Soprano

Soprano saxophones for sale

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  • Buescher True Tone C Soprano Rare Original Gold Plate! Old Pads 86473

    $ 2,150
  • Sold Out

    Conn 4M Curved Soprano RARE Late Example 244750 Matt Stohrer Overhaul Exceptional!

    If you want the best, the most beautiful, the rarest, and the highest quality overhaul all in one soprano, then this is the one for you. You can get a ‘normal’ conn curved soprano for a lot less, but it will not be like this. This Conn curved soprano is for the connoisseur, the collector, and the discerning player.

    The general rule for buying these, in my view, is to get the latest curved soprano that you can find. I only know of a few individual instruments with later serial numbers than this. You could probably count the total number that were made after this one in the single digits. This is only the second one that I have seen in person, and it is by far the nicest one I have seen. Like every Conn curved soprano it had a couple of key guard feet resoldered, and that is it for past repairs. They look good, and are not at all glaring. The neck is particularly nice. The bell flare and body tube are undamaged.

    It just got a complete overhaul and gentle hand polish and cleaning done by Matt Stohrer, Conn enthusiast and my personal favorite repairman for Conn overhauls. Matt’s work needs no introduction, but you can find his website here, and his youtube channel here, complete with several Conn-specific repariman’s overview videos. I got the silver plate touched up in a couple of places where it was starting to show some wear, and I got the gold wash in the bell redone also, though there was still some gold in there to start with. The resonators are the nice, reusable, high-end TenorMadness set, flattened for an authentic look. They look great. An overhaul is a big job, and that’s now done, so this horn is back to factory fresh or better playing condition. Better, because Matt’s pad work feels better than the reso-pad job found on these originally. It’s tight, snappy, and positive under the fingers. Pad heights are just right, and all the little details that distinguish a really good overhaul from a mediocre one are present and correct on this horn.

    Playing wise, this soprano is a monster. It’s warm, round, broad, and room-filling, even at low volumes. When pushed, it is almost too loud. It wants to project over a band. The tone is completely different from modern sopranos. Much more warm and medium-dark, almost like a larger saxophone voice squeezed into the small soprano body. The intonation is quite good, and this works well with a wider range of mouthpieces than many sopranos. I used my Bilger Morgan, and it sounds great. But a modern Yanagisawa HR or even a vintage Buescher will all work, so there’s a good range. This is easily one of my favorite vintage sopranos that I have ever played. If you are looking for a new dimension to add to your playing, a curved soprano like this is interesting and stimulating. A whole fresh world to explore. It also looks great on stage, and catches eyes if you’re a full time performer.

    This beautiful instrument comes in its original case, also in good condition.

    Just for fun, here’s a clip Dave Koz playing his silver Conn curved soprano with postmodern jukebox. Also, be sure to check out Keenan McKenzie’s curved Conn soprano playing in a 30’s swing setting. So great, and tons of fun!

  • Conn New Wonder I ‘Chu Berry’ Soprano Saxophone 1924 Original Nickel Plate 139494

    $ 1,100
  • Sold Out

    Conn New Wonder II Curved Soprano 220xxx Late Example! Original Silver High F Fresh Overhaul!

    $ 4,250

    If you want the best, the most beautiful, the rarest, and the highest quality overhaul all in one soprano, then this is the one for you. You can get a ‘normal’ (older, not overhauled, more worn) Conn curved soprano for a lot less, but it will not be like this. This Conn curved soprano is for the connoisseur, the collector, and the discerning player.

    The general rule for buying these, in my view, is to get the latest curved soprano that you can find. This one is in just about the last batch of them made before the Great Depression brought an end to the ‘saxophone craze’ that let saxophone selection proliferate in the 1920’s.  Like every Conn curved soprano it had a couple of key guard feet resoldered, and that is it for past repairs. They look good, and are not at all glaring. The neck is particularly nice. The bell flare and body tube are undamaged.

    It just got a complete high-end overhaul and gentle hand polish and cleaning The resonators are the correct, medium-sided flat metal with rivet, for an authentic look. They look great. An overhaul is a big job, and that’s now done, so this horn is back to factory fresh or better playing condition. Better, the pad work feels better than the reso-pad job found on these originally. It’s tight, snappy, and positive under the fingers. Pad heights are just right, and all the little details that distinguish a really good overhaul from a mediocre one are present and correct on this horn.

    Playing wise, this soprano is a monster. It’s warm, round, broad, and room-filling, even at low volumes. When pushed, it is almost too loud. It wants to project over a band. The tone is completely different from modern sopranos. Much more warm and medium-dark, almost like a larger saxophone voice squeezed into the small soprano body. The intonation is quite good, and this works well with a wider range of mouthpieces than many sopranos. I used my Bilger Morgan, and it sounds great. But a modern Yanagisawa HR or even a vintage Buescher will all work, so there’s a good range. This is easily one of my favorite vintage sopranos that I have ever played. If you are looking for a new dimension to add to your playing, a curved soprano like this is interesting and stimulating. A whole fresh world to explore. It also looks great on stage, and catches eyes if you’re a full time performer.

    Just for fun, here’s a clip Dave Koz playing his silver Conn curved soprano with postmodern jukebox. Also, be sure to check out Keenan McKenzie’s curved Conn soprano playing in a 30’s swing setting. So great, and tons of fun!

  • Holton Soprano Saxophone Original Silver Plate Great Deal 17402

    $ 1,000

  • King Original Gold Plate Soprano Saxophone Beautiful Engraving 56362

    $ 1,500

    This is an original gold plated King soprano from about 1922.  The engraving is exquisite, as it usually is on gold plated King saxophones, and the horn itself is in very good physical condition.  Keyed to high Eb, it currently plays ok on old pads, and the tone is very warm and pleasant. As is typical with sopranos of this age, the intonation is pretty flexible, but given a good ear and voicing it is entirely possible to play in tune- just don’t expect this to do the job for you like a modern Yamaha or Yanagisawa!  The trade-off is, as it usually is in my experience, richness of tone for flexibility of intonation, although a large chamber soprano mouthpiece (like a vintage Buescher) will make the job a lot easier. I was playtesting this on a modern Yanagisawa piece though and enjoyed it quite a bit, without any notable intonational problems for me personally.  This is from a collection and has old pads. But just the gold plate is worth the entire price of the horn. It’s a super deal. You could easily find this priced double somewhere else. Includes the nice Buescher soprano mouthpiece in the photos!

    The original case for this instrument is in good condition and fits it very well. 

  • King Soprano Saxophone Gold Plate Fresh Overhaul Amazing! 99847

    $ 3,600

    Just freshly overhauled!! This got a full restoration, so it’s back to like new mechanical condition.This is the vintage soprano you should get!

    This amazing gold plated King soprano saxophone will blow the walls down. It is in excellent condition, with nearly all the original gold plate intact. It has just received a full overhaul and restoration, which is not a small job on a 90 year old instrument. It is now back in like-new playing condition and ready to make music for many many years to come.

    King sopranos are rare, and were only made in low pitch (regular concert pitch). They tune nicely, and have a big, warm, medium-focused tone that is less polite sounding than a Buescher, and really fills a room with ease. This example in gold plate and in such amazingly good condition is extremely rare. The great depression in 1929 spelled the end of most of the saxophone market, and marked the end of most makers building sopranos in any kind of quantities. So it’s not surprising that you don’t see a King soprano later than this serial. This is one of the very last ones made, and the latest serial I have seen. The later the better is my motto on vintage sopranos generally speaking, so getting a late one also in gold plate is really exceptional.

    Only one available!

  • Rampone and Cazzani GOLD Plated R1 Jazz Curved Soprano Saxophone Excellent Condition

    $ 3,850

  • Soprano Brilhart Reproduction 3-Band Ligature Hard Rubber Mouthpieces

    $ 165

    For Hard Rubber Soprano mouthpieces. This fits everything including vintage Buescher and Conn, Meyer, Selmer Soloist, Selmer S80, Yanagisawa, Vandoren, and virtually all of the boutique soprano mouthpieces.

    As an added bonus, this EchoMaster ligature also fits metal Dukoff alto mouthpieces like Dukoff Miami alto saxophone mouthpieces perfectly!

    There’s a reason why the vintage Brilhart 3-Band ligatures have been singled out by the market (players) as by far the most desirable vintage ligatures. They are great ligatures! But there will never be enough vintage Brilhart ligatures to meet the high demand for this style of ligature. And never before has there been a Soprano ligature available! (Brilhart only made alto and tenor.) This is an amazing ligature and also fits almost every soprano hard rubber mouthpiece ever made.

  • Sold Out

    Yamaha SILVER YSS-82ZRS Soprano Saxophone Near Mint Condition Stohrer Setup Excellent 3231

    Best modern soprano available: Lightest, most resonant, most in tune, most comfortable to play, best long term investment. It’s a modern classic. Yamaha YSS-82ZRS one piece, bent neck soprano in mint condition. This INCLUDES (for free) a whole-day (normally $350), crazy new horn setup by Matt Stohrer, who is one of the best saxophone repairmen around. Plus it’s priced $400 below the new price. That’s a superb deal. This is basically a reissue of the YSS-62RS soprano, and it sounds the same or better (being nearly brand new) once it’s all setup with the right key heights and spring tensions like this one is. This will be collectible someday, as they always have a 6 month wait to buy one on special order and are sold in small numbers.

    You can read about Matt’s full new horn setup on his website here (scroll to the bottom) http://www.stohrermusic.com/repair-services/

  • Yamaha YSS-62R Soprano Saxophone 3-Digit 631 Original Rare!

    $ 3,950

  • Yanagisawa SC-9930 Curved Soprano Saxophone with High G! Rare

    $ 4,150

    For those of you who love to have the best and rarest at the same time, here is my favorite vintage of curved soprano ever made, the Yanagisawa SC-991, but this is in the solid silver neck and body tube version, which is SC-9930, AND it is one of the rare ones that came with the high G key included. This is the first one like this that I have seen, and it’s cool in a nerdy kind of way to have such a rare and fabulous example. You can order a new SC-9930 for $6730, but your extra $$$ won’t get you the high G! Nor will it be the warmer, fuller-sounding version from the 90’s like this with the bell keys on the left. My personal soprano is one just like this but brass, and I think it sounds better than the right hand bell keys version at least by a little bit. I also like the more direct action that you get with the pinky keys on the left hand bell key configuration. We’re splitting hairs here, but hey, if you’re in the rarified territory of exceptional curved sopranos, then maybe that’s your thing too.

    Condition wise, this SC-9930 is in very good shape, with no significant past repairs or current problems at all. I have not spent any money on pad work yet, as I’m trying to keep the price as low as possible, and the horn plays fine on current pads. I would like to sell it a little higher and spend maybe $250 on a thorough setup, so you can have that as an optional extra if you want.

    Original case and mouthpiece are in good shape as well. There is most certainly only one of these available!