{"id":45594,"date":"2017-01-24T11:46:35","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T19:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=45594"},"modified":"2024-06-24T08:59:11","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T15:59:11","slug":"meinel-herold-vintage-german-saxophones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2017\/meinel-herold-vintage-german-saxophones\/","title":{"rendered":"Meinel & Herold: Vintage German Saxophones"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a curious little alto on eBay<\/a> ATM. This Meinel & Herold alto saxophone may be bordering on the antique range of the vintage spectrum. (Meaning that it might be close to 100 years old. It’s hard to say.)<\/p>\n

\"Meinel<\/a>
Source: Freddys-Trodelshop on eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This Meinel & Herold alto saxophone is a very, very simple horn. Not only does it lack MOP key touches and any kind of rollers, but it also has a very limited key range, as well as none of the extra keys that give saxophonists alternative fingerings.<\/p>\n

\"Source: <\/a>
Source: Freddys-Trodelshop on eBay.com <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Source: <\/a>
Source: Freddys-Trodelshop on eBay.com <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Source: <\/a>
Source: Freddys-Trodelshop on eBay.com <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Source: <\/a>
Source: Freddys-Trodelshop on eBay.com <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

This alto resembles some of the new altos<\/a> made for children today, to get them used to playing saxophone. Another horn it reminds me of is the Buescher Academy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Regardless of how far removed it might be from a modern, or even a vintage pro model saxophone, this Meinel & Herold alto is an interesting snapshot into the history of German saxophone manufacturing during the first few decades of the 20th century. Even Oscar Adler’s most basic Ocu and Relda<\/a> models were more advanced than this alto.<\/p>\n

In order to better understand where this sax comes from, a bit of background into Meinel & Herold Musikinstr. Fabrik Klingenthal would be helpful. Fortunately, I have some vintage catalogue pages that will help with this understanding.<\/p>\n

Inside cover page of Meinel & Herold Musikinstrumente-, Sprechapparate-, Harmonikafabrik und -Verand Klingenthal Catalogue Issue XXVIII<\/h2>\n

This is the inside cover page of the 28th issue of the Meinel & Herold catalogue. Unfortunately, the catalogue is not dated. What we do know from this catalogue however, is that the company was founded in 1893. We also know that they specialized in the mail order sales (Versand) of musical instruments (Musikinstrumente), gramophones (Sprechapparate), and that they were a harmonica factory (Harmonikafabrik).<\/p>\n

Just a note about the German word “Sprechapparate”: This is an antiquated term, and if you were to try to find it through a translation program, you would likely not find it. (At least not an accurate one.) \ud83d\ude09  Much like what I seem to write about, it is on the vintage side of the spectrum. \ud83d\ude09  Googling it though, you’ll find some images, and even a German website dedicated to Sprechapparate<\/em> from days gone by.<\/p>\n

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

Looking at the saxophone pages from this Meinel & Herold catalogue is a rather confusing exercise. What we see are drawings of saxophones that seem to bear no relation to each other. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that they were perhaps made by different German manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Meinel & Herold was quite opinionated in their descriptions and advice. A couple of things to remember here: Yes, Germans can be somewhat more assertive than other cultures. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

However, the other thing going on here is that this was the early days of catalogues and print advertisements. Consumers were not used to catalogues, and didn’t have access to information like we have today, thus needed a lot of information to make an informed choice. This is not unique to German catalogues. Looking through North American catalogues of the same vintage you will see similar images and descriptions.<\/p>\n

Seite 23 (page 23)<\/h2>\n
\n

Saxophones<\/h2>\n

These instruments have introduced themselves very well over the past few years. Saxophones are not only found in jazz bands. World renowned symphony orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony and the Boston Symphony Orchestra utilize saxophones. Unfortunately even these instruments are offered by some musically ignorant parties in such a quality that it defies description: unclean tone, shoddy workmanship, and with regards to quality, relatively expensive. Saxophones especially must be built with special love and expertise, and it is those people that we avail ourselves of.<\/p>\n

Our saxophones’ build, ease of play, and cleanliness of tone<\/h3>\n

Until now has been praised by almost all purchasers, and it is this customer satisfaction that has urged us on to provide excellence. It is always advisable when purchasing a saxophone, to buy the ideal model, since the better instruments are capable of producing a much better tone. We’ve often found that customers, after they’ve played a simpler instrument a number of months, approached us because they wanted to trade their horn for a better one. Naturally we could not trade a used instrument for a better one.<\/p>\n

No risk buying<\/h3>\n

We provide each saxophone with an 8 day trial period. If you find during this time that the instrument in question does not work for your purposes, we are prepared to take back the instrument and refund your money. The return must be done within the 8 days of the receipt of the undamaged instrument.<\/p>\n

Our saxophones are top quality German master workmanship<\/h3>\n

We have interviewed various qualified musicians and found out that in no way should our instruments be made by foreign manufacturers. However, our saxophones are significantly less expensive than foreign instruments<\/strong><\/span>. Try one of our saxophones. Unlike so many purchases, you will not regret this one.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

Saxophones with a simple design, simple mechanics, with Bb trill key [bis Bb?], alto and tenor with high E key, wooden mouthpiece, complete with neck strap, lyre, etc., nickel plated.<\/p>\n