{"id":27114,"date":"2011-08-22T10:53:06","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T17:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=27114"},"modified":"2024-05-26T09:29:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-26T16:29:14","slug":"a-savana-alto-saxophone-by-universal-up-for-sale-on-ebay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2011\/a-savana-alto-saxophone-by-universal-up-for-sale-on-ebay\/","title":{"rendered":"A Savana Alto Saxophone By Universal Up For Sale On eBay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes I write about horns that are listed on eBay because they are an excellent deal. Other times I write about them only because they are an oddity. Today’s eBay’s offering <\/a>is definitely an example of the latter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

     Source: phils-historic-instruments<\/h6>\n

This quirky alto\u2014with a non-detachable neck\u2014was made by the Universal company in Paris, France, and carries the model name Savana.<\/p>\n

I have tried to do some research into the brand, but have come up with next to nothing. This reference in the Clarinet Makers section of woodwind.org<\/a>, is the most authoritative, and confirms that this is not a stencil sax.<\/p>\n

Here is how the seller describes this vintage saxophone:<\/p>\n

Here we have a lovely silver plated saxophone manufactured in Paris by Savana. This Universal Brevete 480 model has a serial number ‘2481840’ (very feint)<\/p>\n

This instrument is slightly unusual in design because it is in one complete instrument, ie the crook is not detachable<\/p>\n

Condition appears very reasonable, but it requires a total re-pad and service as some springs are not tight. It has its original mouthpiece & ligature and also a case.<\/p>\n

Saxophones are not my strongest in terms of knowledge would be please to try to answer any questions you may have.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

  Source: phils-historic-instruments<\/h6>\n

As the photos show, the sax only plays down to B, but does go up to high F. This was quite a common range for vintage French saxophones of the time.<\/p>\n

Another characteristic of French saxophones of the time, was that they lacked pearls and rollers. This horn too shares this common French trait.<\/p>\n

Also, as you can see in the photo of the right side, the sax appears to have 2 octaves keys rather than 1 automatic one. (You can barely make out a white pad midway up the visible octave lever.)<\/p>\n

From the research that I have done, I believe that 480 is actually the serial number. I’m not sure what 2481840 is however, since it doesn’t appear to be a patent number\u2014at least according to any patent searches that I have done.<\/p>\n

In the research that I have done, I came across other Universal Savana saxophones that had similar 6-digit numbers. Only the “1” in this horn’s number is an extra, and doesn’t fit with the rest of the examples that have been mentioned. Furthermore, in September, 2009<\/a>, a reader of my website contacted me and asked about a Savana soprano that she had the opportunity to buy. It too had the same number (248-840) stamped on it.<\/p>\n

At the time I contacted saxophone historian Pete Hales to see if he knew anything about the history of Universal Savana saxophones. He replied that he had seen soprano and alto Universal saxophones in the past, but didn’t know anything about the brand other than it was very old. He believed that the company ceased production by the end of WWI. He also believed that the soprano was likely a high pitch horn. (I had sent him lots of photos.)<\/p>\n

As I researched the brand again this morning, this high pitch theory is something that others have mentioned as well. It is therefore worth noting that the alto currently on eBay might very well be a high pitch sax.<\/p>\n

The auction for this rather interesting enigma of a saxophone<\/a> runs until September 21. The Buy It Now price is \u00a3345.00, which eBay estimates to be approximately $571.73 US. At the time of writing there were no offers yet on this, what is most likely an antique saxophone.<\/p>\n

\n
…this is just my blog<\/em>. <\/span> My \u201creal\u201d <\/b> website is<\/span> www.bassic-sax.info.<\/a> If you\u2019re looking for <\/span> sax info<\/strong>,<\/span> you should check it out too.<\/span>There\u2019s lots<\/em> there! <\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes I write about horns that are listed on eBay because they are an excellent deal. Other times I write about them only because they …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10],"tags":[625,660,149,644,345,346,643,31],"class_list":["post-27114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alto-saxophone","tag-alto-saxophone","tag-ebay","tag-french-saxophones","tag-photos","tag-savana","tag-universal","tag-vintage-horns","tag-vintage-sax"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t