Silver Plate

Showing all 22 results

  • ***Selmer Balanced Action Alto Saxophone Fresh Full Overhaul! Silver Plate

    $ 5,995

    This is an amazing, fully restored Selmer Balanced Action alto. It just got a wonderful high-end overhaul, complete with some spot plating on some keys and by the thumb hook on the body tube where the silver had begun to wear. This is one gorgeous alto, with the rare British market two-tone finish, and gold wash bell. It plays extremely well, with a warm, powerful voice that is effortlessly lyrical and makes you not want to put it down. If you want an alto that people are going to want to listen to, this is the one. It has high-end reusable domed brass resonators and sounds very good on them. Keywork is nice and snappy, and ‘dry’ under the fingers, like it should be. This comes with a new BAM Softpack alto case, or you can swap that for a Cabine for +$100. These British market Balanced’s are my favorite finish on vintage Selmers, and they are few and far between.

    There’s only one available!

  • Sold Out

    *Conn F Mezzo Soprano Saxophone 213894 Silver Plate Overhauled Very Good Condition

    $ 7,500

  • Borgani Joe Lovano Pearl Silver Tenor Saxophone Excellent Condition 19626 – Sounds like a Conn!

    $ 3,950

    Borgani Joe Lovano model in Pearl Silver with 24k gold plated keywork. This has not been played much since it was bought new last year by the original owner. It plays like a vintage Conn but with modern keywork, which is pretty cool. More like a New Wonder II than like a 10M. The tone is big, dark, wide, and pretty spread. You can find videos of Joe Lovano playing this model, if you search on Youtube. If you love the sound of a Conn, but you don’t want to play a horn with vintage keywork, this is really your only option among modern saxophones.

    This horn has no dents, no dings, no past repairs at all. It has been well cared for and feels quite good under the fingers. It just got the pads checked out, and it is playing very easily. It comes in the beautiful original case which is also in great shape.

    Only one available!

  • Buescher True Tone Alto Saxophone 200008 Original Silver Plate Good Condition

    $ 600

  • Buescher True Tone Alto Saxophone 83005 Original Silver Plate

    $ 300

  • Conn (Holton) Bass Saxophone Good Playing Condition Original Silver Plate CLEAN P22298

    $ 7,000

    Extremely good price on this beautiful Conn BASS Saxophone that comes in good playing condition! This is a gigging bass sax that sounds excellent and feels great too.

    You seldom see a vintage Bass sax in good condition in this price range. The price is lower because it’s on consignment and the owner got a good deal on it back in the day. Also because it says Holton on the bell, though it’s built by Conn with possibly a few Holton touches to the aesthetics. This horn is in good playing condition on current pads. Not completely overhauled, but it is easy to play. Very few past repairs, and very little dent work, which is quite remarkable for any vintage bass. This is a great deal, and someone should grab it and start having some fun. Bass is fun even if you have a smaller frame, because you can (and should) put it on a floor stand and play it without any weight on your shoulders. It’s also fun because you can rock out on the bass lines of tunes without feeling like you have to take a technical solo. It adds a lot. Look below for one of my favorite classic SNL sketches with Steve Martin featuring a bass sax in the band.

  • Conn 6m Transitional Art Deco Alto Saxophone 249081 Gorgeous Silver Plate 1931

    $ 1,950

    The Conn 6M transitional takes many forms, and this particular original silver plated example is from 1932.  It features art deco engraving (a style which only appears for a few years), left hand bell keys, 6M style keywork everywhere except the left hand pinky table, which is New Wonder II style.  This is the last iteration before the transitional becomes nearly identical to the 6M, and to my ears these have a bit more of the big tone of the New Wonder II than the transitionals just after it- and in fact around this serial range is my favorite of the transitionals, playing-wise.  

    This horn plays a bit on some very old pads, but it will need a repad.  Physically it is in extremely good condition, with no dents or dings or evidence of past repairs that I can see.  The neck is undamaged and shows no signs of past pulldown, and the microtuner is free and functional. The silver plate is thick and unworn, and will shine up unbelievably well, if my past experience is any guide (see Matt Stohrer’s guide on polishing silver saxophones to see what I mean).  It comes with its original case in good condition and its original warranty card. These are great altos, built by the finest American saxophone craftsmen in their heyday, and a super clean one like this is a great place to start if you are looking for a fantastic vintage horn that will last you a lifetime for less of an overall investment than most any new horn of even middling quality that you can buy today.

  • Conn New Wonder 1 Tenor Exceptionally Fine Player Tunes Great Fresh Overhaul BAM Case 67890

    $ 3,200

    Do you want the biggest, darkest, most spread and room-filling vintage Conn tone possible? Do you want a gorgeous vintage Conn with original silver plate that looks almost new? Do you want it with a freshly-done high end ($1k+) overhaul, with high-end metal resonators? Do you want a premium $350 BAM tenor case included that fits the horn beautifully and will keep it in top adjustment?

    Well, look no further. That’s what this is. Any you should buy it. Right now. You won’t be sorry. I didn’t call it an exceptionally fine player for nothing.

  • King C Melody Saxophone Original Silver Plate Good Condition needs Overhaul 63607

    $ 300

  • King Full Pearls SilverSonic Alto 303030 Fresh Matt Stohrer Overhaul Original Lacquer Charlie Parker Vintage!

    $ 14,500

    Well, well, well, what have we here? One of my favorite saxophones of all time! This is an extremely rare early King SilverSonic alto with sterling silver bell and ‘full pearls’. I have only seen a few of these altos come up for sale in many years of watching the market fairly closely. There are probably fewer than 100 altos like this in existence, and there are fewer that still have their original lacquer. Charlie Parker famously played King SilverSonic Super 20 alto SN#295173, which sold for an ungodly sum at auction several years ago. This horn’s body serial is 303030, which is the same version as Parker’s, and the neck serial is 295182, which is only 9 serial numbers later than Parker’s, so same small batch of horns. Not sure why the neck serial is different, but maybe because this neck played best. This horn was one owner going way back several decades before I bought it.

    It just got a full overhaul by the best saxophone repairman for Kings that I have experienced, Matt Stohrer. Matt is a friendly and unassuming guy who has a passion for learning and sharing as much as he can about saxophone repair. His attention to all the little, time-consuming details of repair that take a horn from good to great is pretty hard to beat. This horn certainly deserved the best, and it came out great. It feels super great under the fingers – dry and snappy, with light, easy action and great response. The tone is that classic, warm, punchy, projecting, brassy-when-pushed, King alto sound that Parker and Cannonball made, at least for me, the classic jazz alto tone. It sounds like that sound you have in your head that you just can’t quite get on a Selmer or any modern horn:-)

    You get a nice original Silversonic King alto case, as well as a delxe black BAM France Trekking case, both included with the horn. The BAM for safe shipping, and the King just for fun. Hard to beat the Trekking for an all-around alto case, and it fits the King like a glove.

    There’s certainly only one of these available. I’ve had this in my personal collection for years, and just decided to offer it up for sale for the first time. If it doesn’t sell, it goes right back in the collection. If you want an alto that looks gorgeous, has a high likelihood to keep going up in value, plays great, and is not so perfect that you’re afraid to play it, you couldn’t do better than this.

  • Sold Out

    King Saxello Soprano Saxophone – Near Mint!

    This is a beautiful, nearly mint condition King Saxello semi-curved soprano saxophone in original silver plate.

  • Sold Out

    King Saxello Soprano Saxophone Original Silver Plate Playable 68745

    $ 2,950

  • King Saxello Soprano Tipped Bell Bent Neck Near Pristine Silver Plate

    $ 2,600

    This is a rare and beautiful example of a King Saxello soprano. The King Saxello is not just cool, but practical. The bent neck moves the horn down to rest on the neck strap for added comfort. The upturned bell means that you can hear yourself when you play! Condition wise, this is among the best I have seen. There was a very small dent that was removed from the neck, and it was done well. That’s it for past repairs. This thing is clean! Body tube, keywork, posts, bell flare etc are all very good.

    The King Saxello has a big, wide tone that is way larger than any modern soprano. Really, you have to play a Saxello like this in order to even imagine how different it sounds from a modern soprano. Simply put, many modern sopranos sound more like an oboe than a sax, but the King Saxello sounds like a saxophone! This horn needs an overhaul to play, so plan on getting pads replaced! But it’s a great example to have overhauled, and it’s priced to move.

    The original silver is almost all intact, and the horn just looks great. The price is extremely low for one of these, and this horn is a great purchase and a delight to own. Plus it’s cool to bring to gigs and to show people. The King Saxello is just intrinsically cool.

  • King Soprano Saxophone Original Silver Plate 81960 Great Deal!

    $ 1,300

  • King Zephyr Tenor Saxophone Original Silver Plate Excellent Condition 202108

    $ 1,950

  • Selmer Mark VI Soprano from 1971 Original Silver Plate + BAM Case 189125

    $ 4,200
  • Selmer SBA Tenor Saxophone Silver Plated 47611-3

    Selmer SBA Tenor Saxophone 47xxx Original Silver Great Player Super Balanced Action

    $ 12,000

    Here is a gorgeous Selmer Super Balanced Action tenor, built in 1952.  It has its original silver plated finish, and it is in very good condition.  The Selmer Super Balanced Action tenor is among the most desirable tenor saxophones ever. And for good reason. It’s the horn Coltrane famously played for many years (up until around 1965), and the horn Branford Marsalis and many others play today. It has the classic Selmer tone that, whether you know it or not, is already in your ears from all those classic Blue Note era recordings. Hank Mobley on Soul Station is one for me among many others.  Point being, if you’ve heard a saxophone on a famous recording, you’ve likely heard one of these. And that is no accident- these saxophones are sublime.

    This saxophone has been overhauled at some point in the past few years and was recently given a tuneup, and it plays very well, with the broad and rich Selmer tone that these are so known for. The only damage is a scratch inside the bell flare, probably from a clip on microphone. The bell flare is just a little uneven in that spot when you look at the light reflecting on it. Super minor, but I’d rather you are pleasantly surprised by the horn’s beauty than disappointed at a flaw you didn’t notice.

    The keywork is comfortable and intuitive, owing to the underlying design started with the Balanced Action and honed with the Super Balanced Action that was so inspired it remains the basic template for all saxophones made to this day.  The intonation is excellent (this is one of the later long bell tenors- the early short bell tenors are known for needing a bit of extra attention to low note intonation) and the response is quick and lively, and as the best Selmers do it lends itself easily to any style of music- which is one of the things that sets Selmers apart from the rest.  It is an ability that is in my experience rare among saxophones, and nobody does it better than Selmer.

  • SML Rev D Alto Saxophone Silver 11584-3

    SML Rev D (=Gold Medal 1) Alto Saxophone Original Silver Plate Old Pads Beautiful 11584

    $ 1,750

    SML, short for Strasser-Marigaux-LeMaire, is probably the best known small French maker of saxophones.  They produced high quality instruments with a unique blend of features that ended up in what I like to think of as a perfect blend of Selmer and Conn- a very French tone, but big like a Conn.  

    The SML “Revision D”, which was not an official name but rather one given by collectors to the model run with this particular set of features, is a professional handcrafted French saxophone whose features include rolled toneholes, a switchable automatic G#/C#, double sprung octave mechanism (which is an excellent feature preventing slow octave changes and should be standard on all saxophones), a 4 slot neck tenon receiver (again, an excellent feature that should be made standard, this time one that applies pressure more evenly around the neck tenon for a more secure fit less likely to develop leaks), and adjustment screws on the upper and lower stacks.  In fact, the Revision D is very much like the model that came after called the Gold Medal, and shares the same bore. The only features that the Gold Medal has that this horn doesn’t are the rocking octave thumbrest (which isn’t actually so great and is often times disabled at the request of the player) and the adjustable felt bumpers for the low notes, which while nice is not a game changer in any way.

    This particular horn is in very good aesthetic shape, and currently wears old pads and will need an overhaul although it does play a little bit as-is.  The original silver plating is in very good condition and seems to be almost unworn, and the neck shows no sign of past damage or repair work. There is some evidence of past dentwork around the lower stack F# and G# toneholes, which were both unfortunately filed a bit for levelness at the time the dentwork was done, I am guessing.  However the filing does not go through the roll, and should not impact playability or repairability, and the dentwork is not noticeable until you get close. If it weren’t for that, this would be a nearly pristine SML, and this flaw serves mostly to bring down the price without having much of a real-world effect on ownership.

    These SMLs have a fantastic sound, unique in their blend of refined yet powerful, and possess excellent craftsmanship.  Not very many were made- about 15,000 total of all sizes of the horns considered to be their best- and they hold up very well over time.  

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

    $ 4,350

    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 wonderful and highly-desirable YSS-62RS soprano, and it sounds the same once it’s all setup with the right key heights and spring tensions. 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 YAS-875S Alto Saxophone Original Silver Plate M1 and G1 Necks Excellent

    $ 2,950
  • YSS82ZRSSopranoStockPhotos-3

    Yamaha YSS-82ZRS Soprano Saxophone One Piece Bent Neck Silver Plate!

    $ 4,751

    The Yamaha YSS-62R and 62RS are the most desirable vintage sopranos pretty much. Yamaha made an upgraded reissue of this soprano, with improved keywork but the same bore. It’s simply the best.

  • Sold Out

    Yanagisawa A9933 Alto Saxophone 316979 Mint Like New!

    $ 3,950

    New Price 2/28/19!

    This mint/near mint high-end Yanagisawa A9933 Solid silver alto still looks and even smells almost like a new saxophone.  $3950 gets you the horn with the original solid silver neck. This thing plays amazingly well. If you want to add the second gold-plated, fully-engraved neck, add $500 (normally a $1000 upgrade).

    Yanagisawa is the Lexus of saxophones – precision crafted to the highest standards. Super reliable, sounds wonderful, and intrinsically satisfying to own. The 9933 is among the finest altos ever produced by any company, and it is going to hold its value over the long haul and probably be collectible someday. This is a great deal, and someone should jump on it!