{"id":8982,"date":"2016-12-30T12:59:36","date_gmt":"2016-12-30T19:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/version5\/?page_id=8982"},"modified":"2016-12-30T12:59:36","modified_gmt":"2016-12-30T19:59:36","slug":"stencil-saxophones-or-not","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/version5\/modern-saxes\/vogtlandische-musikinstrumentenfabrik-gmbh-markneukirchen-vmi\/stencil-saxophones-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Stencil Saxophones – Or Not"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"F.<\/a>
F. Schmidt tenor, a stencil of the Series 1000. Source: hitechgi on eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
B&S vs Stencil Saxes<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Serial # Conventions<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Pro Level Stencils<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Allora<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Accent<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Antoine Courtois<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Chicago Jazz Series<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Ernie Northway Signature Series<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No Adjustable Palm Keys<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Non-pro Stencils<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Bell to Body Support Ring<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
F. Schmidt<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Musica Soprano<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Richard Keilwerth<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
Summary<\/a><\/div><\/td>\n
<\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Before the reunification of Germany, the old, state-owned B&S company was a well-known stencil maker. They made stencil saxes of not only their Weltklang, but also their B&S, aka blue label, horns. Post-1991, when B&S started rolling out their first world-class saxophones, this tradition of stencilling continued. However, by then B&S had a lot more to offer potential buyers, because for the first time in the company’s history, they could offer true professional calibre stencil saxophones.<\/p>\n

The following is not necessarily a complete list of all the stencil saxophones that Ja Musik GmbH\/VMI\/B&S produced. Furthermore, some might argue that one or the other of these is not a stencil at all, but rather a name brand of one or the other alphabet soup entities listed above. While others might argue that some of the name brands that B&S sold\u2014for example Guardala or Codera\u2014are stencil horns.<\/p>\n

If you’re a person who feels that way, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m basing the categories of what’s a stencil or not on what I have been able to glean from the scant literature available to me from former B&S dealers, and from Uwe Ladwig<\/a>‘s research that he compiled together in his book: Saxophone: Ein Kompendium.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

How different from the brand name B&S horns are these stencil saxophones?<\/h2>\n

That’s a very good question. That depends on who you listen to. Even dealers described most of the post-1991 B&S stencils as Series 2001 or Medusa stencils.<\/p>\n

However, in a 2005 interview with the German saxophone website Saxwelt<\/a>, Frank K\u00f6nig, Gesch\u00e4ftsf\u00fchrer (CEO) of Ja Musik GmbH\u2014the parent company of B&S\u2014not only said that all these horns all differed from each other, but that they weren’t even stencils<\/strong><\/span>!<\/p>\n

Es tauchen in USA Namen auf wie z.B. Allora, Chicago Jazz, Accent, Courtois … Sind dies B&S Stencils?<\/span><\/p>\n

Allora, Chicago Jazz, Accent, Courtois … Diese Liste ist weiterzuf\u00fchren mit Dave Guardala, B&S Medusa, B&S Series 2001, B&S Series 1000 oder einfach B&S. Unter all diesen Marken wurden oder werden noch immer in Markneukirchen Saxophone gefertigt.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Helen translate says…<\/p>\n

In the USA names like Allora, Chicago Jazz, Accent, Courtois appear… Are these B&S stencils?<\/span><\/p>\n

Allora, Chicago Jazz, Accent, Courtois… This list continues with Dave Guardala, B&S Medusa, B&S Series 2001, B&S Series 1000, or simply B&S. Saxophones were\/still are made in Markneukirchen under all these brand names.<\/p>\n

Es sind also Stencils, also identische Modelle mit anderer Gravur?<\/span><\/p>\n

Nein, jede der oben aufgef\u00fchrten Marken sind eigenst\u00e4ndige Modellreihen, die sich auch bautechnisch teils drastisch von einander unterscheiden.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Helen translate says….<\/p>\n

So these are stencils, so identical models with other engraving?<\/span><\/p>\n

No, each of the above-listed brands is its independent model line, which also differs in part drastically from a build standpoint, from one to another.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

OK, so the Allora, Courtois, Accent, Chicago Jazz, et al were not stencils, but really different models made by B&S in Markneukirchen. Interesting. If that’s the case, then I wonder how Woodwind & Brasswind (WWBW) can continue selling horns under the Accent and Chicago Jazz labels made in factories in China, or wherever they get the cheap stuff from these days? In short, because they own the name. See below for more details.<\/p>\n

Franz K\u00f6nig’s assertions about these brands not being stencil saxophones notwithstanding, I will continue to refer to all the following brands as stencils for ease of classification.<\/a><\/p>\n

Serial Number conventions of modern<\/em> B&S horns<\/h2>\n

Given that stencil saxophones are notoriously inconsistent in where they come from, one way you can be sure that you’re getting a real German-made B&S saxophone vs. an Asian-made horn of the same label, is by the serial number convention. All B&S saxophones will have the following serial number convention, and a Made In Germany<\/em> stamp directly under it.<\/p>\n

Note: The numbers started with “0”.<\/p>\n

The location of the serial number is also important. B&S always stamped their horns in the same place. They did not<\/strong><\/span> stamp their horns above the bow to body tube connecting ring. Rather, the serial number and Made In Germany<\/em> stamp is always located below the right thumb rest.<\/p>\n

\"Allora<\/a>
Allora tenor # 014199 Source: eBay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/a>Pro level stencil saxophones<\/a><\/h2>\n

Allora<\/h3>\n

Allora was\/is a brand name sold by the US retailer Woodwind Brasswind. Furthermore, a search of the trademarked name in the Justia Trademarks website<\/a>, shows the although the ownership of the trademark has changed hands a number of times over the years, B&S’s name never appears. B&S made Allora saxophones for a time, and may well have created a custom model of saxophone for WWBW. However, they never had rights to the name.<\/p>\n

WWBW sources its instruments from around the globe, and for a short while they sourced their alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones from B&S. Today’s Allora saxophones however, are from Asia, and do not compare at all to the pro horns from the first few years of the 21st century.<\/p>\n

According to the research conducted by SOTW member soybean<\/a>, supposedly early Allora saxes were stencils based on the Series 2001, while the later ones were based on the Series 2006. If one compares this tenor to a similarly numbered B&S horns, one does see a number of differences:<\/p>\n