Buescher Aristocrat Alto Sax
S/N 338xxx (stock #1009)
Model number 140?
The pictures are below
New pads, corks and red felts…ready to go.
This is your chance to own a repadded classic American alto for only $xxx. Sorry, this horn is sold to a fellow in Florida. This vintage horn is from the early 50's.
Why so cheap when a repad alone would cost $400 easy? Well, let me tell ya...the lacquer on this horn is bad looking. Lots of speckling and pits.
One foot of Low D# key guard resoldered.
There has been dentwork to the bow, but the bottom bow brace looks good, indicating that the bow geometry is still good.
Status –
The guy who bought this horn sent an e-mail months later that says:
Return Policy – If you find this horn to be materially different from the description above, I will gladly refund the sale price of the horn. You will have to repack it and pay for the shipping back to me, but I will promptly reimburse you the final auction price of the horn (including shipping cost to you).
Picture one - Here's the bellkey side. Picture two - Here's the flip side. Picture three - You can really see the pitting/speckling. Picture four - Buescher Aristocrat bellguards are pretty cool. Picture five - Here's the neck and the top of the sax. Picture six - The octave mechanism. Picture seven - Closeup of the midsection. Picture eight - Palm keys and pinkie keys. Picture eight - Lower part of the sax. Picture ten - The bow and the neck. Picture eleven - Same, with neck flipped over. Picture twelve - Case closed. Picture thirteen - Case open.
Here's a quote from him:
"I have been playing the Aristocrat for several days now and it is a MONSTER!
Tone, ease of play, intonation and resonance are all fantastic.
The setup is perfect (a credit to your skills as a technician) and I would never hesitate to use your resources again."
So...you are buying the repad and I am throwing in the horn for free! Dang!
Once you get past that, you've got a really nice player. The key action is well-adjusted and smooth.
Lower post of octave key resoldered.
- The pads are all have snap-on domed resonators (except for the Low C#).
- Nice amber rollers on keys and where the octave mechanism engages the neck octave key
- Adjusted and regulated
- Lacquer shows speckling and pitting...some wear marks around strap hook and back of sax where it rubs again clothes.
- Very smooth positive key action.
"By the way, the Aristocrat alto that I got from you has become my main alto now. I had a Keilwerth stencil I was using which seemed louder and more powerful at home. When I took both of them to rehearsal in the big band I play in, the Buescher outperformed the Keilwerth in every way. (Tone, volume, power and intonation) For Jazz, I still have to say the Buescher is my best performing horn."
