Superba 1/I Baritone
I have found that the Superba I baritone has 4 phases based on visual characteristics. These 4 phases are described and illustrated below. Additionally however, there are also some features that the Superba I had over its entire 20+ year production cycle at Keilwerth. Those will be illustrated first.
Features common over the entire production run
- Low Bb & A horns were both available
- Black plastic left thumb rest * (see below)
- Large MOP keys without metal edges
- Post to body construction
- Lyre holder attached at the front, just below upper bow
- Bell to bow soldered directly
- Chromatic F# key on back of body tube, operated with MOP button key.
- Chromatic F# key guard present
- Strap ring a thick, flat ring * (see below)
- Straight tone holes
- Engraving on bell & bow * (see below)
What is the significance of the German-styled Arabic numeral 1 vs the Roman numeral I in the engraving?
I asked myself this question for years, and I have to say that without someone from JK’s former sax department chiming in for an answer to that question, I suspect we will never know. However, after researching the H. Couf brand for a decade, I have come to the conclusion that there likely wasn’t any significance.
The first horn I have catalogued with an German-styled Arabic 1 is #55760, while the last is #73xxx. This roughly tracks with that of the altos and tenors.
Why did the engraving ultimately switch entirely from 1 to I? I have a couple of theories, but theories are not proof. Ultimately it may well have come down to a decision by H. Couf himself—who was very involved in virtually all aspects of the horns that bore is name.
Phase 1 – features
- Black plastic G# key touch
- Pigtail brace: Single round metal bar with 3 point attachment
- Bell to body brace: Single round metal bar
- Clothes guard: 2 individual Lucite guards
- Bow to body connection soldered directly
- RH pinkie keys squarish in shape
- No front E/F key guard
- Adjustable metal right thumb rest
- Latest (only) serial # seen to date: N/A identified through features only
Defining feature for Phase 1 bari
Other than the serial number indicating one of the first years of H. Couf production, these early baris have the Lucite pant guards similar to those seen on JK saxophones.
Superba I with low A #? – Lacquer
Phase 2 – features
- Identical to Phase 1 except for the pant guard. In this phase we see a double length, metal guard replace the 2 Lucite pieces.* (See below)
- This phase also introduces the front E/F key guard, but it is rather hit and miss. * (See below)
- Serial # range seen to date: 55760-69970
Defining feature for Phase 2 bari
- All the features of a Phase 1 horn, but with a metal pants guard.
- Very likely has a front E/F guard on the upper bow
Superba I keyed to low Bb # 63310 – Lacquer
A Phase 2 Superba I that has a lot of exceptions
If you’ve been following vintage saxophone sales for years, you have likely come across sales by the Wichita Band Instrument Company before. Although they are not the only vintage dealer who is fond of refinishing vintage horns, I have often wondered why the choose the methods they do. But I digress. Their choice of methods and materials sometimes make it difficult to determine what is original to a horn, and what’s been redone.
Such is the case with Couf bari #69250. Quite frankly, this horn makes almost no sense. I have spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what was their rebuild of this [presumably] train wreck of low Bb baritone, and what might have made this instrument unusual from the get.
- While it has most of the Superba I features, it is also missing a couple of key ones:
- The chromatic F# key guard.
- A front F key guard (which is not necessarily present on all Phase 2 and onward horns).
- It is also missing part of its engraving. After the word Superba, there should be a 1, or a I. Blowing the pic up beyond 100% allows us to see that there may be some residual engraving that has been buffed away—or it could be an artifact of the digital image.
- Strap ring has been replaced.
- Left thumb rest replaced.
Superba I keyed to low Bb # 69250 – Body lacquer stripped; hand polished; satin finish; lacquer keys; new Nikolas 2105 lacquer applied
Phase 3 – features
In addition to the Phase 2 features:
- Bow to body connection soldered directly
- RH pinkie keys squarish in shape
- Double length, metal pants guard
- Bell to body brace: Single round metal bar * (see below)
- Front E/F key guard on upper bow
These new features intro’d on Phase 3 Superba I baris:
- G# gets MOP key touch circa #79891
- Pigtail brace: There are 2. A round metal bar between socket & body tube. And another from body tube to lower part of pigtail.
- Fixed, black plastic right thumb rest circa # 82xxx
- Serial # range seen to date: 73957 – 83601
Defining feature for Phase 3 bari
THE defining feature for the Phase 3 baritones is the change in the pigtail bracing. This double brace introduced in Phase 3 continues through until the end of the H. Couf run in circa 1987.
Superba I with low A # 73964 – Lacquer
- Black plastic G# key
- Metal R thumb rest
Superba I with low A # 83498 – Lacquer
- MOP G# key touch
- Fixed, black plastic R thumb rest
Phase 4 – features
In addition to Phase 3 features:
- 2 pigtail braces: round metal bar between socket & body tube. And another from body tube to lower part of pigtail
- Fixed, black plastic right thumb rest
- Double length, metal pants guard
- Front E/F key guard on upper bow
- G# MOP key touch
These new features intro’d on Phase 4 Superba I baris:
- Heavily secured, flat wide beam as a bell to body brace
- Bow to body connecting ring
- Towards the end of the production run, the RH pinkie keys changed shape to the more modern rounder shape the JK was using on their horns
- High F# key possible
- High F# key was changed from semi-round MOP key to rectangular upright
- Serial # range seen to date: 85253 – 91793
Defining features for Phase 4 bari
There are 2 features that make it immediately clear that what we’re seeing is a Superba I bari built during the final phase of the brand’s production run:
- The bell to body brace is now a flat, wide beam that is heavily secured on both ends
- The bow is now connected to the body with a connecting ring like we see in other high-end brands—such as Selmers
High F# key
I have poured through the scant literature I have in my files and hard copy books, as well as the little bit I have found online, but have found no actual mention of when exactly Couf added a high F# key to their Superba I baris. Based on the horns I’ve catalogued, we know that at some point towards the end of their production run Couf either added it, or offered it as as option. To date the earliest horn I have seen with this feature is #90739.
What we also know is that like on the Superba I tenor, the shape of the high F# key changed shape. The earliest version I have seen is the familiar semi-oval MOP key touch we know from both the alto and tenor Superba models, to an upright metal key.
Right pinkie keys
To date, all the horns with a high F# key also have the newer, rounder JK-style pinkie keys.
Superba I with low A # 87549 – Lacquer
Superba I with low A # 90929 – Lacquer
NB: Of course there have to be exceptions. Here are the ones I have found to date:
- #69250 had its left thumb rest replaced by a wooden one. #73957 had a MOP touch on a brass nub. # 73xxx had a MOP touch.
- #69250 has simple ring as a strap ring. Likely a replacement, and not a JK.
- I have documented numerous Superba I baris that appear to only have engraving on their bells, but not their bows. However, that might be due to the photos being of such poor quality that they engraving just isn’t visible. Or, it could be that they left the JK factory in Germany that way.
- #55760 has only a single length metal pant guard
- In Phase 2, #s 55760 & 69250 do not have a front E/F key guard.
- #79882 had a flat wide metal beam normally seen on Phase 4 horns.
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