Bassic Sax

Proll-O-Tone Toy Sax

These interesting vintage toy saxophones are actually free reed toys. According to harmonica player, teacher, technician and historian Pat Missin, the Proll company from New Jersey used all plastic construction in the manufacturing of these toy instruments.

Here is what Missin writes about the history of plastic free reed instrument manufacturers, and about plastic reeds in general:

…Finn Haakon Magnus, was the godfather of plastic free reed instruments, designing several harmonicas, small reed organs, accordions and other instruments that utilised plastic reeds and probably held more patents for free reed related designs that any other individual. He became involved in the business during WWII, when brass was in short supply due to munitions making and German imports were restricted. He devised some innovative manufacturing methods that enabled the production of all plastic instruments with a minimum of individual parts, with reedplates and full sets of reeds being injection molded in one piece. Many of his designs were later made by Proll Toys after Magnus devoted himself to the design of sea fishing vessels!

Surprising, plastic reeds do not sound radically different to brass reeds, although they do not seem to hold their pitch quite so well and the manufacturing tolerances that could be achieved with 1950s plastics technology were not as exact as those possible with metals.

Source: patmissin.com

Source: Heart of Ohio Antique Center

I happened to come this interesting ad in the Google News Archives. It is from the October 28, 1971 edition of the Toledo Blade. Apparently you could get these Proll-O-Tone toy horns for under a buck.

Source: Toledo Blade, Google News Archive

Source: antiquesprof.com

The Proll-O-Tone No. 500 Saxophone above was advertised as like this:

Old Toy Saxophone in Original Box with Music and Extra Mouthpiece

Proll-O-Tone Saxophone No. 500 Proll Toys, Inc., 100 Verona Avenue, Newark 4, New Jersey

“Golden Musical Toys” with Easy Blowing Harmonica-Type Reeds

Another pair of Proll-O-Tone saxophones appeared on eBay in spring of 2010. The one with the original box—the red one—resembles the Czech-made Haro toy sax and the German-made Hohner Saxonette. Both of these European toys had 8 keys that required right handed operation.

Source: eBay.com

The seller of these vintage saxophone collectibles described them like this:

Two generations of Proll-O-Tone saxophones—They are in great shape for their ages. The red Proll-O-Tone No.8 saxophone has the original box and a small sheet of music.

Here is another view of a red No. 08.

Source: eBay.com

In the summer of 2010 another Proll-O-Tone appeared on eBay. This time it was No. 122. I’m starting to think that Proll Toys had as many model offerings as real saxophone manufacturers did!

Source: eBay.com

The seller advertised the little horn like this:

VINTAGE TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT SAXOPHONE PROLL TOYS

Vintage Toy Musical Saxophone – 4 Reeds, Proll Toys, Inc. Newark NJ, about 9” high, plastic, comes in original box which has some wear to it. Like new condition and in good working order.

Source: eBay.com

In the fall of 2010 another gold coloured, Proll-O-Tone saxophone appeared on eBay. Unfortunately there was no original box with it, so I can’t be sure that it is a No. 122, but it certainly looks like one. The pictures show remarkable detail.

Source: eBay.com

In the summer of 2011 another 4 button Proll-O-Tone saxophone showed up on eBay. This one too had no box with it, and the seller did not provide a model number. It strongly resembles the No. 122, and is also 9″ long. The seller says it is 5″ wide.

Source: mustang2388

Also in the summer of 2011, another colourful Proll-O-Tone saxophone appeared on eBay. According to the seller, this red, white, and blue, 8 key version, is approximately 14″ long.

Source: 99kayjay99

This rather patriotically-coloured toy sax, is roughly the same size as the orange one below—which also has 8 keys. I’m wondering if the No. 500 (gold coloured one in the box shown at the top of the page) was just issued in a wide variety of colours, and if so, if the model numbers were all the same. Unfortunately I have not yet stumbled across a vintage Proll-O-Tone catalogue in my online travels. If I ever do, perhaps this question will be answered.

Source: 99kayjay99

The fall of 2011 brought a few more of these vintage toy saxophones out of their hiding places. This orange Proll-O-Tone also did not have a model number stamped on it, and its original box is long gone. However, its condition appears to be very good. Like the red, white, and blue horn above, this little toy sax also very closely resembles the No. 500.

This 8-keyed, orange, Proll-O-Tone toy saxophone is approximately 13.5″ in length. The seller says that it still works.

Source: pinevalley41

This Proll-O-Tone toy saxophone is model S-3 according to the seller. Apparently it was his toy when he was growing up in the 50s. This 3-key, 2-colour toy horn is approximately 8.5 inches long.

Source: figgy11788

We know that Proll-O-Tone did not limit itself to making toy saxophones in only toy-like colours. As we saw in the gold coloured No. 500 and No. 122 above, some of these toy horns were coloured like the real horns they were small copies of.

The same is true of this silver, 8 key, Proll-O-Tone toy sax. Sadly, like the majority of these toys that appear for sale nowadays, the original box is long gone, so we don’t know what model No. it was given by the manufacturer.