Updated 2025
Hammerschmidt saxophones are truly an enigma wrapped in a paradox. On one hand some models are arguably the most intricate and beautiful of the mid-century German saxophones. On the other, some are, at their best, something best left to adorn your studio wall. Which do you have? How can you tell?
This Hammerschmidt saxophone update has been years in the making. As much as I have criticized the brand publicly, these vintage beauties still hold a total fascination to me—and yes, I even still own one.
So buckle up, and get ready to have the full Hammerschmidt experience. I am willing to bet you will not find any source like it online, or yes, even hardcopy.
| Company history | Altos & tenors only | Company today | Late model Klingsons | The earliest saxes | Klingsor vs. Klingson |
Company history
It was in 1873, that Martin Hammerschmidt (1846 – 1920) founded his company in Watzkenreuth. This workshop located near Schönbach, in the Egerland region—located in the Czech Republic today—primarily made clarinets.
According to the company’s website, in 1910, Martin’s son Karl Hammerschmidt, took over his father’s business and expanded the company’s production to include recorders, flutes, saxophones, as well as woodwind accessories.
It should be noted here that it is unknown when exactly—or even if—Hammerschmidt made their own saxophones in Watzkenreuth. It is possible that they made the occasional one-off horn, but ordered special ones as stencils from other known saxophone manufactures.
Two very well-respected, German saxophone historians (Günter Dullat and Uwe Ladwig 1 ) both note that saxophones from these early days were likely stencils ordered from FX Hüller and Kohlert. (Evidence of this stencilling will be shown below.)
In 1934, Karl turned over the family business to the third generation of Hammerschmidts: his 6 sons. Willi, Erwin, Walter, Alex, and Otmar had all learned the trade of woodwind instrument maker. Also in 1934, Otmar was put in charge of managing a brand new retail store that was opened in Karlsbad. (A spa town in the west Bohemia region of what is now the Czech Republic.)
During WWII business activities and production were reduced to a bare minimum. After the war, nationalization forced the Hammerschmidt family out of West Bohemia, and like other musical families like the Keilwerths, the Hammerschmidts moved to West Germany in 1945, to start up their business anew.
The Hammerschmidt brothers settled in Burgau, located in the Swabian part of Bavaria, and immediately began rebuilding the company—and where it still operates today. It is in this location, that we know categorically that Hammerschmidt did build its own alto and tenor saxophones.
According to Uwe Ladwig, saxophone production in Burgau, Schwaben ran for approx. 30 years: from 1952-82.2 According to company statements, Hammerschmidt permanently employed around seven to ten saxophone makers, who manufactured everything themselves from the body to the finished instrument. Only small items such as posts were purchased. (More on that under features.)
Hammerschmidt only made alto and tenor saxophones
From circa 1952 to 1982 Hammerschmidt made its own alto and tenor saxophones in Burgau. It is these Burgau-made saxophones that are the main focus of what follows, since they make up by far and away the majority of saxophones carrying the Hammerschmidt name.
If you ever see any soprano or baritone saxophones from this era bearing the Hammerschmidt name, these were made by the Julius Keilwerth company in Nauheim. (Another company that was nationalized, and forced to relocate out of Bohemia.)
The Hammerschmidt company today
Today the Hammerschmidt company is still a family-run business with the fifth generation of family members fully trained as woodwind instrument makers running the company in both Germany and Austria. Although they stopped making saxophones in 1982, their clarinets are still highly in demand by symphony and orchestra players all over Europe.
Late-model Klingson saxophones
Long after Hammerschmidt stopped its own saxophone production production in Burgau in 1982, horns with the Klingson name stencilled on the bell were sold by the company through their website. These Asian-made imports bearing the company’s name first came to my attention in October 2008, when I created the first iteration of this Hammerschmidt page.
However, as of this latest update (2025) all references for saxophones have been removed from the Hammerschmidt website.
Here is an example of one these generic Klingson saxophones that, to my eye anyway, is pretty much indistinguishable from any other Taiwanese or Chinese-made sax on the market. To get an idea of what these things sold for new, I found this 2010 price list through the Wayback Machine. (And yes, they were priced like student horns.)
Alto 98173
Early sources & examples of Hammerschmidt saxes
As noted above, the majority (all?) of they earliest saxophones bearing the Hammerschmidt name were stencils ordered by the company from F.X. Hüller (and more than likely from Kohlert). Although Kohlert examples are not that plentiful, F.X. Hüller horns are easy to find, and most are engraved with the name Klingson. Here are a couple of fascinating, nearly antique, F.X. Hüller-made Klingson horns that give you an idea what they looked like. (For more info on these F.X. Hüller-made Hammerschmidt horns, please see F.X. Hüller.com)
Klingson tenor 21617
Klingson alto 23045
Klingson? Klingsor? What’s the difference?
That’s an excellent question, and not necessarily a simple one to answer. The simple rules are as follows:
- If a saxophone was made for Hammerschmidt (stencilled) by another company, it was branded a Klingson.
- On the other hand, if a saxophone was made by Hammerschmidt itself, the saxophone was branded a Klingsor.
Of course their are A LOT of exceptions to this second rule.
By reviewing well over 100 vintage saxophones made by Hammerschmidt itself, ranging in serial # from 032 to 04913 to date, I noticed that there are many saxophones engraved Klingson—the latest being serial # 04913.
Why are some of the latter ones made in Burgau engraved Klingson? Don’t know. I am planning out to reach out the company to see if they might be able to shed some light on their saxophone-making history. My hope is that many of the lingering questions I have will be answered by Hammerschmidt itself. At this point, like the brand itself, the model name/engraving seems to be an enigma.
1 Uwe Ladwig. Saxofone: Ein Kompendium. Fifth edition, 2017, p. 176
Günter Dullat. Faszination Saxophon: Der Saxophonbau Auf Destschsprachigem Gebiet. First edition, 2016, p. 187
2 Ladwig, p. 176
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