After not writing about Hammerschmidt saxophones for years, I now find myself doing two back-to-back posts about the relatively uncommon brand of German saxophone from Burgau, Schwaben.
Why the sudden interest you ask? I have never stopped being interested in Hammerschmidt saxophones. I just wish that the experience that I had with mine had turned out differently.
Over the years of my tracking Hammerschmidt saxophones and their stencils, the models I have been most fascinated with are those with the eyebrow key guards.
As much as I love the plexiglass guards on some of the models, there is just something sexy about eyebrow key guards. I simply love those we see on the Hohner President, Werner Roth, the ultra-rare Keilwerth King Imperial, some G.H. Hüller models, and of course the King Zephyr. In a sea of conformity, uniqueness is just something I appreciate. Hence my love of eyebrow keyguards.
That is why I am drawn to these early Hammerschmidt Klingson saxophones that pop up from time to time on eBay and other auction sites—such as tenor #052 that is currently listed for sale on eBay.
Beautifully designed saxophones by Hammerschmidt
These eyebrow key guard saxophones from Hammerschmidt really give us a bit of a glimpse into what the future of their saxophone lines would look like—only much, much prettier. Everything from the key work; to key guards; to the octave mechanism design on these early Klingson saxophones worked together to create one of the most aesthetically beautiful saxophones ever built. IMHO of course. 
Although many German saxophones are often referred to as being “overbuilt”, that criticism cannot really be levelled at these early Klingson horns by Hammerschmidt. They look light and agile, and more nimble than the heavily ornamented models the company built only a few years later.
Features like later Hammerschmidt saxophones
Like many of the saxophones that would later bear the Klingsor name—or any one the numerous stencil names they were produced as—this horn was a peek into Hammerschmidt’s saxophone future. The photos included in the Gallery of tenor 052 photos below, illustrate how tenor #052 has some of the same features as later-model Klingsors.
Features such as the following: (Illustrated here in the newer Klingsor horns.)
- Wishbone octave mechanism (not doubt inspired by the Selmer St. Louis Gold Medal Model)
- Same left thumb rest & octave lever shape
- Same chromatic F# key shape & location
- Same right pinkie key shapes
- Same right palm key shapes
Features that differ from later Hammerschmidt saxophones
However, while some features noted above are indeed the same, many more on tenor #052 are in fact different. Here are some of the more obvious ones:
| Feature | Klingson Tenor 052 | Later model Klingsor & their stencils |
| Key guards | Eyebrow key guards | plexiglass or sheet metal ones. |
| Body octave vents | 1 | 2 (Check out my previous article on this patent.) |
| Left pinkie cluster | Nail file G# | MOP & also shaped slightly differently ** |
| Rollers | Black | White (MOP on some models) only rarely hard rubber |
| Keys & key arms | Keys flat & arms attached on side of key cups | The arms attached in the conventional way |
| Tone holes | Soldered. Also bevelled like we see on the earliest Hohner saxophones, and on Martin | Drawn and rolled |
| Neck fastening screw | Conventional | Round thumb screw |
| Name & Engraving | Klingson 1 – company name & location | Klingsor – blacksmith |
| Front F | Absent | Present on all by the Model C (least expensive) |
| Extra keys | None present | Depending on model, but fork Eb, G# or C/D trillers, & high F# were available |
| Bow guard | Flat metal reinforcement | Ornate on some models |
| Neck guard | Flat metal reinforcement | Ornate on some models, or man in the moon, as well as plain |
| Bow to body connecting ring | Plain | Ornate on some models |
| Bow to bell connecting ring | Plain | Ornate on some models |
| Body to bell support brace anchor on bell side | plain triangle | Ornate shield-like shape |
| Body to bell support brace | Shaped like 2 posts joined similar to Hohner, et al | Round metal bar with fasteners on both ends |
** There are only very few exceptions that I have found in years of Hammerschmidt research. In the hundreds of different saxophones I have studied that were made by the company, I can count less than 10 that still have a nail file G#. If you wish to see for yourself you can check the Hammerschmidt galleries in Bassic Sax Pix.
Gallery of Klingson tenor 052 photos
The following are the photos the seller provided of tenor #052 for their eBay auction. It shows a beautiful silver plated saxophone that is truly one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.
Details of Klingson tenor 052
If you would like to make this lovely tenor yours, you only have a few more days to make that happen. The auction ends on Sunday, Oct. 27th.
The seller is asking €1,450.00, which eBay shows as being approx. $1,563.38 US.
The seller describes the horn as follows:
HAMMERSCHMIDT “KLINGSON” TENOR SAXOPHONE. SAXOFÓN
KLINGSON
KARL HAMMERSCHMIDT u SOHNE
BURGAU, SCHWABEN
SN: 052
Silver plated.
Very good condition. Very rare design in the keys and guardas.
Soldered beveled toneholes.
Mother of pearl buttons.
No frontal F key.
New pads with plastic resonators.
Hard case.
Support not included.
According to the opinion of a German user:
“You are selling one of the very first Hammerschmidt Tenors ever made in Burgau. The bevelled tone holes are very special as well”.
Does this style of Klingson seem familiar?
If you keep up with Hammerschmidt saxophones, or have read other parts in the series of articles I have written about them, you might have come across the article I wrote March 8, 2016. The article titled, Hammerschmidt Saxes with Eyebrow Key Guards, features 2 different saxes, with vastly different eyebrow-style key guards.
The second horn featured in the article, alto #055, was built as a stencil horn for a music store, but is identical to tenor #052 in build, with the exception that it is what would be called a full pearl model. Now if it had been a tenor, I would have been very tempted. 
1 There is quite a bit of confusion about the Klingsor/Klingson name. Hammerschmidt used both at various times, and for their different instruments. Klingson is what Hammerschmidt called their flutes, clarinets, and early saxophones. Klingson is also the name we see on saxophones made for Hammerschmidt by other companies. Most notably, F.X. Hüller.
As saxophone production ramped up, the company rebranded their saxophones Klingsor. Later however, when they stopped making their own horns and had cheaper saxes brought in from Asia, the name Klingson was once again engraved on the bell of the saxes.
