HN White "Cleveland" tenor sax

I really like these old Cleveland horns.  I've had a few through here but this is the first tenor and its just a great horn.  This one is from the 50's and its in darn good shape!  Most of the lacquer is there, hardly any dents,  the keywork is smooth and the pads are older but it plays great up and down.  These horns are a great value.  This would be King's answer to the Martin Indiana or Conn Pan American, "student" horns that were really very similar in body construction to the pro models of each company.   Of course these "student" horns of yesteryear blow alot of modern horns out of the water!  I'm thinking whoever ends up buying this horn is gonna be happy for a long long time.

Yes, a Selmer Bundy alto!

Well its kinda funny to follow up a posting about a legendary Conn 10M tenor with a post about a.......Selmer Bundy alto!  But wait,  it is a little more exciting than you think.
Most folks know the Bundy name,  it has been used on student instruments for many years and about the most common horn to find on craigslist or the local flea market.

The thing is,  the older pre-"Bundy II" horns were actually based on older Buescher designs and for all intents and purposes were simplified Aristocrats! 
The horn in this pic is probably 1975-80,  towards the end of the run, but still is very much a good, solid,  decent sounding alto saxophone.

So at some point they changed everything and the "Bundy II" came out........these are just as common, or maybe even more common...............they're just not as good.  Honestly I don't think they're bad but they just don't stack up to the previous horns that were made for years and years.

My point is,  if you want a more than decent sax to learn on,  or even use as a backup,  look for one of the older Bundy's,  make sure it does NOT say Bundy II,  they usually say Selmer Bundy or H&A Selmer Bundy.........and they'll always have really cool looking wire keyguards for the low B/Bb!

Conn 10M

Well here's a first one for me,  a Conn 10M tenor saxophone.

I've know about these for years but never picked one up due to the high prices.  They're well known for they're sound and comfortable, fast action.  They were also made for a long period of time, from the 30's all the way up through the 60's at least.

The one in the pic is towards the later end of the timeline,  it was still an Elkhart made instrument and was likely made in 1965.
These later 10M's are not as valuable as the older "naked lady" horns but most people say they play very similarly.  
Besides not having an engraving of a woman in various scenes these models also do NOT have rolled tone holes and also sport the underslung, double socket neck.

This one was in decent shape.  The original lacquer was mostly intact,  it had some dings here and there but nothing major,  the pads were older with plain rivets but it did play up and down. 
And the sound........huge!  You can really understand why people love these horns,  between the sound and the extreme comfort of the keyboard,  they're really something else!

Orsi alto saxophone, another Italian horn!

Well here's another nice old horn leaving the workbench and being offered up for sale to the world.

This one is made by an Italian company, Orsi.

I have no idea what model this is,  or really how old it is as there isn't much info out there on these. My guess would be it was made in the 60's and was designed as a student/intermediate horn.

Its well built!  Perhaps the keywork is a little heavy,  some would call this sturdy others would say sturdy!  The tone is nice,  I really like the way this one sounds.

By the way I'm thinking the bore of this instrument is slightly narrower than many other altos.....I always check the neck/socket for leaking and in this case my neck checking tool wouldn't fit in the body of the horn!  This is the first time this has happened.  

I think someone will happy to have this horn,  it plays sweetly, nice and dark,  and has a nice engraving to boot!

Conn New Wonder II alto sax, in for repair!

Wow these old Conn's are cool!  

This is what is known as the New Wonder Series II alto.   

A customer brought this horn in for repair,  a play test showed that it was basically playable but stuffy and hard to hit the low notes.   The pads looked okay but the neck was loose and obviously leaking. 

I was able to get this horn going pretty well by re-fitting the leaking neck (expanding the neck tenon), then a full adjustment/regulation of the instrument which included re floating/seating some of the pads.

The hallmark of these horns is their sound!   Its absolutely huge!  This horn really sings and is easily one of the better horns through the shop in recent history.

Note in the photo the mouthpiece that was in the case,  an old Otto Link 4 start model,  which is really cool!   We found that it played ok with the horn but in the end it was decided the horn really played & sounded best with an old large chambered hard rubber mouthpiece.  

Hope to see more of these!  I have a few Conns here to overhaul but no New Wonders.  I'll have to be looking out for one to buy!

Guy Humphrey Paris Bb clarinet

This isn't the first Guy Humphrey I've seen.  Last year I worked on a Guy Humphrey alto clarinet and I remember it being quite nice. 

I really don't know who made these,  folks seem to say Guy Humphrey is a trade name but I can't really say this seems like a Malerne product,  although it could be from another French firm.

The instrument is  nice!  The wood is crack free, the keywork is well made and feels good under the fingers.   The key plating is quite worn,  its showing alot of patina!  

The bore is on the narrow side,  approx 14.65mm.  This clarinet didn't come with a mouthpiece and I had to go through my whole box to find one that worked well.  I always try to match the exit bore of the mouthpiece to the entrance bore of the barrel, which is common practice.  

This clarinet plays well.  Its unbelievable how cheaply one can get these sorts of clarinets for!

Of course one has to consider condition.  I won't reveal how little I got this clarinet for,  but it was very little.    It needed almost everything.  I think I kept one tenon cork and maybe a few key corks but otherwise it took pretty much everything a clarinet could need including swedging and pivot countersinking.  As usual I re padded with Ferrees tan leather pads which are my go to pad for clarinets.   

I just played this instrument in rehearsal today and I'm happy to have it back among the living again!

Carl Fischer alto.........Malerne!

So this little beauty came in to the shop this week, its marked Carl Fischer but is a stencil by Malerne of France.

These are nice horns!  This one has really nice looking lacquer,  a sharp engraving,  and is well built. I personally wouldn't say these are up to the build quality of a Beaugnier,  but,  they certainly sound good and can be had cheap!

You'll  notice in the pic the neck has some pull down happening.  I do fix this sort of thing but I take it on a case by case basis.  In this case the neck fit in the socket was perfect and the instrument plays fantastic as-is.  The angle of the neck is also still comfortable so I decided to leave it as is,  I really like to be able to offer super affordable, playable, vintage instruments to folks.   In this case fixing the neck wouldn't have made the horn play better but would have taken some time,  then I would be inclined to charge more.  Heck,  I'm busy these days!

Anyway I'm pleased with these old French altos,  this one will make someone very happy.