Lacquer

Showing all 36 results

  • Sold Out

    Buescher Big B Alto Saxophone Original Lacquer Good Condition 324407

    $ 1,650

    This is a 1949 Buescher “Big B” Aristocrat, so named for the ornate engraving of a, well, a Big B on the bell.  This horn is in very good condition, and the typical wear around the fine engraving of the B on the bell is not present, which indicates that this horn has led a life mostly in a closet somewhere.  There are no resolders or past dentwork to speak of, and it plays *way* better than it should on some very old pads, but you would want to get this repadded to play like it can, which is very, very good!  

    These horns are undervalued in my opinion.  I mean, you can get this one in such great shape with all of its original Snap-on resonators and overhaul it for not a whole lot more than a Yamaha student model in total- seems like a good buy to me! They combine excellent intonation, comfortable keywork, top notch build quality, and beautiful lacquer and engraving with a warm, centered tone.  Johnny Hodges famously played one of these, and his tone is a very good example of the blend of sweetness and power these horns possess.

  • Buffet Super Dynaction Alto Saxophone Original Lacquer 17435

    $ 2,350

    Buffet Super Dynaction Alto saxophone in original ‘sparkle’ lacquer. This horn is in on consignment, and has good pads, and plays well, with a big, operatic sort of voice. It’s centered like a Selmer from the 50’s, and medium dark, but wider and very open throated. Intonation is good. Keywork is Selmer-like and comfortable. Sometimes these get called a ‘poor man’s Mark VI’ but I’d prefer to think of them as a high-quality, professional mid-century French saxophone in their own right. But I guess, when you figure a new student Yamaha is over $2k, then this becomes a pretty good deal with good pads at this price for a pro vintage alto that is comparable to a Selmer. It has had some small dents removed in the bell area and back of the bow, but that’s just par for the course with a vintage sax, and the work was done well. It’s otherwise in quite good shape. It comes in the the delightful original Lifton case with blue interior. Someone should make a case like this again.

    Only one available!

  • Conn 10M Tenor Pre-War 300326 1941 Original Lacquer Matt Stohrer Overhauled!

    $ 6,500

    This beautiful Conn 10M tenor is one of the nicer original lacquer pre-war examples that you will see! And it just got Matt Stohrer’s excellent overhual done on it. Add that to the fact that Conns like this are among the best playing tenors ever made, and you’ve got a horn that really checks all the boxes. Beautiful condition, original lacquer, best vintage, best overhaul, best model and brand of horn. These Conns are just so fun to play. The tone is so hard to beat (Go listen to Dexter in his Conn period and see what I mean.) The keywork is also quite comfortable (though not modern). Once you get used to it, you can play as fast on a Conn as on anything. The intonation is frankly great! Better than a lot of modern horns.

    But the tone is the reason to play a Conn like this. This one is just effortless to play. It has a beautifully saturated low Bb even at ppp volume. It just whispers and fills the room at the same time! And if you push it, it really goes noticeably louder than other tenors without backing down. The overhaul is part of the cost of this horn. For what you get, it’s a great deal. Matt is about two years backed up with pros wanting their horns overhauled, so his overhauls can be hard to come by, and his work is worth paying for I think! You also get the BAM Softpack which fits this horn well. The newer Softpacks don’t fit a 10M as well, but this one does.

    Only one available!

  • Sold Out

    Conn 6M VIII Alto Original Lacquer Original Pads Fresh Full Overhaul! 275649

    $ 3,450

  • Conn 6M VIII Alto Saxophone Recent Overhaul Original Lacquer 304940

    $ 3,450

  • Conn Connstellation Alto Saxophone 28M Very Good Condition Original Lacquer 335771

    $ 2,250

    You could be forgiven for thinking that because there are two original lacquer, very good condition Conn 28M “Connstellation” saxophones on my website at the moment that these are somewhat common, but I assure you that is not the case!   I will copy and paste the general statements about the 28M from the other description, with the unique description of this particular instrument’s physical and playing condition at the bottom.

    The Conn 28M will always have a special place in my heart.  It represents the last time one of the great American saxophone manufacturing companies tried something wholly new, and although the horn never really found a market and not many were made, they are fantastic instruments that besides being unique and historically interesting, play *really* well.  

    These saxophones were redesigned, utilizing many ideas from Allen Loomis (Conn’s resident saxophone visionary) and Hugh Loney, with input from Santy Runyon, with the aim of creating a saxophone that had extremely slick keywork and a very balanced scale.  The keywork, although familiar under the fingers with regard to placement and layout, is mechanically quite different from any other saxophone and has been built from the ground up with the goal of reducing mechanical friction. There are no pivot screws anywhere on this saxophone, instead the long rods have a very long hinge rod with the middle machined down so only the ends touch.   The G# has a very unique torsion mechanism to provide a G# feel that is smooth throughout the range. The side keys are designed so that the angle and distance of travel is the same for each key. There are adjustment screws on the upper and lower stacks as well as the left hand pinky table. The bell keys are on the left side, and the pantsguard/bell keyguard is a large acrylic plate that was designed with the idea in mind of allowing the horn to vent properly regardless of playing position or clothing choice.  The octave mechanism has three pips (octave vents), one on the neck and two on the body, which has the end result of a very clear middle D and no hiss on the A or G#, as well as excellent intonation. The keywork in general is very light, and the pearls are larger than usual for Conn and a little flatter. The overall feeling is of a very light horn, extremely slick, easy to play, excellent intonation, and very even throughout.

    The one downfall of this design is the pantsguard, which is fairly brittle and often broken.  Although nowadays there are excellent replacements available, this one has its original guard in decent condition.  There is one repaired crack (visible in the photos) and the common small cracks radiating from some of the screw holes.  I would anticipate, absent any further damage, that this keyguard will last and should not present any problems- although I will furnish you with contact information for obtaining a well made (and somewhat more durable) replacement should you ever need it.  And believe it or not, I have experience shipping these so you can rest easy knowing I will remove it for shipping, wrap it separately, and it will arrive to you in good condition.

    This instrument plays quite decently on what appears to be an older repad with plastic domed resonators, with a strong, moderately bright, cheerful voice.  The clarity of the tone is notable, and it is a lot of fun to play with a unique look and feel and timbre that would lend itself easily to classical, big band, or small group jazz.  The lacquer is original and in good condition with some playing wear and a few stand scratches near the low C#, with no evidence of past repairs or dents or resolders of any kind. It is also a unique and interesting piece of saxophone history, in very good condition, and whoever owns this instrument next will have a lot of fun being its steward for the next generation.  

  • Sold Out

    Conn Early 6M Alto Saxophone 250425

    This is about the 150th Conn 6M made. (The first is #250243, and they made other voices in between that one and 250425.) If you know this site, you’ll know that I especially like these early 6Ms. They play wider and wilder than the also-great-later 6M’s, but they still have the super slick keywork that makes 6M’s great. So it’s kind of a sweet spot if you want great keywork and a big sound. This one needs an overhaul, and it has a few dings, but it’s going to be a superb alto with a little care put into it. Or talk to me about getting it including a fresh overhaul, which I can have done to my picky standards in a couple of weeks’ time.

  • Ishimori Wood Stone New Vintage Alto Saxophone Brand New WSA-VL with F# Dark Lacquer

    $ 4,500

    If you want one, we can order you one.

    This is the highly sought-after Ishimori Wood Stone ‘New Vintage’ alto saxophone available. The model is WSA-VL with high F#. It has dark, cognac colored lacquer and beautiful hand engraving, the among the most elaborate of any modern saxophone. Effortless player. Hard to emphasize how effortless. Completely effortless low register, low Bb pops out like any other note. Altissimo is easy. Tuning is great. The tone is sort of Selmer-ish but punchier like a King Super 20. But it’s not either of those. It’s its own thing – the New Vintage alto.  Easy to play delicately and softly with plenty of saturation and projection. Action is low, fast, and snappy. Great for jazz, concert, ballads– really anything. I’m impressed! Here’s our first demo video:

  • Ishimori Wood Stone New Vintage Tenor VL with F# NEW Dark Lacquer Tenor Saxophone

    $ 4,500

    Inventory Update: As of October 14, 2021 I have ONE of these tenors left in stock, and it plays great! It’s been checked out and plays beatifully. Once that’s gone, it’s around 2 months to get more, so contact me to reserve yours asap if you want it by Christmas.

    See below for some sound samples and an unboxing video.

    This is a highly-desirable Ishimori Wood Stone New Vintage tenor saxophone. This one is in beautiful Dark Lacquer (Vintage Lacquer, they call it, or VL for short). You can find the unlacquered ‘Antique Finish’ version here.  Ishimori New Vintage Tenors are usually back ordered, but I will try my best to keep at least one in stock. Ishimori is Japan’s premiere saxophone repair shop, and Mr. Ishimori has been designing, building, and repairing saxophones for decades.

    These tenors not only sound great, but they stand out from the crowd with their excellent new horn setup done in the Ishimori workshop. The Ishimori New Vintage tenors hold up extremely well over time, and every detail of construction and assembly is optimized for ease of play. The tone on this Ishimori tenor is meant to remind you of a vintage Selmer – to my ear, it plays like a late SBA – not as loud and wide open as some Mark VI’s, but more focused than earlier Selmers also. The neck and the engraving are meant to evoke the Selmer Super Balanced Action, so I suspect that the neck is an SBA bore. The tuning is excellent. This body tube is designed to have the high F# tone hole present, so it tunes well with the high F#, and that’s also just a convenient feature. Lacquer is gorgeous, as is the hand engraving.

    Ishimori New Vintage tenors play so effortlessly, they sell themselves. Every time one comes in the shop, it sells almost immediately. I have one in stock coming next week. Get it now!

    See below for some sound samples on a range of mouthpieces, and an unboxing video.

  • Sold Out

    King Super 20 Alto Full Pearls Original Lacquer Gorgeous

    $ 5,750
  • Sold Out

    King Super 20 Tenor Saxophone Full Pearls Original Lacquer Old Pads Great Horn 319719

    $ 6,500

  • King Super 20 Tenor Saxophone Very Good Condition Incl Overhaul! 299686

    $ 6,750

    This beautiful original lacquer King Super 20 tenor is in the process of getting a complete overhaul right now. That’s all new everything that can be changed, leaving the lacquer, of course. It’s going to feel fresh, snappy and better-than-new mechanically. This serial range is what Charlie Parker and Charlie Ventura played, and it has a deep, powerful tone. Slightly darker than the later 50’s Super 20’s but with the same projection. I think these are a real sweet spot for saxophone tone and this one is in great shape. It’s been played some, because it plays really well. But no major damage. I’ll update the description with details once it’s back from overhaul in a week or two.

  • Martin Centennial Alto Saxophone Committee II and III Transitional Model Rare! 142319

    $ 1,550

    Insanely low price (not my decision) on this gorgeous Martin Centennial Alto saxophone. (This is on consignment and the owner wants me to move it quickly!) The lacquer has aged to a dark honey color and looks great. Having no other Centennial altos around to compare to, I’m not willing to commit to this being original lacquer, but it might be. I don’t see signs of buffing, and if it were a Comm II, then it would look correct to be original. So maybe it is? The Centennial celebrates 100 years since the invention of the saxophone. It appears briefly between the Committee II and the Committee III (The Martin Alto) models, and it has features of both models. You can easily spot some guards and key shapes that remind you of the Comm II, while the main design chiefly anticipates the Commitee III in design and tone. If you want a The Martin Alto, but you want one that is cooler, super-early, darker than average, and rarer and more collectible, this is it!

    The tone is warm, powerful, round, and full. The ‘carrying power’ (as Martin calls it in old ads) is a main plus of this model. It sings out with absolutely no resistance to blasting over a section or a band. You can do the west coast dry jazz tone like Art Pepper, or you can blast like the SNL sax players if you want to. The intonation is remarkably good. The ergonomics are also surprisingly good.  It’s hard to beat this horn for the money. It even plays well on the existing mix of pads, and doesn’t need an overhaul right out of the case like most of these.

    Only one available!

  • Martin Committee II Alto Saxophone Original Lacquer Plays Well Great Deal! 131k

    $ 1,550

    Insanely low price (not my decision) on this gorgeous Martin Committee II Alto saxophone. (This is on consignment and the owner wants me to move it quickly!) The original lacquer has aged to a dark molassas color and just looks so great. You get the deco vertical MARTIN logo and the lion and crown engraving, and the gorgeous nickel keywork and two tone guards on the bell keys. These horns are SUPER under-rated, and have great upside appreciation potential as more people around the world discover what fine saxophones Martin made in its heyday. The Committee II was only made for a few years before some patent disputes forced Martin to switch to a different design, but the few thousand of these that were made are a real sweet spot for vintage saxophone tone. Note: the neck is from a few months later than the body 133k versus 131k, but it’s the correct neck etc. You see that sometimes on these, and I’m not sure why! Maybe just people swapping necks around.

    The tone is warm, powerful, round, and full. It has more of a delicate lyrical center to it than the more ‘in your face’ Committee III. You could play anything from classical sax through concert band, and all the way into jazz and rock on this, depending on your mouthpiece and your styistic choices. The intonation is remarkably good. The ergonomics are also surprisingly good. I love the octave thumb rest and stack key feel on the Committee II. The left hand pinky keys are vintage style, of course, so you’d have to get used to those. But for the price, and for the tone you get, it’s well worth it!

    Only one available!

  • Martin Committee II Tenor Saxophone Original Lacquer Overhauled Excellent 131105

    $ 2,550
  • Sold Out

    Martin The Martin Alto Committee III Original Lacquer Beautiful 198824

    $ 1,500
  • Sold Out

    Selmer Mark VI Alto Original Lacquer Very Good Condition 190714

  • Selmer Mark VI Alto Saxophone Near Mint Original Lacquer 172759

    $ 7,250

  • Selmer Mark VI Alto Saxophone Sanborn Serial Original Lacquer FRESH Overhaul! 143714

    $ 8,250
    JUST FINISHED with the overhaul October 2021. New photos coming soon. This thing is a screamer!
    This is a 143k Selmer Mark VI alto from 1967. It is American-engraved, with worn original lacquer. In the 139-144k serial range, you get a kind of sweet spot for Mark VI alto tone. These are probably the loudest, most crisp and projecting VI altos, but they still have the warmth and complexity that I love in the earlier VI altos. If you want a dark VI, this is not it. But it doesn’t at all have to peel paint or be played with a high baffle piece. Use a Meyer, and you’ll sound wonderful. It’s a natural lead alto instrument – projects over a band while staying rich and pleasant tonally. Besides the ‘Sanborn serial’ price bump, which IMO used to be more of a thing than it currently is, it’s easy to understand why these became some of the most desirable altos of any kind ever made.
    This particular example has been played a lot! The finish wear reminds me of Kenny Garrett’s alto, which looks similar (just happened to notice that), and is a sign of a horn that has been played and loved. It’s original lacquer, quite worn, and it has had a few of the typical past repairs also – slight bow dent removed, low Eb keyguard resoldered on one side, and slight push in removed from the lower C/Eb post. Bell flare crease removed, and a small dent removed from the upper body tube. All done well, so it looks good enough that you might not notice those things if I didn’t point them out. Original neck is in great shape, not pulled down or damaged. The pads are old, so plan on a thorough overhaul, and this alto will definitely not disappoint. If you’re looking for something mint, look elsewhere! I have a mint/near mint 76k, 127k, 172k and some others at the moment. But this is also a fraction of the cost of what it would be if it were mint also, so there’s that. It’s not that common to find this exact version of VI alto that is the most desirable, that is also not priced a lot higher.
    Only one available!

  • Selmer Mark VI Baritone Low A Near Mint 208k Original Pads

    $ 12,500

  • Selmer Mark VI Baritone Original Lacquer 1962 100463 Recent Overhaul Low Bb Great!

    $ 7,500

    Original lacquer Low Bb Selmer Mark VI baritone saxophone with a fresh overhaul done last year, and lightly played since. This is a desirable serial 100463 dating to 1962, and it’s the exact same horn as a late 5-digit serial Mark VI baritone in every way. The tone is medium dark, and powerful, with a good amount of focus. Response is easy. This horn is free blowing and just easy to play. The low Bb means that it’s lighter and feels almost like a tenor to hold. You can see a bit of dent work done on the back of the bottom bow, and some lacquer loss from removing the bow to do the dent work. Besides that, it’s in quite good shape. The bell flare, body tube, and upper bow are all undamaged! That’s remarkable! The original neck with matching serial is also in excellent, undamaged condition. If you want a beautiful early Selmer Mark VI bari that is in great shape, plays well, and is recently overhauled, you’d have a hard time doing better than this one for the price.

    Only one available!

  • Selmer Mark VI Soprano Near Mint Original Lacquer 187102

    $ 6,000

  • Selmer Mark VI Soprano Original Lacquer Engraved

    $ 4,250

  • Selmer Mark VI Tenor 195260 Original Lacquer American-Engraved Plays Well

    $ 5,950

  • Selmer Mark VI Tenor 77158 Original Lacquer Very Good Condition Great Deal! 1958

    $ 11,000

    It would be hard to find a better deal on a Mark VI tenor at the moment. This horn just got tuned up by Aaron Barnard in Cedar Rapids (great repairman), and it plays effortlessly with a big, powerful tone. The tone is medium dark, and focused with lots of power. It brightens up when pushed, but this is the sort of tone that people love in a good 80k Mark VI. It sounds a lot like my 81k. The only reason this isn’t priced about $3k higher is that it had a neck pickup removed, and has had a few minor past repairs. That doesn’t matter when Aaron does the pickup-ectomy, because he puts a ‘flush plug’ in that matches the curve of the brass inside and outside. It’s like the pickup was never there. Besides that, this was a one owner horn, and it was played a lot but well cared for. The only other past repairs I see are a few dings removed from the back of the body tube and bow (bow ones are basically invisible, and the back of the body ones look like a tiny cloudy spot, for example above the serial number). And the bell flare had a crease removed and is in the correct contour now and feels just fine. Neck is in great shape aside from the lacquer loss from when the pickup was installed in the first place. As repairs go, none of these is very serious, and the horn plays just how it should.

    For an original lacquer 1958-59 VI, you’d typically have to pay a lot more than this. I’m pricing this one on the low side for what it is, so that someone can get a relative bargain on it. The market is a bit confusing to folks right now, with people on eBay and some private websites listing horns for 3-5x their actual value. I’m not going to do that. But I’ll tell you this horn would be priced much higher elsewhere, and it is an excellent value if you’re looking for tone, and not cosmetic perfection, but you want a horn in good shape, from a great vintage and serial number, and with original lacquer. That’s what this is. There’s only one available, so get it before it’s gone.

  • Selmer Mark VI Tenor Near Mint Original Lacquer Amazing 160601

    $ 8,950

  • Selmer Mark VI Tenor Recent Overhaul Original Lacquer 95365

    $ 12,500

  • Selmer SBA Alto Original Lacquer Recent High End Overhaul Gorgeous 51347

    $ 8,500

    Amazing original lacquer Selmer SBA alto with a recent high-end overhaul. It plays great!

  • Selmer Series II Tenor Original Lacquer Beautiful Condition 451502

    $ 4,250

  • Selmer Super Action 80 Series II Alto Saxophone 517537 SA80-II Excellent Condition Great Price!

    $ 3,150

    Save thousands of dollars getting this beautiful condition used Selmer Series II alto. This instrument has very little wear, and comes to you in excellent condition. It just got several new pads and a thorough setup, so it is playing very well and effortlessly throughout. As I’m sure you know, the Series II is the standard, go-to alto saxophone for serious saxophone study. You never need to upgrade it, and you can take it to college for saxophone study and it will be in good company there with a lot of other Series II’s and III’s. The tone is balanced, warm, clear and round, with a lyrical core tone and very good intonation. The Series II likes to have a classical style or concert mouthpiece like a Selmer S80 C* or D, or a Selmer Concept etc. Lots of other mouthpieces work, but if you’re not sure what to get, then get one of those two.

    Saxophones don’t really wear out if you maintain them, so there’s really no reason not to save a few thousand dollars on a nice used example of one of the most popular professional alto saxophones. You can keep this for the rest of your life and play it. It will hold its value as long as you own it. These are only going to go up in price over time.

  • Selmer Super Sax Cigar Cutter Tenor Saxophone Original Lacquer Overhauled Amazing 18466

    $ 9,250
  • Sold Out

    SML Gold Medal 1 Tenor 18835 Great Deal!

    This SML Gold Medal 1 tenor is in on consignment! It has a big, powerful, dark tone!

    If you’ve played an SML before, this is a classic example – sort of like a Selmer and Conn hybrid. Focused, lyrical core like a Selmer, but big, wide, fat sound like a Conn. Neck angle higher than average for tenor. Plays easy altissimo.
    In terms of condition – the lacquer obviously has quite a bit of wear from use. The neck is in nice shape with no past damage evident. Rolled tone holes look great. There are no dents or dings, but there has been dent work in the bow area, back of the bow, and bow guard. Crease removed from bell flare approx 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock if you’re looking with the horn upright.  Looks like the low C and Eb keyguards have one foot resoldered each. Maybe a little dent work in the upper body tube, like around the D palm key foot and maybe near the neck receiver, but if so, it was done really well. I’m just going from the way the lacquer looks there. The tube is nice and smooth. There are no dents or dings at all! SML’s are really hard to beat in the quality per dollar department. And they are only getting more popular as people find out about their unique tone and combination of premium features.
    Only one available!
  • Sold Out

    SML Rev. D Alto Saxophone Original Lacquer 11xxx Excellent Condition! Old Pads

    $ 2,150

  • The Martin Tenor Saxophone Committee III Original Lacquer Overhauled 195777

    $ 3,250

    The Martin Tenor is loud, punchy, medium dark, and built like a tank. It is a great rock and roll horn, and sounds wicked with a higher baffle mouthpiece. Or play ballads on it with your GS SLANT or GS RESO. This one had a recent high end overhaul, and plays effortlessly. The original lacquer is in beautiful shape as well. This is a rare opportunity to buy a The Martin Tenor that is playing RIGHT, and that has a really nice, snappy, dry pad feel that is how these really should feel to play. Low register is effortless. Altissimo pops without sounding thin. There’s a reason why Martin sold these with a 50 year warranty. They really are built to last. They’re way undervalued for what you get. That won’t last a whole lot longer, in my opinion.

    Only one available!

  • Sold Out

    Yanagisawa S6 Soprano Good Condition

    We pay the best prices for great saxophones.

     

  • Yanagisawa Whitehall Soprano S6 Original Lacquer Nice Shape 772637

    $ 1,950