{"id":34384,"date":"2012-10-20T10:36:26","date_gmt":"2012-10-20T17:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=34384"},"modified":"2024-06-02T17:37:06","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T00:37:06","slug":"potental-pitfalls-buying-shiny-vintage-horn-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2012\/potental-pitfalls-buying-shiny-vintage-horn-online\/","title":{"rendered":"The Potental Pitfalls Of Buying A Shiny, Vintage Horn Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

As much as I love vintage horns, I am always cognizant of the fact that when I buy a new to me<\/em> horn, I need to know a few important things. I want to make sure that I am aware of its condition, and that I know what kind of tuning it has. Specifically, is the horn low pitch (LP) or high pitch (HP)?<\/p>\n

For a horn to be useful in today’s modern musical environments, it has to be tuned to 440, meaning it is a LP sax. If it’s not, then I’m probably not going to buy it.<\/p>\n

American horn manufacturers often stamped their horns with LP or HP markings, to indicate what kind of tuning the instrument had. However, this was not a universal designation.<\/p>\n

Some of the most beautiful, vintage, German saxophones ever made were the G.H. H\u00fcller<\/a> horns. However, their tuning was marked with either 870 or 880.<\/p>\n

A sax marked with 880 can be played with modern musical instruments, while an 870 can’t be. And that brings me to my shiny horn of the day, that while pretty, won’t be useful as your everyday saxophone.<\/p>\n

A dealer in Germany is selling a silver plated, G.H. H\u00fcller alto saxophone<\/a>. Looking at the photos, it is obvious that the seller is not a saxophone player, and quite likely not even a musician.<\/p>\n

\"G.H.<\/a><\/p>\n

     Source: A-Z-Shoppen<\/h6>\n

This gorgeous alto has not only a microtuner, G# and D\/D# trill keys, and a fork Eb, but it also has the D resonance key, to help with the stuffiness of the D2. Unfortunately it also has something else: “French Standard Pitch”, which was adopted in 1859, and officially discarded in 1939.\u00b9<\/p>\n

Here is how this seller describes this gorgeous instrument:<\/p>\n

Alt-Saxophon G.H.H\u00fcller Sch\u00f6neck i.V versilbert<\/p>\n

Alt aber im guten Zustand.<\/p>\n

Auf dem Instrument gibt es einige Nummern. Hals 870, 38898 und D.R.G.M. 107308.<\/p>\n

Sehen sie sich bitte die Bilder an, sie sind vom angebotenem Artikel.<\/p>\n

Zustand: Gebraucht, dem Alter entsprechend gut.<\/p>\n

Lieferung mit altem Holzkoffer, starke Gebrauchsspuren.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Helen Translate<\/em> says…<\/p>\n

Alto saxophone G.H.H\u00fcller Sch\u00f6neck i.V silver plated<\/p>\n

Old, but in good condition.<\/p>\n

There are a few numbers on the instrument. On the neck 870<\/strong>, [emphasis added] 38898 D.R.G.M. 107308.<\/p>\n

Please look at the photos, they are of the article being offered.<\/p>\n

Condition: Used, good given its age.<\/p>\n

Will be shipped with old wooden case, which has obvious signs of heavy use.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The number 870 on the neck, indicates this saxophone’s tuning as being “French Standard Pitch”.<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

  Source: A-Z-Shoppen<\/h6>\n

This very pretty horn comes with a hefty price tag. A-Z-Shoppen is asking \u20ac789.00 for this horn<\/a> with antiquated pitch. According to xe.com<\/a>, that is $1,027.41 US at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

A-Z-Shoppen won’t sell to anyone outside of Germany, so their chances of selling this to an unsuspecting North American buyer are slim to none. Nevertheless, this is a good warning to people who are just thinking to getting into the vintage horn market.<\/p>\n

Be aware of what you’re getting. Do your homework ahead of time. Only buy a horn with non-standard tuning if you’re playing in a orchestra or ensemble that is all tuned the same way. For example, I know of a gentleman who put together a HP saxophone ensemble.<\/p>\n

While lots of closet horns pop up regularly on auctions and other online sites, be aware that those horns sometimes ended up in the closet for a reason.<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________<\/p>\n

\u00b9 Source: The Woodwind Forum<\/a><\/h6>\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":"

As much as I love vintage horns, I am always cognizant of the fact that when I buy a new to me horn, I need …<\/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":[625,660,676,151,644,643,31],"class_list":["post-34384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alto-saxophone","tag-alto-saxophone","tag-ebay","tag-g-h-huller","tag-german-saxophones","tag-photos","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