I’m always on the lookout for Hammerschmidt saxophones. This rather obscure, vintage German saxophone brand has held a certain fascination for me, ever since I learned that my full pearl Hüttl was made by Hammerschmidt, in Burgau, Germany.
Yesterday I noticed that there was a tenor Klingsor—that was the brand name the Hammerschmidt saxophones were sold under—for sale in Brussels, Belgium. The seller currently has it listed on eBay.
Source: eBay.com
Unfortunately the ad is written in French, and I don’t speak or read the language. For those of you that do however, here is how the horn is being described in the original ad:
SUPERBE SAXOPHONE TENOR KLINGSOR, DES ANNEES 1970, N° 4379.
CE SAXOPHONE A UNE TRES BELLE SONORITE. DE CONCEPTION ORIGINALE, AVEC DES CHEMINEES ROULEES, ET UNE ERGONOMIE AGREABLE.
TRACES D’USURE NORMALES POUR SON AGE. PAS DE DEPRESSIONS, VERNIS DORE PRESENT A PLUS OU MOINS 80%.
CE SAXOPHONE NECESSITE QUELQUES REGLAGES ET AJUSTEMENTS.
OK, so the guy is yelling at us in French. 🙂
I could make out most of what the seller was saying, but I tried a couple of translation sites to help with the rest. Unfortunately that didn’t help me much. I then asked my friend André, who I bought 2 Klingsors from, to look at the ad for me, and fill in the blanks. So without further adieu, here’s the meaning of the the French ad. (Along with some commentary interjected along the way.)
This eBay seller is selling a Klingsor tenor with the serial number 4379. He says that the sax was made in 1970, but offers nothing to back that up. Since I have not seen any serial number charts for Hammerschmidt horns, perhaps he has been in contact with the company, and they have told him this piece of information. It is possible, since the company made alto and tenor saxophones from approximately 1950 to 1980, so the time-line would fit.
The sax, the seller says, has a beautiful sound, an original design, agreeable ergos, and rolled tone holes. BTW, these Klingsors do have a great sound. My nickel plated tenor (serial number 43XX), which happens to be nearly this horn’s twin, has a unique sound not matched my any of my other tenors. It is a really nice jazz horn.
According to the seller, this lacquered sax on eBay shows normal wear for its age, and has approximately 80% of its finish intact. There are no dents. The Klingsor will need to be regulated though.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
In this photo you can see that the sax has some kind of floral engraving. This is a bit unusual. Normally these Klingsor saxophones are engraved with a blacksmith and an anvil, with musical notes flying through the air.
Source: eBay.com
The auction for this Klingsor tenor sax runs until March 17. Bids are to start at €350.00, which eBay shows as approximately $477.86 US. At the time of writing, there were no bids on this vintage Hammerschmidt yet.
Update: This horn didn’t sell this time around either. I guess late model Klingsors are just not a big draw at the moment. Who knew?
Here’s my :2cents: on this: If this sax was older, and had acrylic key guards, it would have been scooped up the first time around. These late model Klingsors are being seen as just like any other lesser known brands of saxes from the 60s and 70s. In other words: There’s nothing special about them per say, and there are a lot of lesser known brands that can be had for less than this. This seller will have to wait for the right buyer to come around. I’m sure that person is out there, but it’s just a matter of time for the seller and buyer to find each other.
Update: This Hammerschmidt is back on eBay. The price for opening bids is the same as last time around: €350.00. The auction runs until April 6. So far no one’s bid on this Klingsor yet.
Update: This Klingsor did not sell. When the auction ended, there were 0 bids on this vintage Hammerschmidt saxophone.