{"id":34880,"date":"2012-11-16T10:29:10","date_gmt":"2012-11-16T18:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=34880"},"modified":"2024-06-03T09:04:09","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T16:04:09","slug":"heard-dabico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2012\/heard-dabico\/","title":{"rendered":"Ever Heard Of DABICO?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On my website I have a page dedicated to the DABICO horns,<\/a> which the company had stencilled by the German horn maker Hammerschmidt. Until this morning however, I had only ever seen one.<\/p>\n

DABICO is an acronym for the DA<\/span>yton B<\/span>and Instrument CO<\/span>mpany of D<\/span>ayton, O<\/span>hio. The company bought its horns from a variety of manufacturers, including Hammerschmidt.<\/p>\n

While checking my Inbox this morning, there was a notice from eBay informing me that a DABICO saxophone\u2014one of the nearly 100 notifications I have set up\u2014was on the auction site. So like a moth to a flame, I clicked on the link, and found not only an interesting horn, but an interesting seller as well.<\/p>\n

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

     Source: brdhousema<\/h6>\n

It turns out that the seller of this DABICO saxophone, is the son of company’s owner. This is how he describes the Hammerschmidt stencil sax, as well as its history:<\/p>\n

Here is a DABICO alto sax made by Hammerschmidt in Germany. This is a brand that my father sold under his company name. (Dayton Band Inst Co) These were stencil instruments made for him ,with some of his added touches. These were sold in the late 50’s. He also had instruments made by Schenklaars in Holland, this was mid to late 60’s. The first run of Dabico were more pro type instruments for the time and the later more student quality at much lower cost to the customer. This instrument was brought back in by the original owners widow.It is in playing condition but really could use a pad job. I already have a alto ,tenor and baritone from this period and want to go ahead and sell this one.I will be selling in as is condition,playable but needing repad soon.All the pearl is intack and in nice condition. The neck has had some solder done and the laquer burnt away. Still has the dayton band inst co sticker in the case from above the Victory Theater 140 N Main St Dayton,Ohio. Please email any question before you bid. I do not have a good feel for value on this . They were sold by my late father. I do have a reserve just to get a feel of value.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These Hammerschmidt-stencilled DABICO horns had ornate bow guards…<\/p>\n

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

     Source: brdhousema<\/h6>\n

…as well as neck guards.<\/p>\n

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

     Source: brdhousema<\/h6>\n

These same ornamentations are also present on the bell to bow, and body to bow connecting rings<\/a>, and were the same ones that Hammerschmidt used on their own top of the line Klingsors<\/a>\u2014the ones with acrylic key guards.<\/p>\n

These Hammerschmidt-stencilled DABICO horns are a great example of how European stencils differed from American ones. To quote my own website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

When the US manufacturers made stencil saxes, the horns tended to be of the more stripped-down variety. In some cases, these US stencils were made with cheaper materials than their name brand counterparts, therefore they tended to be of a lesser quality as well.\u00b9 Oftentimes the stencil saxophones designs were based on discontinued, but modified versions of pro horns. For example, the original Selmer Bundy saxophones, were Buescher True Tones with left-sided bell keys. The serial numbers on US stencil saxophones tended not to follow the numbering charts for the pro horns from the same manufacturer.<\/p>\n

When a stencil saxophone originated in Europe, it generally was not of a stripped-down variety. For the most part, European stencil saxophones were offered with the same features as the horns they were stencilled from. Where they differed however, was in the engraving and usually in the number of finish options available.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The rest of the photos of the DABICO alto currently on eBay, show a horn that appears to be in good condition, and that hasn’t been abused. They also show that the horn has almost all the features of the top of line Klingsors<\/a>. The only feature they appear to be lacking are the acrylic key guards.\u00b2<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

  Source: brdhousema<\/h6>\n

If you’re on the hunt for a Hammerschmidt alto, this might be a good choice for you. The auction is set to run until November 22<\/a>. Bids are to start at $200.00. At the time of writing there were no bids yet, on this vintage German stencil horn.<\/p>\n

If you’d like to read more about Hammerschmidt saxophones, be sure to check out their page on my website<\/a>. If you’d like to find out more about the various stencils that Hammerschmidt produced, I have a page dedicated to those<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n

My gallery<\/a> also contains over 300 Hammerschmidt images, including many stencil horns. Unfortunately the site is a bit out of date. I have about 100 new images that I haven’t uploaded yet.<\/p>\n

____________________________________________<\/p>\n

\u00b9 Adapted from Pete Hales\u2019 article, Stencils and \u201cSecond Line\u201d Models<\/a>, published on Sax On The Web.<\/p>\n

\u00b2 Since there are Hammerschmidt stencils that have acrylic key guards, for example this alto Lipson<\/a>, I suspect that DABICO most likely opted for metal key guards on their horns for a reason, just as they opted for a different neck guard.<\/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":"

On my website I have a page dedicated to the DABICO horns, which the company had stencilled by the German horn maker Hammerschmidt. Until this …<\/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":[19],"tags":[660,151,642,644,218,198,643,31],"class_list":["post-34880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hammershmidt","tag-ebay","tag-german-saxophones","tag-hammerschmidt","tag-photos","tag-stencil-horn","tag-stencil-saxophone","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