The Bassic Sax Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Vintage Sax Resources’

I readily admit that my fascination with Selmer’s Varitone exposes my gear slutiness. I have on more than one occasion thought that investing in a Varitone tenor—and all its accoutrements—would be a lot of fun. Compared to some of my gear, it would actually pay for itself in very little time.

However, in the end the rational side of me points out all the reasons why this wouldn’t be the case at all, since in fact, I wouldn’t end up taking it out of the house. Because let’s face it, it’s a collector’s piece, and not a gigging musician’s horn. Replacement parts are too hard, if not impossible, to get.

Now if you’ve never heard a Varitone before, here’s a video that gives a small example of what the unit can do.

Now while all of these effects are certainly available today using pedals, there is just something very simple and elegant about the Varitone. I also personally prefer the warmth of analog over digital sound.

Currently an eBay dealer has a Varitone amp up for auction. It is the amp only.

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

Here is how the seller describes this Selmer amplifier:

Up for auction is this RARE Vintage 1965

Selmer Varitone Octamatic Saxophone Amplifier w/ Original Vinyl Cover

Amplifier is in MINT CONDITION “WOW”

Vinyl cover has a small 1″ tear in it.

Amp still works good.

It has a Electro-Voice SRO 12″ Speaker in it that is

worth $200.00 by itself.

It measures 12″ x 22″ x 33″

This amplifier was designed to be used with a

selmer sax that had a special pickup with a preamp

that is very rare too. This is a very sought after amp.

It is one of the best amps ever made for a saxophone.

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

If you would like to know more about Selmer Varitone saxophones, check out this article by Jason DuMars. He has written a very good essay about this historic milestone in saxophone development.

The auction for this Selmer Varitone amplifier runs until August 5. Bids are to start at $199.00. At the time of writing there were no bids yet on this vintage saxophone amp.

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.

Ah yes, it’s the week of interesting horns on eBay. Today’s offering is a late model, King Super 20 Silver Sonic tenor that is being offered on the world’s largest online auction site.

     Source: eBay.com

This is how the seller describes this classic, vintage sax:

H.N. White King Super 20 Silver Sonic Tenor Saxophone

Gold Leaf Engraving on Sterling Bell- See Film Of Horn!

——————————————————————————–

You are bidding on an H.N. White King Super 20 Sterling Bell Tenor Saxophone

[1265]…

This horn is a player’s dream. Thoroughly gone over by sax genius Al McLean, this instrument served as his main horn for The Chateauguay Tenors’ recent weekend concert engagement that is captured on film. McLean carefully inspected the instrument, changed pads as needed, and made sure it was playing to his high standards.

This is quite a rare Silver Sonic, featuring the desireable gold leaf bell engraving. The instrument is in cosmetically good condition, with normal aesthetic wear. Sound is magnificent, huge, open, dark and vibrant. Bid with confidence, this is a great sax

Please click below to see this horn at work in the hands of Al McLean.

I’m not sure what the #1265 in the brackets is meant to signify, because it isn’t a serial number for any King saxophones, and certainly not for this Silver Sonic. As far as I can see, the seller actually doesn’t provide even a partial serial number for this horn.

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

In this closeup shot of the engraving you can see that it is actually a post-H.N. White horn. This sax was made after the company was sold, and the plant was moved. According to SaxPics:

…the horns after 511xxx have “USA” engraved on the bell instead of “Eastlake, Ohio” (UMI headquarters is in Nogales, Arizona — about two miles from the Mexico/US border)…

Check out the gallery of Silver Sonics on SaxPics if you’d like to see photos of the different Series of Super 20 Silver Sonics, and the engraving differences that they had.

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

Notice that the octave key is also not underslung. Further from SaxPics:

… and the underslung octave key disappears in favor of the standard “over the top” style.

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

It appears that this Silver Sonic belongs to the Series VI model of Super 20 saxophones. I had a late model Super 20 as my first pro horn in my last year of high school. It just roared, and was a wonderful jazz and rock horn. These saxophones are quite underrated.  

This sax started off in an open auction format with a price of only $1.00. At the time of writing there were 9 bids on the this vintage Silver Sonic tenor, with the high bid being $787.00. The auction is set to end on July 25.

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.

When I saw this interesting photo of blues saxophonist Fred Tipton on Flickr, I was instantly drawn to the eyebrow key guards. It was either a Hohner President or a King Zephyr—or so I thought.

I then looked at the shape of the right pinkie keys, and was immediately confused. I knew it wasn’t a Hohner, so it must be a King. I just couldn’t remember seeing squared off keys like this on a King however. 

  Fred’s Fingers

     Photography by: wmshc_kiwi  Source: Flickr

After a quick visit to the h.n.white.com website, I soon realized that the eyebrow key guards that are so commonly associated with the Zephyr, were also found on the Voll-True II. This model, along with its replacement—the first generation of Zephyrs—had the squared off right pinkie keys.

     Source: h.n.white.com

     Source: h.n.white.com

So Fred’s King is indeed a very vintage sax. The Voll-True II tenors were first introduced circa 1933-34.

If on the other hand Fred’s sax is a Zephyr, it might have been made as early as 1936-37. That was when the Zephs were first introduced as the Voll-True II’s replacements.

A bit of further sleuthing on Flickr uncovered a photo of the whole horn. The neck guard is that of a Voll-True II.

Now here’s a question for you to ponder: Do you think that the pro model saxes—at least that’s what they’re being marketed as—that people buy today for around a thousand bucks, are going to be able to be used as gigging horns in 74 years?

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.