King
Made by H.N. White.
Showing all 10 results
-
King Alto Saxophone Original Gold Plate Old Pads Beautiful Engraving 105999
$ 1,200 -
King Original Gold Plate Soprano Saxophone Beautiful Engraving 56362
$ 1,500This 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 SilverSonic Super 20 Tenor Saxophone Original Lacquer Fresh Overhaul! 418944
$ 6,000 -
King Silversonic Tenor Excellent Condition Original Lacquer Silver Neck + Bell + Treypack 448262
$ 5,650 -
King Soprano Saxophone Gold Plate Fresh Overhaul Amazing! 99847
$ 3,600Just freshly overhauled!! This got a full restoration, so it’s back to like new mechanical condition.
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!
-
King Super 20 Tenor 298061 Series 1a Full Pearls Original Lacquer (mostly gone) Recent Overhaul
$ 5,350This is a 1948 King Super 20 tenor saxophone with ‘full pearls’ on the side keys, G#, octave key, and palm keys, as well as on the rest of the key touches. The pearls, solid silver neck, double socket neck tenon, and fancier engraving mark this out as being the deluxe version of the Super 20 that sells for more and that is highly coveted by players for its beauty and unbeatable tone. This tenor is original lacquer, meaning that it hasn’t been refinished, but the original lacquer was chemically removed from the body tube, and still remains on the keys giving the horn a cool two tone look. It came to me from a pro player on consignment, and it plays well, like you might expect for a horn that had been recently restored. It was overhauled by Ivan Lukyanets in Encino, CA, who has a great reputation among pro players in the LA area. It feels nice and snappy under the fingers, and the black kangaroo skin pads are sealing well. They have flat, medium sized metal resonators that work well on a King and are similar to factory spec for this era.
This tenor is very clean condition mechanically. I don’t see any past dent work or any resolders or other past repairs at all. The original solid sterling silver neck is also in excellent condition, and has not been damaged or pulled down. It has the matching serial number, as you can see.
The main reason to get a King Super 20 tenor saxophone is the tone. These late 40’s Super 20 tenors are big and bold and projecting while still being medium dark and very saturated and punchy. If you put on a brighter mouthpiece, like the classic Berg Larsen / King Super 20 pairing, then you get a killing sort of dark/fat/bright/projecting sound that you can’t get on any other saxophone. It’s the reason why there is such a thriving community of King Super 20 players even 70 years after horns like this one were manufactured. It’s my favorite tenor as well, out of everything that I have played.
If you’re looking for a very good professional tenor to play and enjoy that won’t back down no matter what you throw at it, that will cut through a band with ease, even without amplification, and that has the beauty of the pearls, engraving, and silver neck, then by all means, get this one. I try to keep a good selection of King Super 20 tenors around, so check them out, and email me with any questions. If you want to pair it with a new case, I can get you a great deal on a BAM that will fit it well. Just for fun, here’s a clip of Charlie Ventura playing his ’48 King Super 20 tenor. And I suspect, but cannot prove, that Sonny Rollins played Saxophone Colossus on a Super 20 much like this!
Only one available!
-
King Super 20 Tenor Saxophone 1957 Near Mint Original Lacquer
$ 4,850Holy cow! This is the nicest example of a ’57 King Super 20 that I have had the pleasure of selling. It’s original pads now, which is super cool. Nobody has messed with it at all. Of course, it will need an overhaul (pads are 63 years old) to play its best. The tone of these horns is just to die for. Powerful, resonant, very loud when pushed (it goes to 11). The solid silver double socket neck gives you extra focus, and a dark core with lots of overtones. The horn overall is bright and projecting, but in a way that stays fat, like only American saxophones can. Ideal for either cutting through a band, or playing the most gorgeous ballads, this is one of my favorite saxophonse of all time.
This tenor has no damage, no dents or dings, and almost all its original lacquer. The solid silver neck even looks odd to King fanatics like me because it still has its original gold lacquer over the silver, which you hardly ever see. There’s some scratching on the back of the body tube from normal use, and a couple of tiny, nearly invisible dings I got removed from the bow, but you’d never notice anyway. It’s as nice as you will ever find. And priced to sell!
The best demo of a “Series III” Super 20 that I know of can be found here. It’s one of the only cases that I have found where I heard a demo and what I consider the essence of the tone of the horn itself is front and center on display (as opposed to the mouthpiece, the player, or a bunch of other distracting noise. Listen and enjoy! This is the same horn as in the demo, just made a year or two later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBoeWeRyy-o
-
King Super 20 Tenor Saxophone 1968 Original Lacquer 439538
$ 2,650 -
King Zephyr Tenor Saxophone Original Silver Plate Excellent Condition 202108
$ 1,950 -
Powell Silver Eagle SE10 Alto One of 18 Made – all options solid silver +Matt Stohrer Overhau
$ 12,000For your viewing pleasure, this is one of the 18 Powell Silver Eagle saxophones made. Powell conceived of an ambitious project to bring back an American-made saxophone of the highest quality. Inspired by the Super 20 SilverSonic, the Silver Eagle reproduces the bore while adding solid silver soldered tone holes and modern keywork. Powell sadly ended their project after making only 18 saxophones, despite high demand, due to the high cost of production. This horn plays like a good super 20 but a little more evenly, and has been completely overhauled by Matt Stohrer. This is the ultimate collectible among modern saxophones, and it is also a burning player. Asking price is just what these cost new, plus a little extra since it got a $1500 overhaul on top of that! It’s not even inflated for the collectibility value, which is probably not smart of me, but there it is. If you want to discuss all the details of this project, I can put you in touch with the people who built it. These were most definitely a new saxophone bore and neck design, inspired by the best King Super 20 SilverSonic altos, both according to them and according to the folks who bought the tooling and mandrels when the project ended. The keywork is modified from tooling bought from B&S, which accounts for the pinky table that sticks out farther than it would on something like a Yamaha.
There is most certainly only one available. This one has all the possible factory options, which only a subset of Powell Silver Eagles had – including the solid silver tone holes and even cryo treatment. Of the 18 saxophones built, I know at least a couple of them were brass bell, and some others lacked other of these features. This is one of the ones with everything, which makes it even more collectible. Includes the original accessories, case, and paperwork.
Just for fun, here’s Matt Stohrer’s repairman’s overview from when he overhauled it.