cool.

[@davidhammond2054]

Ditto! love my NWii Alto & tenor 😀

[@philsteib7615]

Looks like a early Selmer? Late 20s, early 30s perhaps.

[@gangofgreenhorns2672]

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.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Ok that's interesting. I didn't see any markings about that on the sax.

[@mironhorodi4429]

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.

[@marktiernan4511]

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.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Cheers. Glad you like the tune - it’s something I wrote for the video. There’s a lesson plus PDF and backing track inside SaxSchoolOnline. 👍

[@marktiernan4511]

@@McGillMusicSaxSchool ill defo check it out, cheers 👍

[@christerhenningstedt6939]

What mpc did you have with the horn? Great sound, I play a -27 Buesher Truetone tenor myself, love sounds of vintage horn

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Thanks! I’m using a Jody Jazz Custom Dark on this video.

[@christerhenningstedt6939]

@@McGillMusicSaxSchool Thank's 🙂👍

[@JeffHendricks]

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.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

It can be tough to get that balance of sound and ergonomics.

[@saxcowboy]

I love it and your playing I play a conn 10m tenor instead of my series 2 selmer. My Conn is hands down better. It is 65 years old.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Cheers, I guess the Conn has a lot more character?