If you want a Keilwerth bass saxophone, and don’t want to wait for them to build you one, here’s your chance to get a new horn now. I remember reading about this in a thread somewhere, it might have been on The Bass Sax Co-op, I’m not sure anymore, but I happened to notice this sax on eBay this AM.
Up for auction is a brand new, still with its plastic, Keilwerth SX90 bass sax. Here is how it’s described:
This Is A Beautiful Sax When I Opened It To Take Pictures It Lit Up The The House With Gold Color It Has No Dents, Chips Or Any Other Blem I Can See.I Don’t Know All The Specs But You Can Go To www.music123.com That’s Where I Was Referred To This Was Owned My My Friends Father Who Passed Away And Had A Music Store.Starting Price Is About Half The Value Of $17,999. Shipping Is $100 USA $250 OUTSIDE IT IS A BIG CASE.THANKS!
Unfortunately the pictures are very small, and don’t show much detail.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The auction for this bass runs until March 15th. The opening bid is $8,500. So far no one has bid on the sax.
I wonder why there is a wrench included with the saxophone. I’ve only ever bought 2 new horns… The last being a B&S Medusa bari just over 4 years ago, and I didn’t get a wrench with it… Mmm 
I just came across this article and thought I’d put my 2c in. This is not a Bass it is a Baritone. The neck is not from a Keilwerth Bass. Keilwerth Basses have a sink trap neck (see photo with QC inspector Sassy). The receiver points down on the Bass, the one in the picture points up. Also, it looks like an extended Low A Bell.
Regards,
Glenn G
And the receiver.
Interesting Glenn. I hadn’t noticed that before. I wonder if the new owner had problems with the neck not fitting! 😈
Love your new kitty. I see Sassy is very much into her work. Now if she could just figure out a way to fix those tonehole issues plaguing the SX-R 90s, she would be a wealthy cat indeed! 😉
Update: The sax sold this time around. There was 1 bid on the horn of $8,500 that won it.
Update: The horn is back on eBay with the same price, same small photos, but with FREE shipping inside the US this time. The auction close date is March 22.
I have an octave pedal in my setup too, but I only bring it out when I’m the only horn player on the gig. It actually will do a variety of intervals, not just octaves, but I only use it for octave up or octave down. It’s no good for voices because it has no capacity to reduce “chipmunkiness”, but with a horn it’s OK.
What I do use a lot is the DigiTech Vocalist Live 2 harmonizer. Unlike all harmonizers prior to 2007 or so, it actually listens to the music to decide what harmonies to add. It’s not just “pick a key and pray” like everything prior to it. I use this whether we have a trumpet lead or not, and switch it on and off as appropriate. It can be very convincing in fleshing out a short-handed horn section, but at nightclub volume it can sometimes lose track of me and start stuttering. I need a way to increase isolation so it can hear me better. I was thinking about a neck pickup but it doesn’t look like those are terribly popular any more.
There is an excellent demonstration video on YouTube of this box being used in its intended setting — listening to a guitar and harmonizing a voice. I use it to listen to the piano (which works reasonably well) and harmonize a sax (which is where it gets dicey at stage volume).
The octave pedal comes into play when I want to play lead trumpet but still use the C-mel to do it. Unfortunately the pedal I got has a nasty hum when it’s OFF (it works fine when it’s on) so I have to turn it up and down at the mixer. This rules out quick switches — I have to plan ahead and switch it on or off when my hands are free. I could insert a volume pedal into the signal path, but that would be one more piece of equipment to carry around, set up, and plug in.
I know it’s not at all the same, and some purists may wish to burn me at the stake – BUT – I used to use an ‘Octividor’ on tenor, which added in the lower octave (so did Wilton Felder of the Jazz Crusaders, when I saw them live in London). It was mainly for Soul riffs – so I could play high on the tenor/alto, and sound like there was a pseudo-baritone under me as well – two horns (even if one was electronic) sounded better than one, even better with a trumpet added on top.
With the advances in modern electronics and effects units, the output doesn’t have to sound as ‘bland/monotone’ as it did decades back, especially if the tenor audio was subtly back in the mix . Has anyone ever tried it with modern equipment ?
Oh yes Alan, we’re getting the stake ready. I’m just going to get the matches now. 😆
Seriously though, I have always wanted to try equipment like this, but for some reason never have. Even 20 years ago I thought this would be a great idea, but never tried it. Every once in a while I get the urge to try it again, but alas, I end with another horn instead… My thinking is you get way more milage out of a sax than electronic gear. Besides, resale if better on a sax than on used electronic gear… Like I ever sell any gear! A look in my studio certainly tells the tale. 😈
BTW, on the topic of horns, & picking up on something I said in one of my earlier comments on this post… I did get the Keilwerth stencil… At least I think it’s a Keilwerth stencil. The tenor is a De Villiers, and is marked “Made In Western Germany”. I’ll have some pics up in the next few days. It’s a strange one. Not much info out there about the brand, and what there is, tends to contradict itself.
I do have it on good authority, that the manufacturer was bought out by Keilwerth. Hopefully I’ll be able to trace the horn through its serial number. You know us Germans… We’re nothing if not precise. Hopefully Keilwerth will still have a record of when, and at what serial number, they took over the production of the De Villiers.
The horn was most likely made somewhere in the 50s or early 60s. It is an interesting beastie. Very dark sounding. Nice compliment to the tenors I already have, because I don’t have anything that sounds like it. I tend to go for the bright sound.
I guess the question is, how much are four semitones (downward) worth? Baritone saxophones aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, but they aren’t rare as hen’s teeth either, and can be had for the price of a cheap used car. Bass saxophones carry price tags more like that of a cheap NEW car. They’re also bigger, heavier, and harder to find gigs for. If you’re the one MAKING the gigs this may not be a problem, but otherwise the repertoire for a bari far exceeds that for bass. There are some six-sax big bands (or those that use a bass or bari in place of a second alto), but that was much more popular when big bands themselves were much more popular.
If you have a bass sax and you have the networking skills, you might be able to create your own niche. You might find employment with someone who doesn’t care WHICH horn you bring, so long as you cover the part. You might find yourself filling in for missing bassoons (one bass sax could easily replace several bassoons!). It’s a risky proposition, and a lot of money to shell out for something that may not get a lot of use. Maybe if there was a rent-a-bass service out there so we could try to get gigs THEN get the horn, returning it when we’re done…
Well the auction ran its course and no one bid on the sax. Perhaps the seller will re-list it, but include bigger and more pictures the next time around.
I’m not surprised no one bid on the sax. Big ticket items are just not moving these days, no matter how good a “deal” they might be. And let’s face facts, bass saxophones, are not really a “must have” item for anyone.
I think 99.9% of the pro sax playing world could live without having a new bass sax. Weekend players, and hobbyists are also not likely to rush out and buy one right now either. Everyone is in the same boat.
Most everyone who had money tied up in stocks and bonds lost a significant amount over the last quarter, so big ticket purchases are being put on hold. At least that’s what I’m seeing in my part of the world, and among the people I know. YMMV of course….
Bidding has ended – no bids – so either he’s accepted a private offer, or discovered it’s a baritone… 🙁
Although the seller has immaculate feedback, I have a nagging doubt (well, a couple…). If “It Lit Up The The House With Gold Color”, why leave the polythene on and take so few pictures ?
International shipping also seems way off unless he has a major account with UPS (and with $100 insurance ?), the size of the box would give ‘volumetrics’ prices a field day, the shares will soar..
Sure it’s not a baritone, looks like the top plumbing ends prematurely….
Thanks for the link! The pictures now help me understand the inclusion of the wrench.
I know nothing about the Keilwerth saxophones actually… Which is kind of ironic… Me being German and all. 😳
I am humming and hawing about a vintage Keilwerth stencil tenor however. There’s a Deviliers that’s been calling out to me for the last few weeks. Yet again another vintage horn though… I’m beginning to suspect the Medusa will be the only new horn I ever buy in my life.
There are pictures of Keilwerth adjustable palm keys in this review of a straight alto on the British shwoodwind site.
Some people don’t like them, but I bet those that do like them, like them a lot. I bet the second person to own such a horn likes them even more, as they can quickly and easily undo the previous owner’s preferences.
My Keilwerth alto came with a wrench. It’s for adjusting the height of the palm keys.
$100 seems like an underestimation of how much it would cost to ship a horn like that within the USA, no?
Oh, palm key height adjustment…Who knew? Thanks for letting me know. I guess I hang out with vintage sax players so much, I don’t know what the kids are getting with their new toys. 😉
Yeah, $100 seems a little low, but then I don’t know much about shipping costs in the US. I know in Canada shipping from one province to another would run you at least that for a small sax, if you put the right amount of insurance on it.