VintageSax: Soprano & Sopranino Saxophones
| Altos | Tenors | Baritones & Basses | Miscellaneous Winds | Mouthpieces | How to Purchase a VintageSax |
The soprano saxophone brings back memories of Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, and Steve Lacy. Perhaps from my stock below you can find the one you will star on! And, if you want to go even higher, try out one of my sopraninos (mingled with the sopranos below)...
- All sopranos are keyed to high F, unless otherwise noted.
- Horns marked with an asterisk (*) are scheduled for a standard VintageSax pad job. This means the sax will be completely disassembled, cleaned, polished, have necessary dentwork completed, and have any play in the mechanism eliminated. New pads will be floated in, and all corks and felts replaced; typically, I use Ultrasuede on the bar keys and teflon on the sliding surfaces.
- Please click on the links at the various instruments to see pictures! To enlarge photos, double-click on the photo, and then click on the orange square with arrows.
| Make | Model | Serial Number |
Finish | Comments | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buescher | Curved Soprano | 96xxx | Silverplate | Silver plate is very good, with gold-plated bell interior. Keyed to high Eb, will sell "as is" or with new pads. | $1500 |
| Buescher | Curved Soprano | 143xxx | Silverplate | Keyed to high F. | Just in... |
| Buescher | Curved Soprano | 147xxx | Silverplate | Awesome condition! Made in 1923, it has its original silver plate with beautiful rose gold plate inside the bell. New pads with original Buescher resonators intact. Original case, too! Keyed to high F, this horn has great intonation and a sweet, singing tone. | Call or write VintageSax |
| Buescher | Sopranino | 157xxx | Silverplate | Keyed to Eb. A rare, silverplated 'nino in excellent condition. Scheduled for a VintageSax pad job.* | Call or write VintageSax |
| Buescher | Straight | 193xxx | Goldplate | Original gold plate is in excellent condition, has nice engraving, and original gold-plated, snap-in resonators. Has the original case, too! Nice enough for a collection or for a player. Scheduled for new pads.* | Call or write VintageSax |
| Buescher | Straight | 196xxx | Silverplate | Silver plate is excellent, scheduled for new pads* (original snap-in resonators intact). | $1400 |
| Buescher | Straight | 2173xx | Silverplate | Original silver plate is approximately 85%, has all original pearls and rollers, and has the later key mechanism with a roller on the G#. Cosmetically not as pretty as some sopranos, but a great bargain for a player who doesn't mind a few imperfections. Has new pads and plays well. | $1550 |
| Buescher | Straight | 233xxx | Silverplate | This is a later "True Tone" from 1927 that is in excellent condition. Its silver plate is 99%, and has gold plate inside its bell. The original pads and resonators are still in the horn. Scheduled for hand-polishing and a VintageSax pad job* before sale. | Call or write VintageSax |
| Conn | Curved | 113xxx | Silverplate | A sweet, curved soprano from 1923. It is keyed to high F, and has the overlapping palm keys, rolled tone holes, and its original case. Silver plate is about 95%, with a gold-plated bell interior. Never damaged...body and neck are in excellent condition. Scheduled for a VintageSax pad job.* | Call or write VintageSax |
| Conn | C-soprano | 142xxx | Goldplate | Made in 1924, and the original gold plate is still perfect! This is one beautiful, and rare, C-soprano. Lovely engraving of a lyre under the serial number. The first one I've seen where the fine tuner is fixed to the soprano, not on the mouthpiece. Keyed to high Eb, and with rolled tone holes, it comes with case and original mouthpiece. Scheduled for hand-polishing and a VintageSax pad job.* | Call or write VintageSax |
| Conn | Curved | 148xxx | Silverplate | Made in 1925, its original silver plate is 98%, and the gold plate inside the bell is beautiful. New flat metal resonator pads, rolled tone holes, thumb ring, and crosshatched G# key. Comes with its original case. This is a sweet little horn! | Call or write VintageSax |
| Conn | Sopranino | 161xxx | Brass | A beautiful little Eb 'nino with great pads and rolled tone holes that plays with ease. Originally it was a bare brass horn from the factory in 1925, now it has its first finish of golden lacquer...a rare little horn! | Call or write VintageSax |
| Conn | Straight | 193xxx | Silverplate | Conn's professional straight soprano from 1926. Has 95% of its original silver plate, rolled tone holes, a straight body, and the cross-hatched G# key. Scheduled for hand-polishing and a VintageSax pad job.* | Call or write VintageSax |
| Conn | Straight "Stretch" |
224xxx | Silverplate | This is a rare, late Conn soprano from 1929. Sometimes called a "stretch" model since Conn redesigned their Bb sopranos in the late 20's, making them about 3/4" longer than the previous model. Plating is in excellent condition, and the gold in the bell is nice. Padwork was done by Emilio and is still in good condition. I'll disassemble, clean, polish, and adjust as needed, or can repad completely. | Call or write VintageSax |
| Liberty | Straight C-soprano |
P21xxx Conn stencil | Lacquer | This Conn stencil C-soprano has like-new nylon resonator pads. It is keyed to high Eb, and plays well. Conn case included. | Call or write VintageSax |
| Lyon & Healy | Curved | 27xxx Martin stencil | Silverplate | Made by Martin, keyed to high Eb, and its silver plate is in good condition. | $1000 |
| Martin | Straight | 79xxx | Silverplate | Made in 1927, this soprano loves to be played! It really sings, and the plating wear on the touch pieces tells me that someone must have greatly enjoyed playing it. Its silver plate is still about 85%, and its key mechanisms are tight. Scheduled for a VintageSax pad job*, and then it needs to get back into action! | Call or write VintageSax |
| Martin | Straight | 88xxx | Silverplate | Original silver plate. Good intonation and a smooth, dark sound. Scheduled for a VintageSax pad job.* | $1600 |
| Pan American | Curved | 44xxx | Silverplate | Made by Conn in the later 1920s. Silver plate is 100%, with gold plate inside the bell. Keyed to high F, this is a sweet little horn! Scheduled for hand-polishing and a VintageSax pad job.* | $1500 |
| Selmer | Modele 22 | 23xx | Silverplate | There is lovely, original silver plate on this early Selmer soprano (from 1923). It's keyed to high Eb, and is a sweet-sounding horn that would be great for a collector or player! | Call or write VintageSax |
| York | Curved | 87xxx | Silverplate | 95+% silver plate, nice gold-wash bell interior. This is not a stencilled horn, it is a true and rare York made in around 1929. It is keyed to high Eb, has had no damage in its past, and is scheduled for polishing and new pads.* | $1200 |
| Altos | Tenors | Baritones & Basses | Miscellaneous Winds | Mouthpieces | How to Purchase a VintageSax |