In the summer of ’09, I received an email that came completely out of the blue. My Sax On The Web friend, Milandro, offered to sell me his 2 Klingsor tenor saxophones. I had written about both of these saxes on my blog, and had actually tried to help Milandro find a neck for the older, silver plated horn—pictured on top—when he first purchased it a year earlier. (This silver sax had been hanging in the café in The Netherlands for years. If you’re interested in reading more about its history, read my blog post for October 28, 2008.)
Although I wasn’t really in the market for anymore vintage tenors, I felt I couldn’t let the opportunity to own 2 Hammerschmidt tenor saxophones pass me by. Before I knew it, 2 vintage Klingsors arrived via Canada Post from The Netherlands. The nickel plated horn sustained a slight bend in it’s high E key, but that was all the damage sustained by either of these 2 vintage German beauties.
The newer of the 2 horns—the nickel plated one—is very playable. Like many vintage saxophones, it has its likes and dislikes with regards to mouthpiece and reed choices. I am still currently experimenting to get the optimum performance out of this sax. I can honestly say it is the darkest sounding tenor saxophone that I own, and have in playing condition. This saxophone prefers harder reeds, and seems to like my Dukoff D7 mouthpiece the best. (YMMV of course, and probably would significantly. Remember, I’m primarily a blues and rock player.)
Nickel Plated Klingsor
Horn Specs:
- Manufacturer: Hammerschmidt
- Model: Klingsor
- Serial #: 043XX
- Finish: Nickel plated
- Features: G# trill key
The silver plated tenor is the older of the two. It currently is not really in playable condition, although I can make it play if I want to. It’s original neck went missing years ago, so I’m not yet sure what to replace it with. I can play it with the neck of the newer Klingsor. When I do, the sound is darker still, than that of its younger, nickel plated counterpart. If you’re curious what the original neck looked like, Dave Denton was kind enough to provide photos of his minty, restored Klingsor. You can find them, and many other examples of Hammerschmidt horns, in the Hammerschmidt Gallery section of my site.
This silver plated sax is easily the heaviest tenor I own. It is just as heavy as, if not heavier than, my Martin Handcraft.
Silver Plated Klingsor
Horn Specs:
- Manufacturer: Hammerschmidt
- Model: Klingsor
- Serial #: 035XX
- Finish: Silver plated with gold wash bell
- Features: Full pearl treatment on all key touches; acrylic key guards; high F# key; extra trill keys for G#, high D#; & a Fork Eb
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