The Indiana Band Instrument Co.
The Indiana Band Instrument Co.

The Indiana Band Instrument Co.

Yesterday morning I noticed a very unassuming, but somewhat unusual sax on eBay: It was this Indiana Band Instrument Co. tenor.

Indiana Band Instrument Co. saxophone, Martin sax, tenor sax, vintage sax

Source: shadows4u2 on eBay.com

At first blush there is really nothing special about this vintage silver plated tenor sax with its gold wash bell. Bevelled tone holes were normal on Martins, and even the front F key was found on Martin saxophones from the Handcraft Phase 3 onwards. As a matter of fact, the horn very much resembles my Martin Handcraft.

However, what is of special noteworthiness is the saxophone’s engraving. Notice that there is no mention of Martin? This horn is simply engraved Indiana Band Instrument Co.

Bell Engraving, sax bell, Indiana Band Instrument Co. Martin saxophone, silver sax, vintage sax

Source: shadows4u2 on eBay.com

While the Internet can be a great source of information and obscure facts, it can also be an incredible source of very inaccurate information. Case in point: The history of the Indiana Band Instrument Co., of Elkhart, Indiana.

If you were to Google the company name you would undoubtedly come across something that reads like the following paraphrase:

In 1928 Martin got controlling interest of the Indiana Band Instrument Co. (IBICo). It continued to operate as an independent company until 1942, when it Martin began using the name to produce its brand of student model horns. Some people argue that Martin’s stencil saxes were made at the IBICo’s plant as well.

Sounds good, right? Too bad that pretty much all the big name vintage sax sites have the info wrong.

The Indiana Band Instrument Co. was never an independent company at all. Music trade publications of the day state that the company was founded in 1928 by senior Martin personnel.1 This fact was confirmed by the grandson of Martin’s then-President and General Manager, F.A. Holtz. This is what Chris Holtz (the grandson) has written:

To correct a little Martin history

By 1912, the Martin sons came to the conclusion that their contentious infighting could only be solved by selling their stock and going their own ways. Frank Compton purchased the company, but stayed only eight years.

In 1920, O.P.Bassett, a newspaper publisher from Illinois who had earlier moved to Elkhart to operate a local paper there instead, bought Martin Band Instruments with several Chicago partners. His partners opened a successful retail instrument outlet in Chicago on Wabash St , while Bassett, after hiring my Grandfather, Fred Holtz as Sales Manager, ran the Martin plant.

In December 1928, in order to broaden their customer base, Mr Bassett (majority owner and G.M.) and Grandad incorporated The Indiana Band Instrument Company. Like Conn had done several years earlier with their Pan American brand, and then Buescher, with their Elkhart Band Instrument division, it allowed Martin to produce and market a line of less costly instruments to those who could not afford the premium Martin offerings.

These entities were wholly owned by their parent, but at least in the case of MBI, both Martin and Indiana lines were built on the same line by the same craftsmen. These were long before ‘student horns’ were ever conceived. Rather Martin brought older retired top-of-the-line models (with existing tooling) back to life. The Indiana horns were of excellent quality (the Indiana saxophone, for instance, was a dead ringer for the older Handcraft Standard premium horn).

During war production buildup in 1942, Martin dropped the Indiana Band Instrument logo, and subsequently , labeled the horns as “INDIANA by Martin”. MBI did keep the serial numbers on a separate ledger.

In 1961, Paul Richards, a businessman with little band instrument experience, purchased three companies (Martin, Blessing, Reynolds and their factories) to produce as many student horns as possible. With the success of ‘The Music Man’ on Broadway and the movie in the works, he had dreamed of a huge student horn boom. Sadly he was wrong and faced bankruptcy in less than two years.

Wurlitzer, a longtime Martin client) picked up the pieces and operates the Elkhart plant for several years, until the Leblanc sale. The Indiana horns were produced throughout all those years.

The serial numbers for the Indiana horns are available on TheMartinStory.net website. Hope that clears up a bit and Martin and IBICO history.

Source: tromboneforum.org

If you are interested in Martin’s history, you might enjoy looking through a bunch of old (many date back to the 1920s) music trade publication clippings related to the company. If so, be sure to check out Chris Holtz’s Google+ album. I just looked through the 180+ clippings this morning. There were some interesting little gems there.

Getting back to the Indiana Band Instrument Co. tenor currently for sale on eBay, it is indeed a fine-looking, but yes, rather plain tenor. That said, its appearance would indicate that it was not abused during its lifetime, and that based on its serial # (16805) the sax was produced circa 1936.

I won’t bother quoting the eBay ad since its wrong, and if you’re interested in the horn you’ll check it out anyway. You’ll definitely want to budget for an overhaul if you decide to go for this baby.

The thing is, IMHO the price is a tad on the high side. Bids are to start at $899.99. As you can imagine there are no bids on this Indiana Band Instrument Co. tenor yet. The auction for this vintage sax ends on October 3. Let’s see if someone bites by then.

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1 Source: Jorns Bergenson and Head2wind in SOTW thread titled: Indiana band inst Elkhart Alto Saxophone

…this is just my blog. My “real” website is www.bassic-sax.info. If you’re looking for sax info, you should check it out too.There’s lots there!
 

15 Comments

  1. Garry

    I just took this photo this morning of my father’s sax. I’m thinking of having it refurbished for my grandson. I know my father bought it well before I was born in 1959.

  2. Kurt Walter

    The actual incorporation for The Indiana Band Instrument Co was reported in April 1929 in the Music Trade Review. Additionally, the trademark registration with the USPTO number 283279, May 19, 1931 indicates April 1, 1929 as the date of first usage.

    So one would expect the Indiana BIC serials to have a 1929 start.

  3. ron

    Hi Helen, I stopped by a garage sale Saturday and found an identical silver tenor (Indiana Band Inst.) but with a serial number 10961 from (I’m guessing here) 1909. I made a trip home and got my tenor mouthpiece (from my 1960 Buescher) and played the horn (recently overhauled) and was amazed at the silky and powerful sound. I bought it and checked it with a tuner and it’s good over the entire range. I can’t wait to trade chairs with the lead tenor in our big band (I’m on alto) and see how the section likes my new horn. The response fast and I can play a triple p which is unheard of on a tenor. I can fade out as I can on a clarinet. I’m amazed I haven’t heard more about these horns.
    Ron

    1. Hi Ron. Welcome to my site.

      Great news on your “new” horn. I love my old Handcraft, and when it’s not not leaking it does indeed whisper to ppp even in the low end of the horn. In that sense it is much like my Zephyr (my main tenor) that I use in a Big Band for exactly that reason. My Martin has quite a different sound to the Zeph—a darker, more core tone, yet with certain overtones that seem to be characteristically Martin.

      The Martin is quite free-blowing in some respects, and certainly 100% in tune over its entire range. I also find that it has a nice even scale. Given that the horn in question here—and yours if it is indeed the same—is really nothing but a Handcraft, I would suspect that your findings would be the same and/or similar.

      As for why we don’t see more of them, it’s quite possibly because they were not sold as pro model instruments. I suspect that since they didn’t cost as much at the time as a pro horn, more would have ended up getting used by students, or getting abused than a pro model horn would. Likely more would have ended up getting tossed out earlier than the pro horns from days gone by. Also, I suspect more horns were made and sold under the Martin name than the Indiana Band Instrument Co., but these are just guesses on my part. I don’t know if the actual production numbers are available anywhere, or have long been destroyed. But those numbers would confirm the latter theory at least.

      1. ron

        Hi Helen, I didn’t mention that the mouthpiece which gives the best pitch over the horn’s range is from The Woodwind Co. New York and is a B5(with either and “a” or a star. The sax has some dark spots everywhere. Am I going to regret using silver polish where I can reach?
        The bell is a gold wash inside. You didn’t mention if yours has that.
        Also I misspoke about the Buescher tenor I have-it’s a top hat and cane from about 1950. My alto is a Buffet S1.

        Ron

        1. Theo

          I treat black spots on silver with alcohol and fine CaCO3. When there is no silver below the black spots the brass will become visible.
          This method is used to treat silver in museum.
          Silver polish will remove more silver and often leaves a residue.

        2. I’ve found that my Martin is playable with pretty much most of my mouthpieces. I used to use a vintage HR Berg, but when I play it now, I just use my Dukoff.

          Yes, my Martin has a gold wash bell. If you’d like to read about or see some pics of mine, you can do so here. It has an interesting story behind it. It had been forgotten about, and left for dead until I received it as a gift from a repair tech friend of mine.

          As far as polishing it goes, use a silver polishing cloth. I got quite a large one from my repair tech for not very much money. I forgot the name that’s on it, but it’s from a band instrument company, and it’s big because it’s intended specifically for instruments, and not jewellery or silverware.

          As far as a full scale polish goes, of my approx. 30 saxophones, nearly 1/2 of them are silver plated. The only time they are ever really polished is when they overhauled by my tech. It is done when the horns are taken apart anyway, and all the pieces are accessible. Once I get the fully-cleaned horn back from the tech, I used anti-tarnish strips in the case to reduce the tarnish build-up on the horn. I keep the horns in their cases when not being played, and the cases closed. This keeps that black tarnish from building up on the horns in between overhauls. My Buescher True Tone bass was last polished when it was overhauled in 2000, and still looks good. This photo was taken in February of this year at a gig with my jazz trio. It gives you and idea of how little tarnish is on the bass.

          bass_sax

  4. Update: Well the seller still has it for sale, but at a much more realistic price. I have lost track at how many times the baby has been around the eBay block, but it’s been a bunch. Now there are just under 2 days left on an auction that could see you as this horn’s new proud owner for $449.99 starting bid… Yah, no one’s bid on it yet. My bet… It’ll be around again… :bang:

  5. Update: After a whole bunch (5?) of re-lists, but never a drop in price, the seller finally ended the auction with the usual eBay statement of: “This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.” That was on Oct. 19. I wonder if he/she sold it off eBay? If the seller did manage to sell it, I wonder how much they got for it. I suspect it was less than the asking price. :2cents:

  6. Leon Rivchun

    I picked up one of these last year on ebay for $280. Tarnished, but perfect! New black roo pads and domed metal resonators. “Silky” and “buttery” are the words that come to mind – not the thunderclap of a Conn New Wonder. But, to me, the Indiana is in every way a fully-realized pro-level horn. While I agree that the $899 starting price is too high (add to that whatever a full overhaul would cost), what other pro-level horn are you going to buy for that amount?

    Great web-site and blog. Thank-you so much for the wealth of information you provide. You are helping to share the joy that vintage saxophones provide – they are living, breathing ties to the past – as well as being so amazing in their own right.

    Thanks again,
    Leon

    1. Hi Leon. Welcome to my site. Glad you enjoy it.

      There is just something very special about Martin saxophones. I have had my Handcraft tenor for over 15 years now, and cherished it every year I’ve had it. Despite its rather ugly ergos, there is just something about its tone that is unmatched by any of my other vintage tenors—which have all but 1 been especially chosen by me because of their unique tone.

      That special feeling I have towards my Martin tenor is why I gave the Committee III bari a try earlier this year when I had the chance. And guess what? Despite its rather awkard ergos—compared to my Mark VI that I’ve used forever—I opted to pick up this 1 owner horn and have it restored by my tech. The Martin Baritone is now my primary bari. Go figure.

      Drop by again Leon, and in the meantime, I hope you keep enjoying my site. There’s a ton of stuff to look at…helen

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