Source: eppelsheim.com used with permission

The Tubax is the saxophone that got Benedikt Eppelsheim recognized as an innovator in the field of woodwind instrument design. When the first Eb Tubax was premiered to the public in 1998, it turned the saxophone world on its ear. Suddenly there was a new type of saxophone out there: a saxophone that didn’t quite look like the rest. It looked a bit more like the sarrusophones of days gone by, than the tried and true saxophones that good old Adolphe designed. Or did it?

Diagram From Adolphe Sax Patent No. 3.226 From 1846

If one is to carefully look at Adolphe Sax’s original patent drawing, one would notice an instrument referred to as the Saxophone Bourdon (first on left). It is from this instrument, combined with Gautrot’s sarrusophone, that Benedikt Eppelsheim drew his inspiration when he designed his Tubax.¹

Benedikt Eppelsheim designed his Tubax as an alternate to the conventional Eb contrabass saxophone, in an effort to overcome some of the problems inherent in the original, and then-current production model contras. The original contras (the Evette Schaeffer horns), were, for manufacturing purposes, more or less cobbled together out of bass and baritone parts. For that reason, the tone holes were too small, because they utilized bass saxophone keys. According to Eppelsheim, the late 1990 era production model contras—made by Orsi—although specifically designed as such, had less than ideal bore dimensions. The resulting problems include an uneven scale, and difficulties with intonation.

Conventional contras are enormous beasts, that are ergonomically not very friendly. This automatically limits the number of potential players who might be able play the horn, as only bigger people with more lung capacity and larger hands can properly operate the contrabass saxophone. This reality gave Benedikt Eppelsheim the idea to look back at Adolphe Sax’s concept of the Saxophone Bourdon, and to Gautrot’s sarrusophone, and combine them together to come up with a new, modern alternative to the conventional contra.

The Tubax’s narrow body tube, which unlike conventional saxophones, is wrapped 4 times, required Eppelsheim to completely recalculate the instrument’s proportions and tone hole locations. The result is quite remarkable. The Tubax, without its peg and neck, is only 114 cm—44.9 inches—tall. Compare this to a baritone, which is is approximately 100 cm, or 39.4 inches in height. Those extra 5½ inches in height, will get you an instrument that plays exactly 1 octave lower.

Horn Specs:

• Pitched in key of Eb
• 1 octave lower than the baritone saxophone
• Conical bore design
• 3 automatic octave keys
• Height: 114 cm/44.9 in
• Weight: 10 kg/22 lbs
• Range: Bb to F#, but with the additional altissimo register key, the range is extended to D4
• Finish Options: Lacquer, Silver plate, Gold plate
• Mouthpiece: Uses standard baritone sax mouthpieces

  Source: eppelsheim.com  Used with permission

_________________________________________________________________________

¹ Source: Much of the  information for this page is from Uwe Ladwig, in der deutschen Fachzeitschrift—German music journal—SONIC sax & brass.

Source: eppelsheim.com Used with permission

There is a small shop in Germany that specializes in creating playable works of art. Benedikt Eppelsheim Blasinstrumente—Wind Instruments—started operations in 1998.

Benedikt Eppelsheim is a very quiet and humble man. A man who would rather work away in relative obscurity and let his instruments speak for themselves, than seek out the kind of attention that other manufacturers of saxophones crave.

For some manufacturers, this low-key approach to marketing wouldn’t work. However, when you design instruments as unusual and striking, and of such a high quality as Eppelsheim’s are, low key works just fine. As a matter of fact, the low-key approach probably works in Eppelsheim’s favour, since he will unlikely ever be accused of overexposure.

This section of my site is dedicated to the extremely fine saxophones designed and built by Benedikt Eppelsheim Wind Instruments of Munich, Germany. These modern, German, boutique saxophones are examples of what can be accomplished when you have a unique vision, and the ability to turn that vision into incredibly unique horns.

Eb Tubax

Source: hsif  on eBay.com

It is obvious this instrument has not had an incident-free life. It is missing a couple of its keys, and the former owner just covered the open tone holes with scotch tape. Also, it appears that the bell lip had a run-in with a door frame, counter, floor, or other hard object. Its rather tarnished surface speaks to the type of environment this instrument was exposed to or kept in.

This particular blow accordion is a 10 key model, with 2 bass/chord keys. The seller stated that it was 14 1/2″ long x 6″ wide.

  Source: hsif  on eBay.com

Source: Stevens House of Plenty

This rather interesting blow accordion is yet another one from Czechoslovakia. However, unlike the Czech-made Haro and this tin sax, the above-pictured wooden, Saxello-shaped instrument only has 3 keys, rather than 8 or 10.

Source: Stevens House of Plenty

Sadly this particular example appears to be missing a piece—most likely its bell. I wonder what it looked like?

According to the seller, the instrument is 9½” (24 cm) tall.

Source: Stevens House of Plenty

Source: nyleos

This is how the seller described this interesting piece of vintage, saxophone-shaped plastic:

Halloween hard plastic Saxophone Horn.

Made by Spec. Toy Products, U.S.A. stamped on inside.

Saxophone is in working order!

Size: 3 1/2″ x 1 3/4″.

Condition is excellent! Vintage  1950′s …

Orange & Black hard plastic. Nice scroll work, see photo.

Bright and shinny. A great addition to any collection.

Source: nyleos

This toy is much bigger, has a totally different form, as well as a completely different type of mouthpiece.

Source: justboxit

The seller described this toy like this:

Up for auction is a Vintage Halloween NOISE MAKER toy HORN

This old piece is very cool, it is made by the A SPEC TOY Product Made In USA

This is orange and black plastic.

It makes a beautiful sound when blowing through it, like a harmonica. The part that is blown through looks to be metal, like maybe a thin brass or something that has a yellow color, could be a brass colored tin, (we tried to capture it in a photo below)

This measures about 6 inches

It has a lot of detail as you can see in the photos

In the black part, you can see the ornate design.

Vintage Halloween HORN noise maker SAX A Spec Product toy tin 50’s instrument

Source: justboxit

 Source: TOY SCOUT 588017

This interesting green kazoo appeared on eBay in the winter of 2011/12. Although it was being advertised as unused old store stock, the seller also stated that it made no sounds. That might explain why it hadn’t been sold before, and why it is so scratched up.

The toy is 25 cm (approx 9.8 inches) long. If the colour in the photos is accurate, then it would certainly pop in a display cabinet.

An interesting fun fact about this saxophone-shaped toy, is that it was made in Argentina.

 Source: TOY SCOUT 588017

Oscar Adler Tenor, unknown model, serial # 8884  Source: eBay.de

Company History: Where It All Started

Franz Oscar Adler was a third-generation musical craftsman. Born in Hermsgrün in 1862, both his father and his grandfather were musical-instrument makers.

Oscar Adler & Co. was founded by Franz in 1885, in the building that his father built in Markneukirchen at Klingenthaler Straße 20.¹ Despite this combination residence/business headquarters still being home to the family’s musical instrument manufacturing business, Franz ran his Oscar Adler & Co. out of there for approximately 10 years. In circa 1895, the company relocated to Bergstraße 14 in Markneukirchen.²

At the turn of 20th century, Oscar Adler employed over 50 people in their plant. They were busy making clarinets, flutes, bassoons, oboes, and English horns. Beginning in 1901, they also made saxophones.

Tenor serial# 8472 Source: eBay.de

In 1901, Oscar Adler was recognized to have built the first saxophone in the German-speaking region. The instrument that Adler used as a model, was a 1889 Bb tenor saxophone built by Gautrot-Marquet. The instrument had been acquired by the museum of design in Markneukirchen, especially for that purpose.

Oscar Adler—who had help from both Julius and Max Keilwerth, among others—was the leader for all things sax for more than 20 years. It wasn’t until Julius Keilwerth started manufacturing saxophones under his own name, and Kohlert became noteworthy, that Adler lost their top-dog status.

From the beginning of the saxophone production until WWI, Oscar Adler exported the majority of their saxophones to the United States. It was also during that time that Franz Oscar Adler was removed from his own company due to financial reasons. Apparently Franz took more money out the company than he was entitled to.

From 1909 onwards, the Oscar Adler company was run solely by the Jordan family. Adler’s brother-in-law, Hermann Fürchtegott Jordan, had been in an equal partner in the business since 1896, and had already contributed substantially to the financing of the company’s expansions and so forth.

Post World War I

After WWI, the Oscar Adler company began to build some very interesting instruments. Besides making their regular clarinets in wood, metal, and hard rubber, with Albert, Boehm, or German fingering systems, they also made Sonora model clarinets with covered tone holes. These Sonora clarinets were available in German, Boehm, and saxophone fingering systems.

In addition to making saxophone-keyed clarinets, they also made a saxophone-oboe. This sax-oboe was available in either grenadilla or ebony. This allowed saxophone players to double very easily on a double reed, without having to learn a new fingering system. For those players who had troubles with a double reed, a mouthpiece that used a single reed was available.

Saxophone players who had special requests for key locations were also taken into consideration by Oscar Adler. This potentially opened up the buying pool to include more WWI veterans with finger injuries.

An Oscar Adler brochure explained that when ordering the Eterna, Sonora, and Triumph models, the buyer needed to specify if they wanted the duplicate Eb to be for the right ring or middle finger. If it was ordered for the middle finger, then the duplicate low Bb, B, and C# keys—which were operated by the middle finger of the right hand—were left off the horn.

The same paragraph goes on to describe that on the Gloria, Eterna, Sonora, and Triumph models, the buyer needed to specify if they wanted to have the bells keys located on the right side, or if they wished to have split bell keys on the sax. Sadly, there is no date of publication given for the brochure.

Oscar Adler Models: There Was A Lot Them

Oscar Adler offered 11 different models of saxophones, in all the usual finishes. From the cheapest model Ocu—which is often misspelled as Ocru in the literature—to the top of the line Triumph, their offerings ran the full range of the saxophone family from the soprano to the contrabass. In 2006, Uwe Ladwig found out that Adler also had a sopranino in the works (see chart for dates). This information came from the former Manager of Gebrüder Mönnig Oscar Adler & Co Holzblasinstrumentenbau GmbH, Mr. Veit Schindler. This company has in its possession all the original saxophones of the Oscar Adler company. The original horns in their collection range from the prototype of sopraninos, through to bass saxophones.

The following is a chart which outlines the models and features of Oscar Adler saxophones. This chart was compiled by Uwe using a number of vintage catalogues, as well as other resources.

Bell engraving on a Gloria model tenor  Source: allinwrist on eBay.com

The Gloria and Symphonie models were identical, had almost the same features, and even had the same model numbers. The Symphonie however, was under certain circumstances only available for export. Presumably the same was true of the Odeum, Orfeon, and Electra models, which were illustrated in an English/Spanish brochure from 1929. There is no direct reference to these model numbers in German Oscar Adler catalogues.

Bell engraving on an Eterna model alto  Source: eBay.com

The Eterna was the only model to offer a complete range of 11 saxophones: from Eb sopranino to Eb contrabass. And while their Graslitz-based competitor, J. Keilwerth, never made any C-pitched horns, Oscar Adler did. They even included 9 different models of C bass saxophones for players to choose from.

The Takeover By The State: VEB Shuts Down Saxophone Production

As happened to other East German musical instrument companies, Oscar Adler was taken over by the State-run VEB Blechblas- und Signal-Instrumenten-Fabrik in 1959. At first VEB was a general partner, but eventually became a limited partner and controlled what the company could and could not build. Shortly thereafter, Oscar Adler was no longer allowed to build saxophones, only oboes and bassoons. Finally in 1974, Adler became entirely a VEB B&S affiliate.

The 1928 model name Sonora, was used by VEB as a model as of 1972, and as of 1974, it was affiliated with VEB B&S.

Post Unified Germany: The Company Is Reprivatized, But Sax Production Doesn’t Resume

After Germany’s reunification, Oscar Adler and Gebr. Mönnig were reprivatized, and now operate under the name Gebr. Mönnig Oscar Adler & Co. Holzblasinstrumentenbau GmbH. The company no longer makes saxophones, but sells oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and contrabassoons under the name Oscar Adler, and Oboe d’amore, English horns, and bassoons under the name Gebrüder Mönnig.

To see more Oscar Adler saxophones, check out the Oscar Adler gallery in Bassic Sax Pix.

_______________________________________________________________________

¹ Source: meinert-holzblasinstrumente.de

² Source: Ibid

Note: The the exception of the 2 footnotes above, the source of information for this page is from Uwe Ladwig, in der deutschen Fachzeitschrift—German music journal—SONIC sax & brass.

I would like to thank Uwe for so generously allowing me to use his research, and very much appreciate the trust he has shown by allowing me to do my own translation.

Source: Cutting Edge Couture

Well this certainly isn’t your grandfather’s kazoo. In 2003 a man by the name of John Jameson pitched the idea of a software-driven kazoo to Sharper Image. This toy would have the ability to convert a child’s hum into digitally rendered versions of saxophone, clarinet, or tuba sounds. Sharper Image liked the idea, and the redesigned Saxxy—as it would be renamed—was launched for the 2003 Christmas season. The price? $50.00 through 140 Sharper Image stores.¹

In what appears to be the original Patent application by Saxxy’s inventor, John Jameson, there is the following description of this synthesizer kazoo:

Note that in the abstract, the instrument is called a Vocolo. After Sharper Image owned the rights to the product, they used the same word in their ad copy.

Here is how the Saxxy was described in some of Sharper Image’s original ad copy:

Saxxy™ is the fun new kazoo — a sophisticated electronic musical instrument that makes it easy for anyone to play a horn! All you do is hum into the mouthpiece and patented Vocolo™ [emphasis added] technology responds with accurately synthesized digital sounds of a saxophone, a tuba or a clarinet. Just press a button to pick your horn . . .

With the graceful Saxxy in your hands, you’ll enjoy the satisfying feel of playing an actual instrument — intimately controlling the pitch and volume of notes with fine nuances of voice or humming . . . Select one of three lively synthesized backbeats.

. . . Generate sounds of bebop or big band, marching or Motown, swing or salsa, and more! . . .

Source: createdigitalmusic.com

As noted above, besides a change in the name from Vocolo to Saxxy, this 21st century kazoo also got redesigned. This is how it was envisioned by its inventor, and depicted in the original Patent application:

Source: google.com/patents

The actual Saxxy kazoo that made it to market looked more like a saxophone than the diagram above does. (Hey, a Saxello does qualify as a sax, even if it is soprano.)    Also, note the difference in mouthpieces.

According to the seller, who sold the following Saxxy on eBay, it is 13″ long, with a 3″ diameter speaker.

Source: candohopeful

The control buttons on the Saxxy were redesigned as well from the Patented Vocolo.

Source: candohopeful

Parents would have been very appreciative of the earphone jack.

Source: candohopeful

So what does it sound like you ask? Well thanks to YouTube, you can find out if you want to track down one of these Saxxy instruments for your very own. Take it away Captain Kazoo….

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW_L1fg19TA

I wonder if he had had the mouthpiece, if it would have sounded any better?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

¹ Source: CNN Money article, Why Sharper Image Is Playing The Hits Again  The company got back its cool--and its healthy stock price--by making more down-to-earth products with spectacular profit margins, by Jonathan Thaw.

Source: J’Élle Stainer Used With Permission

However, unlike Adolphe Sax’s bass sax, which looked quite primitive in comparison, this entry-level bass sax has a number of refinements which make it a good alternative for players considering their first bass.

The features of J’Elle Stainer’s Vintage Bass include:

• The range from low B to high Eb. Although the option of ordering it keyed to high F# is available—as is the option of having it keyed to low A. 
• Double bell to body support bracing, with multiple fastening points on each brace. (See photo above as well as below.)

Source: J’Élle Stainer Used With Permission

• A triple strap ring.

Source: J’Élle Stainer Used With Permission

• A more side-positioned, right thumb rest, which should make it more ergonomically friendly.
• A secondary strap ring—presumably for a harness—just above the bow to body connecting ring.

Source: J’Élle Stainer Used With Permission

• Despite its simple keywork, it is strongly built, and has a great sound.
• A height of 51″ (129.5 cm).

Source: J’Élle Stainer Used With Permission

With the bass saxophone currently enjoying a renaissance of sorts, there are currently more players than ever looking for these great instruments. Unfortunately vintage bass saxophones are hard to find, and many (most) are not in the best of condition. Ergonomically they can be rather challenging as well.

The new, American designed, but Asian-made bass saxophones, are a hit and miss situation. Some have received great reviews. Others not so much. 

This J’Elle Stainer Vintage bass is another option for the player looking for this level of instrument: A “band” instrument in the words of J’Elle Stainer’s Gilberto Lopes. A horn that sounds great, is sturdy, but doesn’t have all the bells and whistles you would find on the higher-end instruments.

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Source: renew4760

The eBay seller described this blow accordion like this:

This toy sax is approximately 20″ long. It has a wooden mouthpiece. Several of the keys are broken. The bell ring is loose, but I believe that that is the way it was made. The bell is embossed with Made in Japan, YEDO and has the letter D in the design.

  Source: renew4760

As illustrated in the photos, this Yedo was originally built with 10 keys, as well as 2 bass/chord buttons. Its bell engraving is nearly identical to that of the Haro. However, while the Haro has the letter “R” in the circle in the bell engraving, the Yedo has the letter “D”. The Yedo is also a 2″ longer than the Haro. The Haro is 18″ long, while the Yedo is 20″ in length. The wooden mouthpiece and gold paint colour look pretty much the same on both instruments.

Although I cannot say with 100% certainty which came first, I would hazard a guess that the Yedo is a copy of the Haro. In the early half of the 20th century Japan was well known for copying almost everything European. Why should blow accordions be exempt from this?

Source: game and watch shop

This little toy sax is made of an early plastic called Duperite. The seller believed this toy was circa 1950s. Apparently this little toy still makes noise when blown, and only has a few scratches.

It caught my eye, because it is the first clear, coloured, vintage, plastic saxophone-shaped toy that I’ve seen.

Source: game and watch shop

Source: Antique-Advertising-Novelty-Tins

This little saxophone-shaped toy is very old, and most likely would lower the IQ of any child who licked the paint… Although why all those children who played with lead-based, paint covered toys ever grew up to be adults with any intelligence is beyond me, and certainly beyond the scope of my website… But I digress…

According to the seller, this toy was made in Britain, and is 192mm long—that’s 7.5 inches for those of us who are still working with the Imperial system of measurements. Unfortunately the little toy no longer works (it looks like the mouthpiece is missing), and it has some overall wear.

Nonetheless, this little toy horn is an interesting pictorial representation of yet another saxophone-shaped toy that was manufactured in Europe.

Almost a year to the day of my buying this Hohner President, I happened across a Julius Keilwerth-stencilled Jubilee. It, like the President, was a local horn advertised in Vancouver’s Craigslist, and it too was a 1-owner horn. Could luck be with me again? Yes, as a matter of fact, it could.

It has been said that the Toneking Series III was JK’s most stencilled saxophone. I can believe it, based on the number of different names I see on the bells of these horns on eBay and the likes.

However, many of the saxes that are for sale, look like they’ve been through the war. Not this sax. This horn was someone’s baby. 

Sadly the original Lucite angel wing did break at some point, but the owner made a replacement out of Plexiglas. This replacement piece is stronger and sturdier than the original ever was, and according to tech Matt Stohrer, is also the best looking replacement he’s ever seen photos of. Despite this, my plan is to order a metal guard soon. There are a couple of different sources for replacement guards. Besides the European source that I know of, I’ve recently been told that there is also a North American supplier of metal replacement wings.

The previous owner did make some primitive mods on the horn that I undid immediately upon play-testing. Then there were also some other mods that I am going to get my tech to undo when he restores the sax. The left thumb rest will be restored back to its original location, and the leather strap will be removed. The strap hook sewn into the strap ring will also be removed. And yes, I will be getting a cork on the neck. Plumbers’ tape works well in a pinch, but in the longterm is a pain in the ass.

The sax is currently at my tech’s shop getting its restoration. David really likes my horns, because I don’t always bring him the same old, same old. This tenor is another example of my bringing him something that he doesn’t get to see everyday.

These are the “before” photos. Once I get it back from David, I will post some “after” photos of the relevant areas of the sax. Also, once I get the metal key guard, I will post photos of that as well.

Horn Specs

• Made by J. Keilwerth
• Stencil of the Toneking Series III
• Has a high F# key
• Serial #: 29XXX
• Finish: Lacquer
• The “angel wing” key guard was replaced by the original owner.
• This was a 1 owner horn, which was bought in 1958.

It is worth noting that where JK put their high F# key, is where other German horn manufacturers put their high D/D# triller. This can lead to confusion if you are not familiar with JKs. (I was very confused when I first played this horn.)