{"id":3026,"date":"2010-06-16T20:50:02","date_gmt":"2010-06-17T03:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/version5\/?page_id=3026"},"modified":"2025-06-18T15:50:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T22:50:08","slug":"hohner-president","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/version5\/vintage-saxes\/european-made-saxes\/hohner-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Hohner President"},"content":{"rendered":"
Updated 2025<\/h6>\n

Page 1<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Max Keilwerth<\/a><\/td>\nHohner President Saxes<\/a><\/td>\nFeatures<\/a><\/td>\nTone holes<\/a><\/td>\nFinish options<\/a><\/td>\nEngraving<\/a><\/td>\nA rare stencil<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\"Hohner<\/a>
Tenor 104XX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I first started researching Hohner President saxophones back in 2010, when I got my first President\u2014tenor #104xxx\u2014from its original owner in Vancouver’s West End. At the time very little about the brand was published in German, let alone English.<\/p>\n

Hohner saxophones were designed by, and made under the supervision of Max Keilwerth, who was the brother of Julius and Richard. As I was doing research on both him, and all the various saxophones he was responsible for, I was contacted by German saxophone historian, writer, and professional musician, Uwe Ladwig<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Uwe writes for Sonic Sax & Brass<\/a>, and he was kind enough to send me some research he had conducted on a variety of German saxophone manufacturers\u2014including Max Keilwerth and Hohner.<\/p>\n

What follows is what I\u2019ve been able to piece together using Uwe\u2019s research as a base, and then building upon it since 2010.<\/p>\n

I have catalogued hundreds of Hohner President saxophone images, and seen thousands more. I have also carefully poured over all of these images in order to come up with the following comprehensive President information.<\/a>\u00b9<\/a>  <\/p>\n

Max Keilwerth<\/h2>\n

Max Keilwerth learned his craft with Franz Than in Graslitz, Sudetenland. According to sources in both German and English, Max Keilwerth started making saxophones with his brother Julius in the early 1920s. They worked from a home-based workshop, and mainly manufactured saxophones for Oscar Adler<\/a> and FX H\u00fcller<\/a>. Max became instrumental in the development of FX H\u00fcller\u2019s saxophone department.<\/p>\n

In 1925, Max left the family business and began working for himself<\/a>. He continued providing saxophones for FX H\u00fcller and Adler until the early 1930s. After the creation of the collective company named Amati<\/a>, he also worked briefly worked for them. In 1949, Max began working for Hohner in Trossingen, Germany.<\/p>\n

It is worth mentioning here that President<\/a>, as well as the German spelling Pr\u00e4sident<\/a>, is a name that Max engraved on some of the saxophones that came from his shop in Graslitz. I have even seen a late-model MK-made President (tenor 7302), with an early version of eyebrow key guards.<\/a><\/p>\n

Hohner President saxophones<\/h2>\n

At Hohner\u2014a company more commonly thought of for harmonicas and accordions than saxophones\u2014Max Keilwerth headed up the saxophone department, which employed between 15 to 30 permanent people during its 20 years of saxophone production. Hohner made alto and tenor saxophones from 1949 until approximately 1972. Although some sources state that production stopped in 1967, the high serial numbers of known horns indicate that indeed production continued after Max Keilwerth\u2019s death in 1968.<\/p>\n

An introduction to the various phases of President saxophone production<\/h3>\n

Based on 15+ years research into the brand, I have been able to break down the Hohner President’s saxophone evolution into the following phases, which I refer to by name throughout this section. The details of the various phases will be explained and illustrated in the following pages. (And yes, this was all reviewed and much of it updated in 2025. \ud83d\ude09 ) <\/p>\n

This listing is just a primer to give you an idea of what years\/serials\/terms I’m referring to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Phase<\/strong><\/div><\/td>\n
Serials<\/strong><\/div><\/td>\n
Circa<\/strong><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phase 1<\/div><\/td>\n
Pre 25xx<\/div><\/td>\n
1949-52<\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phase 2<\/div><\/td>\n
25xx \u2013 12xxx<\/div><\/td>\n
1953-60<\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Transitional<\/div><\/td>\n
107xx \u2013 12xxx<\/div><\/td>\n
1961-63<\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phase 3<\/div><\/td>\n
13xxx +<\/div><\/td>\n
1964-74<\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/a>Hohner President Features<\/h3>\n

The saxophones that Hohner made had a number of features which made them quite unique. While some features were only used for a short time, others were utilized consistently over almost the entire production run.<\/a><\/p>\n

Tone Holes<\/h4>\n
Soldered\/bevelled<\/h5>\n

One area that varied significantly over the 20 year production run was the style of the tone holes. The earliest Hohners had soldered tone holes. A very early model tenor\u2014serial number 21XX\u2014shows that they were also bevelled.<\/p>\n

\"Hohner<\/a>
Tenor 21XX. Source: chrismati017 on eBay.de<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Drawn\/straight<\/h5>\n

In approximately 1953, drawn tone holes made their first appearance. However, after years of researching the brand I have discovered that unlike what we first believed, rolled tone holes were not necessarily the first that Hohner produced. Alto 2425 has drawn, straight tone holes.<\/p>\n

\"Hohner<\/a>
Alto 2425. Source: woodwinds-and-brass on eBay.de<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To date I have not come across any early tenors with drawn, straight tone holes.<\/p>\n

Drawn\/rolled<\/h5>\n

The earliest alto I have come across that has drawn and rolled tone holes is # 2502.<\/p>\n

\"Hohner<\/a>
Alto 2502. Source: kurt-01 on eBay.de<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tenor 2215 is the oldest tenor I have come across so far, with rolled tone holes. It is also the oldest with a two-tone finish. More on that below.<\/p>\n

\"Hohner<\/a>
Source: papa-baer99 on eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Drawn\/Straight \u2013 again<\/h5>\n

In approximately 1963\u2014approximately #12XXX\u2014Hohner switched to straight tone holes. This then continued until the end of the model\u2019s production run. This is tenor 12346.<\/p>\n

\"Hohner<\/a>
Tenor 12346 Source: katepate_2012 on eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Finishes options<\/h4>\n

Although a much earlier, English brochure<\/a> only lists 3 finish options for the Hohner Presidents, according to a 1958 German brochure<\/a>, Hohner offered 6 finish options for the President:<\/p>\n

Nickel plated<\/h5>\n
\"Hohner<\/a>
Tenor 4354. Source: Mala-Import on eBay.de<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Gold lacquered (corrosion resistant)<\/h5>\n
\"Hohner<\/a>
Alto Serial ?. Source: inbay_de on eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Gold lacquered body, with nickel-plated keys<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Tenor 12346. Source: katepate_2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Quadruple, semi-matt silver plate, with gold-plated inner bell<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Alto 10737. Source: maximilian1287 on eBay.de<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Semi-matt silver plate, with gold lacquered keys<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Alto 14601. Source: Mark Wiseman, The Little Sax Shop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Quadruple, sand-matt silver plate, with gold-plated inner bell<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Alto 2543. Source: saxophant on eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other finishes<\/h4>\n

I have spent years pouring over eBay and other online listings looking at Hohner President saxophones. In the hundreds of ads I have come across, not counting the custom finishes that were clearly done after purchase (like purple and black lacquer), I have also noted the following apparent factory finishes that were not listed in any of the brochures:<\/p>\n

Silver plate (sans gold wash bell)<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Tenor 54XX. Source: aragorn_tr on eBay.de<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Engraving <\/h4>\n

Given the hundreds of Hohner President saxophones that I have catalogued, or otherwise looked at images of, if there were a multitude of engraving options you would think I would have come across them in the last 15+ years. To date I have only seen the following variations in engraving:<\/p>\n

By far the most common engraving<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Tenor 104XX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Seen extremely rarely<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Alto 2543. Source: lpcmedics on eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Tenor 2640. Source: g.murakami on eBay.de<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
What\u2019s missing in the engraving? In a word: \u201cPresident\u201d<\/h5>\n

To my knowledge Hohner never made anything other than President saxophones. The only saxophones sold under the Hohner-only name are cheap, Asian-made junk horns<\/a> that you can frequently find on eBay. Clearly this horn is not one of them.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the engraver had one too many beer on his lunch hour before engraving this alto in 1961? \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alto 10093. Source: chopswood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>What\u2019s this, a stencil of a Hohner President?<\/h3>\n

So far I have only come across 3 stencil horns that were made from the Hohner President. All were labelled Ault Artist, and were only a few digits apart in serial #. The one below is the first I saw, while the second is in much more pristine shape and appears like it was hardly played. The third was a tenor and had dents in the body tube, but the lacquer was in remarkable shape.<\/p>\n

It is worth noting I have seen a couple of other Ault Artists, but they were not Hohner stencils. I have yet to ID their manufacturer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alto 12813. Source: 2nd Ending Vintage Musical Instruments on eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

<\/a>\u00b9 I have written only that which I have direct knowledge of, or that has been cited either through Uwe\u2019s research, or on trusted, informational websites. I have chosen not to include information from saxophone forums. Much of the information on both German and English sax forums such as Saxwelt<\/a> and Sax On The Web<\/a>, is really nothing more than quotes and requotes from informational websites.<\/p>\n

I want to thank Uwe Ladwig for generously sharing his research with me. It was originally published in der deutschen Fachzeitschrift\u2014German music journal\u2014SONIC sax & brass<\/em>. I hope that I have managed to capture the meaning and the intent of it well.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Page 2<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
G# trill key<\/a><\/td>\nHigh F# key<\/a><\/td>\nEyebrow key guards<\/a><\/td>\nDouble socket neck<\/a><\/td>\nMatching lyre screw<\/a><\/td>\nC\/D trill key<\/a><\/td>\n\u00ab Page 1<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Features Found on Only Some of the Hohner Presidents<\/a><\/h3>\n

G# Trill Keys<\/h4>\n