Forum of the Saxes

musicalprodigy · Joined: 03 Aug 2005 Posts: 119

how old does a sax have to be to be considered vintage? does it depend on the brand/?

Bariman · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 9:47 pm Post subject:

Yes, it depends highly on the brand. Conns, for example, have a cutoff date (speaking from the consensus of most players/historians) around 1970, when their pro line of saxes were discontinued. Some companies produced 'vintage' saxes until they were bought by a larger company, like Selmer did. If you can give me a specific make, I can give you a rough estimate.

The guidelines most follow are who and where the manufacturers are. Ie, Yamaha, Yani, and others are made (mostly) oversees, so they are not considered (American) vintage. Also, certain design features and production techniques can indicate if an instrument is vintage or not.

Bariman
_________________
Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

altosax4ever · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:56 pm Post subject: YES

It always depends on the brand. Different brands have been around for different periods of time, so it only makes sense that there would be a difference.
_________________
Music IS Life

(and the saxophone is breathing)

Altosaxophonerules · Joined: 25 Aug 2005 Posts: 130 Location: Canada

Agree with the above, but many ppl often mean vintage by proparly 25 yrs or older.

Bruce W Diggs · Joined: 14 May 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Richmond, Virginia

Hey ya'll,

I got an old alto sax, it was my first sax upon playing where the only brand name on it is "LAMONIE", and I think that is a makeover ( redone), it does have one serial # on it ">1188<" below the right thumb bar above the band for the lower bend. It was coated with a clear finish on top of pure brass. It does have some bell carvings, yet that is very block shaped versus the very good looking picturial carvings today. I first played it in the early 1960s. can anyone tell me how to track this maker down ? Confused

Bruce
_________________
PO Box 25276,
Richmond, Virginia 23260

Bariman · Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:57 pm Post subject:

Hello,
If I had to guess, i'd say you have what we call a 'stencil' sax there, which is a copy of a well-known design made at the factory, and the the name of a company too small to make the horn themselves engraves their name on it.

Are there any special keys on the horn? Does it have wire or sheet metal keyguards? What is the octave mechanism like?

Bariman
_________________
Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!