There is something a little more exotic on eBay at the moment. It’s not just your usual everyday bass saxophone—if there is such a thing as a usual bass—but rather a new, short wrap J’Elle Stainer bass, that’s sporting a vintage finish.
Source: eBay.com
Here is how this bass is being described by the seller (who BTW, is an employee of J’Elle Stainer):
J’Elle Stainer 226B “bronze vintage lacquer” bass sax
This saxophone was displayed at the Music Fair Musikmesse 2010 in Frankfurt last March.
Modern style bass keyed from Low Bb to high F#.
Plays real easy from bottom to top and it has an excellent sound.
Well finished with engraving, top quality brass with a solid neck and ergonomic keywork.
It comes with mouthpiece, cap and ligature inside an wheeled and protective light weight case with an external export strong carton box, it will arrive safe anywhere.
This bass sax has only been used for a few minutes during the above Music Fair and you get a major discount just for that! Don’t miss it!
Low A and other finishing available upon request, please check our website for more incredible saxophones:
Check my other items on EBAY !
You may try this saxophone at Amirani Woodwind, Viale Bligny 69, 27100 Pavia/Italy
Shipment anywhere in Italy only 50 GBP and to UK 80 GBP
Package size 141x42x62cm / 18 kg (8 kg net)
GET FREE SHIPPING AND SAXRAX STAND WITH BUY NOW OPTION!
Besides the unique, vintage bronze finish of this bass, in this shot you see that J’Elle Stainer has included triple strap rings. That’s always a nice feature.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The bell to body support brace looks quite similar to that of the Jinbao-made Oleg bass.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The spatula keys certainly have the shape of those found on the late model Selmer Mark VI and the Series II, as well as the Oleg bass saxophones.
The key guards certainly scream Selmer-style to me. Compare them to those of the Series II.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The second bell to body brace, located above the bow, also resembles that of the Oleg.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The chromatic F# key guard, and the clothes guard have a definite Selmer look to them.
Source: eBay.com
While at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt, it appears that J. Elle Stainer had their French-style basses on display in regular lacquer and silver plate finishes as well.
Source: eBay.com
The auction for the unique-looking, short-wrap J. Elle Stainer bass ends on May 7. Bids starts at GBP 5,399.00, which eBay estimates to be $8,247.51 US. The Buy It Now price is GBP 5,899.00, or approximately $9,011.31 US.
At the time of writing there were no bids yet on this new bass saxophone.
Update: We didn’t have to wait too long… It’s back… And so is its silver cousin… Both auctions end on May 28. Asking price is a hair lower. The vintage finish sax is listed for the Buy It Now price of GBP 5,499.00, or approximately US $7,923.51 according to eBay. The silver plated bass is GBP 4,499.00, or approximately US $6,482.61 according to eBay.
Update: When the auction ended, there were 0 bids on this unique bass by J’Elle Stainer. I wonder if it will turn up again?
There’s also another one on ebay. It’s the same model, same everything except it has a silver finish.
Mmm, interesting. I wonder if they’ll be selling their lacquer model soon too?
What’s also interesting is that in the close-up photos of the silver-plated bass, you can really see the similarities to the Jinbao horns.
I just realized I must have been totally braindead when I did up this post this AM. I didn’t even include a link to the eBay auction. It’s fixed now, but wow… I’m really stunned today. 😯
Why won’t people just leave the original wrap and some selmer wrapped style bass saxophones alone. It’s just ruining the VINTAGE look of the horns. It also takes away from the Timbre of the horn’s voice.
Figures you’d bring that up. 😉
I strongly suspect they’re farming out the “normal” basses, or at least the production of parts. Several elements just bear an uncanny resemblance to Chinese horns I’ve seen (and in some cases, own). The pant guard is a Selmer knockoff in every way except that it lacks the embossed Selmer logo, and this is EXTREMELY common on Chinese-made horns now.
If I had to take a guess, I’d say it bears resemblance to the Oleg bass because they’re getting (some of) their parts from the same place.
You noticed that too about the pants guard, huh? It looks like all the guards on my Selmers, minus as you say the stylized “HSC”.
Interesting theory you put forth about them outsourcing the parts to their conventional bass saxophones to Jinbao. It would make sense to some degree. It would certainly reduce their tooling, etc. costs wouldn’t it?
One thing that the ad doesn’t mention, is if the horn comes with a peg. The Oleg bass does, but only has 1 mounting attachment on the sax’s bow. This J’Elle Stainer appears to have 2 mounting attachments: one around the bow, one a bit further up on the lowest end of the bell. However, no mention of the bass’s ability to accommodate a floor peg.