If you’re a fan of vintage Keilwerths, there is currently a very unique Toneking alto on eBay at the moment. It is labelled Toneking Solo, and features the full pearl treatment.
Source: eBay.com
The sax is being sold by New York saxophone specialist Matt Stohrer. This is how he describes this very unique vintage Keilwerth Toneking:
This is an auction for a SUPER RARE variant of the Keilwerth New King Series I alto saxophone. This saxophone is engraved “Toneking Solo”, is serial 15xxx with the JKG Best in the World stamp, and has mother of pearl inlay on every single key– much like the fabled Conn Virtuoso Deluxe saxophones. The left hand pinky spatula, the palm keys, the side key touchpieces, the low Eb/C- everything is mother of pearl, including the rollers! This saxophone has just been fully overhauled using flat metal resonators and is ready to play, and given proper care should not need any major work for a long, long time. The original silver plate finish exhibits some wear (Keilwerth at this time plated the silver directly to the brass, which doesn’t yield as tough a finish as the more usual brass-copper-silver sandwich) but physically the saxophone is in excellent condition.
The sound on this horn is pretty phenomenal. Huge, round, and full, with an ability to really fill up a room. Intonation-wise, the horn prefers (at least for me) a larger chambered short mouthpiece, like the mouthpieces that were made in the 1930s through the 1950s. Your results may vary, but I highly recommend a mouthpiece of similar type for best results.
I am a big fan of these Keilwerth New King Series I saxophones and I play one myself on alto. Amazing player and rising star (or has he risen already? He is putting out his 3rd CD) in the jazz world Logan Richardson also uses a New King I alto (one that actually used to be mine!). To hear him play one of these horns, check out www.loganrichardson.com.
I could go on and on about how beautiful and rare and what a great playing axe this horn is, but the pictures tell the best story of this saxophone, so take a look and feel free to ask me for more or larger pictures if you would like.
This saxophone will come shipped in a Hiscox case, which is a $250 value and in my opinion the MOST protective alto case on the market. Rest assured that this collectible saxophone will arrive on your doorstep well protected and in excellent playing condition.
Details of the overhaul: replaced every single pad and cork, along with a chemical cleaning of the keys and body and all dents removed. On saxophones the neck tenon body seal was checked and adjusted for a perfect fit. The microtuner mechanism on the neck was fully disassembled, cleaned, checked for airtight seal, and oiled and reassembled. The keywork was restored to better-than-new mechanical condition. ALL play was removed from the hinge tubes and pivot rods. Hinge tubes were gently swedged tight using collets, with regard to the integrity of the finish, and then made square and true with hinge tube facers so that the bearing surfaces of the ends of the hinge tubes are perfectly flat, thus ensuring a long-lasting and smooth fit. The pivot screw bearing surfaces were checked and perfected. The pivot receivers on the pivot rods were thoroughly cleaned out, checked, and perfected to match the pivot screw exactly. Then the pivot screw post was counterbored until the pivot screw and pivot rod fit perfectly, being absolutely free with no play. Springs were assessed and replaced if needed. Some repair shops call this procedure a restoration. This procedure alone is a $1200 value.
This saxophone is sold as-is.
My name is Matt Stohrer and I am a saxophone specialist based in New York City. Ebay has a policy against linking to business websites, so google my name if you would like to learn more. I take pride in the services I provide and the items that I sell, and you can rest assured that when you buy an item from me you are buying it from a saxophone expert and that I have done my absolute best to describe the item as well as I can. If you purchase an item from me, it will arrive on your doorstep packed very well and in the exact condition in which is it described. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and good luck bidding!
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
In this pic you can see the mother of pearl rollers with their translucent shimmer.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Like many European horns of the day—Hammerschmidt, Hohner, Pierret, et al—Keilwerth put extra keys on the Toneking Solo. This sax features high D# as well as G# trill Keys
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The auction for this vintage Keilwerth Toneking Solo runs until June 27. At the time of writing there were 6 bids on this rather pretty sax. The high bid was $315.00, and the reserve had not been met.
If you’d like to find out more about the Toneking, a good place to start is the Keilwerth section of the Bassic Sax website.
Sem dúvidas e um ótimo instrumento o toneking soloist
Nunca que vou vender o meu, também só tenho ele …
Update: I must say I’m rather surprised at how this auction turned out. This rare, Keilwerth, full pearl, Toneking Solo alto attracted a lot of bidders, but no successful buyer.
By the time the auction ended 24 bids were received by the seller. However, the highest bid was only $810.00. 😯 Give your heads a shake people. Regular Toneking altos go for more than that after a full “overhaul” or “restoration” or whatever you wish to call it… As a matter of fact, the restoration will cost you more than that! 😮
This was simply a case of the right buyer just not seeing the horn. I’m sure it will find a good home in time.
Hi Mal-2 and Helen. It’s been a while, county engineering internship and all 😀
I have another alto saxophone in my possession and a trumpet. That brings up the collection to 36 instruments.
I see that everybody’s been posting a lot and congrats on all the new topics. I’m slowly getting through them all.
I hope to be posting very soon.
Have a great summer everyone.
Hi there Chris. Nice to see you here again. I was wondering how things were going for you.
Another sax & trumpet… Mmm… Doesn’t sound like you’ll have enough free time this summer to play many of your 36 horns though. 😮
Is your internship continuing through the summer, or are you done now?
Oh, and this almost goes without saying but… What kind of alto is it? Details man… We want details…
You’re very correct Mal-2. I wasn’t even paying attention to that. You don’t see that key very often on the European horns, but it is very obvious in the photos. I guess I know where my head was this morning. :devil2: Firmly up my butt. 😆
I really like the sax. Too bad it’s not a tenor… It would set off my G.A.S. meter, and then Pete could make another comment about me having one of every tenor ever made.
Not just a G# trill and right hand D#, but a fork Eb as well! I noticed the little bar connecting RH3 to RH2 before I noticed the extra cage and key on the back.