I was window shopping on eBay this morning, when I came across this rather unusual sight…
Source for all photos: eBay
A Beaugnier-made, Vito bass saxophone keyed to high F, being sold by Saxquest.
It also has a bis Bb key…
This is what they say about the sax…
This is an awesome vintage Vito bass saxophone, serial number 19793. This horn was made for Vito by the Beaugnier sax company, out of Paris. Beaugnier, owned by Leblanc, made horns, especially bari and bass saxes, for many French companies including Noblet and SML. This style bass is commonly referred to as a “short wrap” bass as the tubing does not go up as high as say a vintage Conn or Busecher. As such the instrument is a bit shorter. The tubing then wraps back down the tube a bit further to make up the extra length. Its a fabulous instrument and quite rare to find, especially in this condition!
This bass is in excellent overall condition. It has a few dings and dimples as to be expected in a vintage bass but no major dents and nothing that affects play or sound. It is all original lacquer, never redone, and as you can see in the photos the original lacquer has outstanding coverage. It does have all new pads, fully overhauled in our shop by Duncan Bamsey, using large metal domed resonators.
This is a great bass for many reasons, not the least of which is its size. While it is in Bb and has the same length of tubing as other basses, the bell diameter is smaller and it feels much more compact, and isn’t nearly as cumbersome as an old Conn or Buescher bass sax. It feels comfortable under the fingers and the action is quick and precise.
This is a great player too. Nice even sound top to bottom, good response, and when you move a lot of air through it, it really comes alive! Big powerful sound in the middle and lower registers. Definitely a horn worth checking out! We’ve sold these in the past for $7500.00. Best of Luck on this NO RESERVE AUCTION!!!
We are auctioning off many sax mouthpieces and accessories, in auctions starting at just $1 with no reserve. Good luck.
The auction goes until the 22nd of December. At the time of writing, there are 13 bids on the horn, & the price is at $1525.00. It will very interesting to see what happens in this auction.
hello I have a bass Beaugnier like the one but the neck does not seem identical to that shown in these photographs I seek all information about the dimensions of the neck
Thank you
Hello. Welcome to my website.
I am sorry, but I can’t help you. I don’t have a Beaugnier bass saxophone of my own. I have a Buescher. I just wrote about the Beaugnier that was for sale on eBay.
I am hoping that one of my readers who owns ones might be able to able to help you. I know there are several. I’ll see if I can one or the other to chime in with an answer to your question.
Regards,
Helen
hello thank you for this message I hope too that an owner of an identical bass mine will bring me some information on the neck because I wonder if mine is the original and I have some problems on the upper register
I should have mentioned this earlier, but if you aren’t a member yet of the Bass Sax Co-operative, you really should join. It is a very well moderated Yahoo Group that I have been a member of since it first formed way back in 2000.
There are over 400 bass sax players from around the world who are members of the group, and I know a number of them are Beaugnier owners. I’m sure someone there would be able to give you information about the neck.
hello i have just by a beaugnier bass saxophone and i dont understand why is there two C bass tone hole on it .(you can see it on one of the photo above)
have you the answer ?
If I had to take a guess, I’d say it’s because two medium size holes can have the same effect as one larger one, while being easier to deal with mechanically and structurally. This obviously isn’t ALWAYS true (or we’d see this a lot more) but the bottom curve is kind of a bad place to have one giant hole. Maybe they thought the instrument would be more solid if they made it into two smaller holes.
Update: This horn ended up selling on December 22nd for $5048.00. It closed with a total of 37 bids.
So many toys and so little time.
Wow, an honest ad and a first-rate listing. Oh dear, what is this going to do to eBay’s reputation? 😀