Well it seems there is a new, yet very familiar, bass saxophone name out there: Oleg. Yes, it seems Oleg is now marketing a bass saxophone stencilled with its name. It is a French, “short wrap” style, and is currently for sale on eBay.
Source: eBay.com
This is how Oleg describes their new bass saxophone:
You are bidding on a new Oleg Bass Saxophone. In comparison with Selmer , this ergonomically designed instrument fits in your hand like a glove and feels more like a baritone than a bass saxophone. Its also made quite more sturdy with an extra body brace and forged keys. The sound is big and warm but centered and deep. It is also amazingly in tune with itself, the quality that contributes to and enhances all other acoustical parameters. The instrument comes with made in France superbly efficient combination of easy responding and even playing “Woodwind” brand mouthpiece (retails for $280), the non-restrictive harmonically rich and projecting Olegature($90) and most importantly Oleg’s customized bass saxophone neck (retails for $600) Other important features: high quality key work, forged keys, balanced spring action, stainless steel screws, ergonomically designed left hand keys spatula, artistic hand engraved design on the bell, strong wheeled case and Oleg combo strap/harness.(list $84.00)
Any player will find this instrument extremely easy to controll and vertually effortless to play from pianissimo to any other dynamic level with ease, great pitch definition, even rich and consistent tone. This bass will also blast effortlessly with power when needed.
Source: eBay.com
Although it is hard to tell in this small photo, here you can see the body to bell support braces.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Here is a detailed shot of the triple strap rings. I really do like this feature. We’re seeing this now on many new bass saxes.
Also visible in this shot is the bracing between the main body tube and the wrap, which looks quite substantial.
Source: eBay.com
So too does the body to bell support brace located toward the bow of the horn.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The Oleg bass sax also has a floor peg. This too is a nice feature.
Source: eBay.com
Since there is no country of origin provided for this sax, one can only presume that it too is an American-designed bass manufactured in Asia. However, given Oleg’s reputation for high-quality products, this is one Far-Eastern bass that I would personally be interested in play-testing.
The auction for this Oleg bass runs until June 21. The Buy It Now price of the sax is $9,995.00. At the time of writing there were no offers yet on the horn.
I just purchased this horn. Looking forward to honking on it.
Frank, do you like the Oleg Bass Sax? How much did it eventually go for?
Update: Well after 435 views, and 3 offers on the Oleg bass saxophone, the auction ended with the horn not being sold.
If you missed the auction, fear not: you have yet another chance. The horn is back on eBay. This time the Buy It Now price is back up to the original $9,995.00 they were asking the first time around (before they dropped it by $1500 last time). Why? :scratch: Maybe it’s some weird eBay thing I don’t understand…
The seller does say: “Please do not hesitate to give us any reasonable/or “unreasonable” offer.” I wonder what the unreasonable offers were the last time around? Since the horn didn’t sell, one can only presume that the offers were too “unreasonable”.
The auction for the Oleg bass ends on August 26. (Or earlier if someone ponies up 10K first.)
The Oleg bass has been re-listed on eBay. However, this time the Buy It Now price has been lowered to $7,495.00. The closing date for the auction is July 23. As of today there were no bids on the horn yet. (Heh, it’s early. Give it time. Maybe someone will go for it this time around.)
This Oleg bass sax appears not to have sold. When the auction ended on June 21, there were no offers listed on this sax.