Archive for the ‘Tenor Saxophone’ Category
A Dörfler & Jörka Impala Tenor Up For Auction
Author: Helen
A few weeks ago German sax tech Uwe Ladwig informed me that he had stumbled across yet another stencil name for Dörfler & Jörka saxophones. Like the brand name Corvair, this sax too shared its name with an American car: Impala.
This morning I was checking out the German eBay site and I happened to come across one of these D&J-made Impala saxophones. This silver plated tenor is in desperate need of an overhaul, and has clearly not been played for quite some time.
Source: eBay.de
The seller describes the sax like this:
(I’ll give you the original German because it’s short, and then the translated version)
TENOR SAXOPHON IMPALA
Marke: “IMPALA”
gemarkt: Nr. 16376 – Made in Western Gemany
L. 83cm
ohne Koffer
ungeprüft und mit Spuren der Zeit, müsste überholt und hergerichtet werden, ansonst ordentlicher original Zustand
The translated version goes like this:
Tenor Saxophone Impala
Brand Name: “Impala”
Marked: No. 16376 – Made in Western German.
83 cm Long
No Case
Has not been tested, and shows its age. It will need an overhaul, but otherwise decent original condition.
Source: eBay.de
Source: eBay.de
I don’t imagine that green growth like this would be on the keys if the sax was being played regularly. 
Source: eBay.de
Source: eBay.de
The decorative pearl is missing on the low C key guard.
Source: eBay.de
I wonder why the stamping Made In Western Germany is so worn looking. Even the numbers look a bit hinky.
Although admittedly the stamping on the back of my lacquered D&J De Villiers isn’t fabulous either, which had lead to someone who only had seen the pictures on-line to speculate that the horn might be a relac. It isn’t.
Since then I’ve noticed this to be a pattern on other D&J horns. Here is the stamping on an Artist #300 alto, on a Clinton alto, a René Dumont Tenor, and finally on a Voss Tenor.
The engraving on this Impala appears to be original—as it does on all the saxes from my D&J Gallery that I’ve linked to above—so perhaps the flaw lies in however D&J applied the stamping on the back of their body tubes.
Source: eBay.de
Source: eBay.de
This is quite possibly the original ligature and cap—and perhaps even mouthpiece—that came with the horn. A Roxy alto that sold on eBay in October ‘09 had the same cap and lig. It came with its original accessories.
Source: eBay.de
The original D&J neck tightening screw has been replaced at some point in time. The round thumb screw is gone, and a conventional one is now in its place.
Source: eBay.de
The private auction for this Dörfler & Jörka Impala Tenor runs until August 26. At the time of writing there were 33 bids on the horn, with the high bid being €181.00. XE.com tells me that that’s $229.40 US at this precise moment in time.
© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.
A Lovely 1937 King Tenor For Sale On eBay
Author: Helen
My go-to guy for all my vintage saxophone restorations, and my first stop when looking for something specific, Sarge Stransky, is selling the prettiest King Zephyr tenor that I have ever seen. This tenor is not your run-of-the-mill Zephyr, but rather a Zephyr Special, and it is currently up for auction on eBay.
Source: eBay.com
Here is how Sarge describes this beauty of a horn:
1937-8 King Zephyr Special Tenor
The following pictures are from before I rebuilt the sax, they show it’s original factory rebuild. I have completely rebuilt the “Special” with the best tan pads on the market and added original style flat metal resonators AND added my Premium Rebuild with Teflon, Ultrasuede and Techcork (nearly a 1200.00 premium refit). You can see that the horn had no noticeable dents or any history of repair (see the pics). The lacquer is original, as are the engravings, which include the very rare Bell keys star sunburst, Low C#, low C and Low Eb engravings. (*see pics) Stack keys/pearls look like new, no noticeable wear. The same is true about every pearl. Also, the sax has never been buffed, abrasively polished or had anything but a good soapy bath. The neck has not been buffed or abrasively polished either, it looks great with a nice patina of light tarnis from years on honest living.
King Zephyr Special Tenor: Nice original lacquer early Zephyr Special, with the Serial number 209,xxx. These have a lot of nice features, like pearls on all the keys, the triple strap hook and Sterling Silver, sleeve style neck, but what I really love is the immense, fat and warm tone. I enjoy seeing the beautiful art deco engravings, even the bell and bow keys are engraved on this one… and the art deco styling of the overall design is awesome, but that aside, these are one of the warmest saxes out there. This does not include a mouthpiece, but does include the original case in fairly good condition… pretty much what you’d expect for an 80 year old case. Ignore the mouthpiece in the pictures, it is mine, it does not come with the auction…
I got this sax from it’s original owner, many years ago, it has been in my personal collection for many years, it has rarely been played, as it is a rare collectors item. I personally a Pro complete rebuild (see Worldwidesax’s Rebuilds page, online), cleaned the all original lacquer by hand and re-assembled and tech the gorn. when I say it plays great, it will play top to bottom, just like the factory did it, except I use better pads, Prestini NS222 tan pads and custom flat, nickle plated/rivetless resonators. (see pics) …
No Reserve, No buy it now, No emailing me about closing the auction early, this is a classic ebay auction, with a starting bid at 2699.00, which is about 1000.00 lower than this horn is worth. Look at the pics, it is a beauty.
I will try to add some “After” pics tomorrow
Ok, New pic today
Now that I have said all this, please understand that I am not hard up to sell, I have many horns, I will be happy to keep this one and enjoy it for several more years, if no one bids… that’s just how I do things.
thanks, sarge stransky.
The pictures that Sarge provides do show a horn in remarkable condition even before its rebuild.
Before
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
After
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
King’s designation for this model of tenor was the 1006-B. This is a catalogue page from 1940 that describes the features of the Zephyr Special:
Source: hnwhite.com
The auction for Sarge’s beauty of a vintage King tenor ends tomorrow, August 17, at 13:31 PDT. As Sarge mentioned in his ad, bidding is to start at $2,699.00. At the time of writing there were no bids yet on this amazing horn.
© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.
A Beautiful Looking B&S Tenor Up For Auction
Author: Helen
If you’ve been looking for a B&S tenor sax, there is a beauty on eBay at the moment. It is a black nickel plated tenor with silver plated keys, which was stencilled for the LA Sax company, and sold under the name Chicago Jazz Series.
Source: eBay.com
If you remember these horns from a few years ago, you’ll remember that they were crazy expensive. They were full of engraving, but not done in such a way that they were tacky.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The seller describes this B&S stencil sax like this:
B&S (aka LA Sax) Tenor Saxophone in Case Excellent Condition
Chicago Jazz Series – Made in Germany
Serial number 014298
CONDITION:
This Sax comes to us Previously Owned
Have played it with my own mouthpiece, easily reaching
all notes in all registers – hard to put down.
Saxaphone Will Show Little Cosmetic Signs of Use / Wear
Can only find the very slightest rub on very base of sax.
See no dents, flawed pads or missing springs.
Comes with two mouthpieces shown – just one working ligature.
Nice hard case is a Cannonball Case in Excellent Condition – not original.
The sax really does appear to be in amazing condition. It looks like it has hardly been played. Black nickel is the hardest finish to keep looking good, since when it scratches, it is quite obvious.
Source: eBay.com
In this photo you can see the slight rub on the bow guard that the seller mentioned in his ad. He claims that this is the only wear on the horn.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The auction for this B&S stencilled Chicago Jazz Series tenor runs until August 10. The price currently sits at $1,187.00 with 12 bids on this very pretty horn.
© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.
sam netherland on