107 Year Old Buescher Tru Tone Curved Soprano
This is the oldest horn I have yet to restore, a 1917 Buescher Soprano, and it put to rest many of the claims I have heard about vintage saxophones from the teens of the 20th Century. Most of those claims are that these "Pre-Snap" Bueschers just don't play right, or that horns from before 1920 have terrible intonation and are not worth any investment. The funny thing about such claims is that when I first started out as a repairman, I was told to dissuade people from investing in any horns that were made before 1925; The claim being that it wasn't until about that time, or even later in most cases, that saxophones were truly being made well. The inherent intonation issues were so prevalent and so difficult to overcome that overhauling horns from that era was fool hardy. However, after restoring several pre-1925 horns from several manufacturers which all played remarkably well, I had to change my mind about these claims.
So, when this horn came into the shop, those old claims of negativity stirred a little bit because it was from an even earlier era, is keyed to only Eb, had soldered tone holes, lacked both the Buescher Snaps and the Norton Springs.
But I must say, this little powerhouse is one damn proud horn. I believe very strongly that this horn is filled with joy to feel like a brand new horn again. Just look at the pictures. Wow. How cool.
Make a Joyful Noise.
This is the oldest horn I have yet to restore, a 1917 Buescher Soprano, and it put to rest many of the claims I have heard about vintage saxophones from the teens of the 20th Century. Most of those claims are that these "Pre-Snap" Bueschers just don't play right, or that horns from before 1920 have terrible intonation and are not worth any investment. The funny thing about such claims is that when I first started out as a repairman, I was told to dissuade people from investing in any horns that were made before 1925; The claim being that it wasn't until about that time, or even later in most cases, that saxophones were truly being made well. The inherent intonation issues were so prevalent and so difficult to overcome that overhauling horns from that era was fool hardy. However, after restoring several pre-1925 horns from several manufacturers which all played remarkably well, I had to change my mind about these claims.
So, when this horn came into the shop, those old claims of negativity stirred a little bit because it was from an even earlier era, is keyed to only Eb, had soldered tone holes, lacked both the Buescher Snaps and the Norton Springs.
But I must say, this little powerhouse is one damn proud horn. I believe very strongly that this horn is filled with joy to feel like a brand new horn again. Just look at the pictures. Wow. How cool.
Make a Joyful Noise.