{"id":51955,"date":"2022-04-27T08:50:59","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T15:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=51955"},"modified":"2024-06-27T15:32:26","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T22:32:26","slug":"two-prima-keilwerth-tenor-saxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2022\/two-prima-keilwerth-tenor-saxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Two prima Keilwerth tenor saxes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
Couf Superba 1<\/a><\/td>\nToneking Special<\/a><\/td>\nComparison Chart<\/a><\/td>\nResearch<\/a><\/td>\nThanks<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Update: Both these excellent tenors are sold. At this point this article is being kept here solely for reference.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

If I was looking for a tenor sax right now, I wouldn’t know which to choose. Right now my colleague Brian, over at getasax.com<\/a>, has two of the finest Keilwerth tenor saxes I have seen in a very, very long time. Both happen to be silver plated, and both are freshly overhauled\u2014or will be prior to the new owner receiving them.<\/p>\n

\"Keilwerth <\/a>
Couf Superba 1 # 65988 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth <\/a>
Keilwerth Toneking Special # 49375 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

<\/a>Couf Superba 1 <\/h3>\n

The first that caught my eye is  Couf Superba 1 tenor  # 65988<\/a>. According to the Keilwerth serial number chart<\/a>, that makes this Couf a 1970 horn. But what makes this horn exceedingly rare, is its silver plate. Honestly, I have seen more Blackgold and gold plated Coufs than silver ones, but I digress. <\/p>\n

Here is how the Couf tenor is described on getasax.com:<\/p>\n

This is one of the first Couf Superba 1 tenors made, and it was picked out by a guy who worked with Herb Couf to make the Superba 1 a reality. It was used on a Philip Glass recording along the way, and then played a bunch of jazz. It has original lacquer over the original silver plate (very rare finish for a Keilwerth), and where the lacquer is flaking off, the silver is tarnishing. This thing is\/was a big player on old pads, but I am now getting it completely overhauled, which is now included in the price<\/strong>.  You\u2019d be hard pressed to find a bigger sounding tenor for the money. The tone of the Superba 1 is dark like an SBA, but wider like a Conn, and it stays fat in the palm keys unlike a Selmer. Plus it has modern keywork. This tenor was on consignment, but I bought it so I could overhaul it. These horns are so good that Tyler, who does the GetASax YouTube channel, picked his Superba 1 out of all the horns that came through the shop over a period of years, as being the best one. You can hear Tyler\u2019s Couf Superba 1 on the GetASax YouTube channel in several of the videos. The Superba 1 is one of those sleeper tenors that you don\u2019t hear as much about for how good it is. Definitely recommended! Vintage tone + modern keywork + top build quality = what everybody wants.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What does it look like? Pretty damn nice even as is. Clearly it has been extremely well taken care of. <\/p>\n

NB. Check getasax.com for new photos. Brian says a whole new set will be uploaded once the overhaul is completed. I will update this page as well once the horn is completed, but until then, these show this lovely tenor extremely well. <\/p>\n

\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-30\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-29\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-28\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-31\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-22\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-21\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-20\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-19\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-18\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-17\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-16\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-15\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-14\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-27\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-26\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-25\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-24\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-23\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-7\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-6\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-5\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-4\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-3\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth <\/a>
Couf Superba 1 # 65988 <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-1\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-13\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-12\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-11\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-10\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-9\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Couf-Superba-1-Tenor-Original-Silver-65988-RW-8\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The price of this lovely Keilwerth-made Couf tenor Superba 1 is $4250 US. That is a good price. These horns are seriously under-rated, and will smoke any Selmer. (And yes, I write that as Selmer and a Couf owner.)<\/a><\/p>\n

Toneking Special<\/h3>\n

The second Keilwerth that caught my eye on Brian’s site is Toneking Special #49373<\/a>. Based on its serial #, this Keilwerth tenor was made in 1964<\/a>. Given that this horn is nearly 60 years old, its condition is remarkable! <\/p>\n

On getasax.com the description of this tenor reads:<\/p>\n

Keilwerth ToneKing Special Tenor
\nOriginal Silver Rare!
\nRecent Overhaul! 49375
\n$ 4,500<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 1964, the Toneking Special was Keilwerth’s top model, and was the platform that Herb Couf chose for his Superba 1 saxophones. I have a brochure from Keilwerth on my website that illustrates<\/a> and describes the Toneking Special<\/a>. This horn is a beautiful example of the Toneking Special that Keilwerth built back in the day, and was advertised in the brochure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-33\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-32\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-31\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-30\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-29\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-28\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-35\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-34\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-16\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-15\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-14\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-27\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-26\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-25\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-24\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-23\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-22\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-21\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-20\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-19\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-18\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-17\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-6\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth <\/a>
Keilwerth Toneking Special # 49375 <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-4\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-3\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-2\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-1\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-13\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-12\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-11\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-10\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-9\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-8\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keilwerth-ToneKing-Special-Tenor-Silver-49375-7\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

<\/a>Comparison chart of these Keilwerth tenor saxes<\/h3>\n

If you compare the following features on the Toneking Special and the Couf, it makes it easy to see the Superba 1’s pedigree:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Feature<\/th>Toneking Special # 49373<\/th>\tCouf Superba 1 # 65988<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
bell to body brace<\/td>circle & 1\/2 oval\"\"<\/a><\/td>identical circle & half oval\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
lyre holder<\/td>attached to socket opposite neck fastening screw\"\"<\/a><\/td>attached to socket opposite neck fastening screw\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
octave key lever button<\/td>round mother of pearl\"\"<\/a><\/td>round mother of pearl\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
octave mechanism<\/td>the original\"\"<\/a><\/td>do you see a difference?\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
key guards<\/td>screws with felts to allow for key height adjustment\"\"<\/a><\/td>screws with felts to allow for key height adjustment\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
right pinkie keys<\/td>rounder (than older versions of JKs)\"\"<\/a><\/td>rounder \"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
high F# key shape<\/td>small key shaped like right palm keys\"\"<\/a><\/td>small key shaped like right palm keys\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
chromatic F# key shape & location<\/td>on side of body; small key shaped like right palm keys\"\"<\/a><\/td>on side of body; small key shaped like right palm keys\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
metal thumb rest<\/td>adjustable\"\"<\/a><\/td>adjustable\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
bell to bow<\/td>soldered directly \"\"<\/a><\/td>soldered directly\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
bow to body tube soldered directly<\/td>no connecting ring\"\"<\/a><\/td>no connecting ring\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
key touches<\/td>oversized MOP\"\"<\/a><\/td>oversized MOP\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
strap ring<\/td>thick, flat ring\"\"<\/a><\/td>thick, flat ring\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
construction<\/td>post to body\"\"<\/a><\/td>post to body\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
post shape<\/td>2 trapezoids stacked on top of each other\"\"<\/a><\/td>2 trapezoids stacked on top of each other\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tone holes<\/td>rolled\"\"<\/a><\/td>rolled\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
bell engraving<\/td>the original\"\"<\/a><\/td>note the similarities\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
bow engraving<\/td>the original\"\"<\/a><\/td>note the similarities\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
logo area on bell<\/td>the original\"\"<\/a><\/td>note the similarities\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Couf research and where these two Keilwerth tenors fit in<\/h3>\n

I am currently doing research into Couf saxophones<\/a> for the website portion of Bassic Sax. My goal is to have separate pages for Couf soprano, alto, tenor, bari, and even bass saxophones. To date I only have the soprano page<\/a> completed\u2014and even it needs to be updated already.<\/p>\n

One of the things I am tracking is when the different Couf Superba 1 and 2 SATB features’ changed vis-\u00e0-vis their serial numbers. The goal is an attempt to track when these different horns moved from one Phase to another in their design. This is a constant work in progress, and as noted above, even the published soprano page already needs an edit. <\/p>\n

In the Couf Superba 1 tenor category, what I have discovered is that what I’m calling Phase 1 horns, were identical in all aspects to the Phase 2 horns except in 1 aspect: the clothes guard. The very earliest Couf Superba 1 tenors\u2014and altos for that matter\u2014had a Lucite clothes guard like this Toneking Special<\/a>. The Phase 2 horns had metal clothes guards like the one on this 1970 silver tenor<\/a>. <\/p>\n

So far the earliest Phase 1 Superba 1 tenor serial # I have seen is 54XXX, which would make it circa 1965. That makes it one of the earliest Coufs on record.<\/p>\n

The earliest Phase 2 Superba 1 tenor I have seen is #62436, which makes it a 1968 production. As I collect data from more Couf saxophones, my hope is to fill in the blanks, and hopefully be able to narrow down more closely when design features changed.<\/a><\/p>\n

Thank you to Get-A-Sax<\/h3>\n

As per usual, I want to thank Brian at getasax.com <\/a>for generously allowing me to continue to use his photos in my research and on my website. He is one of the most honest and straight-up guys you will ever meet in the vintage sax world. Brian is one of my go-to-folks when it comes to horns, horn sales, and gear, such as mouthpieces, ligatures, and cases for vintage saxes of all stripes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Couf Superba 1 Toneking Special Comparison Chart Research Thanks Update: Both these excellent tenors are sold. At this point this article is being kept here …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[78],"tags":[151,119,677,81,644,218,198,630,787,643,31,136,583],"class_list":["post-51955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vintage-horns","tag-german-saxophones","tag-herb-couf-superba-i","tag-julius-keilwerth","tag-keilwerth","tag-photos","tag-stencil-horn","tag-stencil-saxophone","tag-tenor-saxophone","tag-toneking-special","tag-vintage-horns","tag-vintage-sax","tag-vintage-sax-resources","tag-vintage-saxophone-research"],"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