saxophono!

So I went shopping today to find a saxophone for Katy.

Now, cheap saxes run about 600 - 6 bills is a lot of dough for the Dad, on any day.

But I walk into ye olde pawn shoppe here in town, and play 5 or 6 horns, looking for something that will work good - and I find something interesting.

First thing that spots my eye is the case - it's way niftier than the usual brown case that student model horns come it - it's a real case, with natty cloth in an interesting pattern - looks something like this:

The cloth on the case is a dead giveaway that we're looking at something that's a few years old.

So I crack it open and to my suprise I find a brand of saxophone I've never seen before -

The first thing I notice is that the scrollwork ( carving ) and decorations are very ornate - old school, as it were.

It appears that this horn was made in Italy, and it has a low serial number - in the 8000s, rather than 20000s. That's a good bet that it's pretty old indeed.


So I write down some information, and then I play the thing. It plays like an old horn - the keywork isn't exactly the smoothest - the word you're looking for is ergonomic - and the pads are leaky, so it doesn't play about half the notes the way its' supposed to.

However, I have the sneaking suspicion that theres something here - old horns sound better, made from better materials, blah blah blah.

the guy at the shop says - Oh? you're interested in the Italian job? I'll give it to you for $200.

Hmm.

I go home. I research. I look up brands and serial numbers. I decide this might be a really good horn.

And if it's not a really good horn, it's a 3rd of the cost of the average, boring horns I played today. So really good horn, or really good deal, either way, I'm in.

So here is the new Petersen alto saxomaphone, direct from Italy circa 1967.

It needs work - but it's way more special than anything the other 6th graders will be playing, I garontee.

What you can't read there is 'Ida-Maria Grassi - Milano - Italy - fabrico strumenti musicali italiano'

It even has that vintage horn smell that my wife likes to complain about when I've been playing my King Super 20 Baritone - which is about the same age as this thing.

I'll see how busy the repair shop is this week, and we'll see-a how she cleans-a up. I betcha she cleans-a up good!

Darren