The other day I mentioned that lately most bass saxophones that have appeared for sale or auction have been over-priced. Today’s offering on eBay is almost a flashback to what bass saxophone sales used to be like: You know, when a seller put something up for auction, and let the market determine its selling price. This is definitely not an over-priced bass.
Up for auction is a Buescher-stencilled Carl Fischer, New York bass saxophone.
Source: jrmpcdr
This all-lacquer horn has had a couple of interesting mods done to it to aid in its playability, and is described as follows by the seller:
An all original Bass Sax made in 1925 by Buescher for Carl Fischer, New York. (Serial #163XXX) This bass is in nice shape with an added bis key. It also has an articulated G# which allows you to play lower notes and jump up to the higher notes much easier! The lacquer is all original with about 85% left, a bit of pitting but for an instrument this age, it is really good shape. Overhauled skillfully by a very good LA repairman who made new pads, resonators, and the Bis and G# keys. This instrument plays well in all of it’s range and comes with a custom Buescher bass mpc which plays great with Rico 2 1/2 bass sax reeds. Tip was opened to .095 and is reed friendly! This bass was used on a recent Michael Buble CD by Rusty Higgins (amazing LA player) and by myself on many productions of “The Music Man”and on the National Tour of “West Side Story”. I hate to part with this bass sax but I’ve bought a new contra bassoon so this must go. Please inquire about any more details you may need. WInning bid includes a Reunion Blues cordura gig bag, Buyer must pay shipping and insurance. No international shipping on this, sorry. Thanks for looking and Happy Bidding!
Oh well, sorry ’bout that you international bass sax hunters. I guess you’ll have to keep looking. 😥
Source: jrmpcdr
Source: jrmpcdr
Now sadly the seller doesn’t include a photo of either the bis Bb or the articulated G# key. However, he is open to answering questions about the horn. So if I was serious about the sax, I’d write to him, and ask for a lot more photos—including photos of these modifications.
Since the photo below is the only photo of either the left or right hand keys, I can’t say with 100% certainty, but in the photo below it looks to me like the bass might not have pearls. This wouldn’t be unusual since it is a stencil horn, and American stencil manufacturers were known to reduce the number of features on saxophones that they made for other companies.
Source: jrmpcdr
The auction for this Buescher-stencilled Carl Fischer bass saxophone is scheduled to end on January 23. At the time of writing there were 5 bids on the horn already, with the high bid being $2,075.00. There is no reserve price on this sax.
Update: This bass found a new home for $4,750.00. In the end there had been 16 bids on this vintage bass.
@Mal-2: I don’t doubt that the horn has the G# or bis Bb mods. Speaking only for myself, I know that when I shop for a new (to me) sax, I’d like to see all areas of it. If I can’t, then I generally don’t buy the horn. This is especially true if the horn has had after-market modifications made to it.
With regards to the Bis Bb, I’m always curious to see how techs add these keys to vintage bass saxophones. I’ve seen some versions that are really primitive, and others that look like they’ve been on the horn since day 1.
@That1Freshman: Hi there. Welcome to my site.
Thanks for stopping by and adding your comments about the horn. I agree with you. If I was looking for a bass, this would be a serious contender.
I just played this horn the other day, great horn, The added bis key and articulated G# work great, this horn is most defiantly worth a bid on!
Given that the G# key doesn’t wrap around the back, I’d take the seller at his word on the articulated G#. That’s pretty much the only way to get it “in line” with the other stack keys as is the case here. Bis Bb can be added if absent, though it might be a bit tricky to do in such a way that it looks stock. It’s not like it requires any new tone holes or keys, just a touch piece and a rod to connect it. If the 1-and-1 fingering for Bb works, then all the mechanics are in place for a bis Bb.