Bundy Makes a Comeback

I've done a lot of research on the Yamaha saxophones (I already mentioned I ran saxpics.com for 10 years). You can see it at http://www.thesax.info/mediawiki-1.10.0/index.php?title=Yamaha

Whenever I question if a Yamaha is a little bit of this model or that model, I look at the Yamaha Parts List. All three instruments share some parts, but the 23 and 25 share a lot. The 275 has a lot more unique parts than the 25.

YAS-275
YAS-25
YAS-23

Hey. The 275 has parts that are used on the 62. That's kinda kewl.

FWIW, I think you're referring to the layout of the G#/C#/B/Bb cluster and keyrods. I'll definitely grant that the 275's and 25's look more similar to each other than the 23, but I'm more interested in the body tube. Unfortunately, each body tube has different part numbers. So, you could say:

* All of 'em are pretty much different.
* All of 'em share a bunch of parts, but the 23 and 25 have the most parts in common.
* The 25 and 275 look a lot alike, but there are a lot of dissimilar parts.

The Vito 7131, I had always heard, was a copy of the YAS-25, not the 23. Amusingly, I can't find good pictures of the 7131. If someone has one, post 'em! Prove me right or wrong! (The pic I have linked to doesn't have an altissimo F#, so that = YAS-23, so you're right and I'm wrong. For now :))
 
pete said:
I've done a lot of research on the Yamaha saxophones (I already mentioned I ran saxpics.com for 10 years). You can see it at http://www.thesax.info/mediawiki-1.10.0/index.php?title=Yamaha

Whenever I question if a Yamaha is a little bit of this model or that model, I look at the Yamaha Parts List. All three instruments share some parts, but the 23 and 25 share a lot. The 275 has a lot more unique parts than the 25.

YAS-275
YAS-25
YAS-23

Hey. The 275 has parts that are used on the 62. That's kinda kewl.

FWIW, I think you're referring to the layout of the G#/C#/B/Bb cluster and keyrods. I'll definitely grant that the 275's and 25's look more similar to each other than the 23, but I'm more interested in the body tube. Unfortunately, each body tube has different part numbers. So, you could say:

* All of 'em are pretty much different.
* All of 'em share a bunch of parts, but the 23 and 25 have the most parts in common.
* The 25 and 275 look a lot alike, but there are a lot of dissimilar parts.

The Vito 7131, I had always heard, was a copy of the YAS-25, not the 23. Amusingly, I can't find good pictures of the 7131. If someone has one, post 'em! Prove me right or wrong! (The pic I have linked to doesn't have an altissimo F#, so that = YAS-23, so you're right and I'm wrong. For now :))
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How could I forget about that Wiki? I'm guessing the part numbers on the 23 and 25 are so alike because the 275's keys aren't nickel plated (Forget the 25L). The octave key is different on the 23 compared to any other horn. I assumed the 25 and 275 we're closely related. But about the body tubes, I read on SOTW somewhere that the 2nd (and 3rd) digit(s) of a Yamaha sax's model number indicates the bore size and taper...

If you go on Ebay and search Vito alto, most results are for a Yami 23 stencil. Some 21 stencils, some Jupiter stencils and I think there's a new Vito called the 7141.
 
rleitch said:
Hey Helen,

If they were really going for nostalgia, they'd make a King Kong Bundy!

bundy.jpg

Cheers,
R.
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No Rory, not those visuals...Argh...My eyes...What have you done??? I'll be on an analyst's couch for weeks now working through that...;-)...:emoji_smile:
 
pete said:
Yep. http://doctorsax.biz/vito_1056.htm is a YAS-23 with darker lacquer. I sit corrected.
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What do you think I do on the internet with my spare time? I do "research" about saxophones. A lot on YAS-23s, my fav horns!:D Not all Vitos are 23 stencils. I've seen 21 stencils. half 21, half 23 stencils... Jupiter made Vitos... 21 Kenosha whatevers... Half Jupiter half Yamaha... Never seen a 25 stencil, though. But if you ask me about any other horn especially a non-Yamaha, I'm stumped...:p

Now, what about the BAS-300? Jupiter? Yamaha? Vito? Mark VI? HUH?
 
Yamahaaltoplayer said:
Now, what about the BAS-300? Jupiter? Yamaha? Vito? Mark VI? HUH?
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In what way? Design? Sound? About the only thing it has in common (sort of) with a Mark VI, is the bell ring, and even that is hard to see in the photos provided on the website.

I think when saxismyaxe reports back after his trek to WWBW, your questions will be answered. In the meantime...Patience Grasshopper...:)
 
Oh. I know.:D I thought it was a high F#. Some SOTWers told me it WAS a high F#. Looking at where the tone hole is, it IS a high F#.[/QUOTE]


Oh, ok. Now I see the tone on the back of the horn. Pretty slick.......

Thanks, Yamaha.
 
Does anyone have any experience with the Keilwerth Bundy stencil, the Bundy Special? My high school purchased a new baritone for me to play back in '64, I believe, and it was a very nice horn. It replaced the LaMonte that I had been playing previously, and it was a quantum improvement over the LaMonte. It was like a junior mk6, it had balanced action, a very short neck with no octave key on it. Both octave vents were located in exactly the same place they are on the mk6. And balanced action was very rare back in '64, I guess that Selmer wasn't letting anyone use their patented inovation yet. So this made the baritone very easy for me to play, the short neck allowed the horn and it's action to sit much closer to me, and the balanced action made the left hand little finger spatula very easy to deal with, those notes get a lot of use on the baritone.

Even though I was just a little young guy, I knew that the horn was a quality build, and the fact that it was stamped "Made in Germany" was a mystery to me. I knew that Bundys were made in Elkhart, so the Germany thing threw me for a loop. Later on, I learned about the Keilwerth connection.
 
sideC said:
Does anyone have any experience with the Keilwerth Bundy stencil, the Bundy Special? My high school purchased a new baritone for me to play back in '64, I believe, and it was a very nice horn. It replaced the LaMonte that I had been playing previously, and it was a quantum improvement over the LaMonte. It was like a junior mk6, it had balanced action, a very short neck with no octave key on it. Both octave vents were located in exactly the same place they are on the mk6. And balanced action was very rare back in '64, I guess that Selmer wasn't letting anyone use their patented inovation yet. So this made the baritone very easy for me to play, the short neck allowed the horn and it's action to sit much closer to me, and the balanced action made the left hand little finger spatula very easy to deal with, those notes get a lot of use on the baritone.

Even though I was just a little young guy, I knew that the horn was a quality build, and the fact that it was stamped "Made in Germany" was a mystery to me. I knew that Bundys were made in Elkhart, so the Germany thing threw me for a loop. Later on, I learned about the Keilwerth connection.
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Hey there,

I had a Bundy Special Tenor that I played in snatches for about a year. I bought it because it was a very good price, and I was looking for a horn that might give me the great tone of my vintage Martin, but with easier ergos and maybe more consistent intonation. Also, I really wanted to try a Keilwerth.

I had it completely overhauled--the tone holes needed to be levelled--and it was very nice to play. I ended up selling it, however, because I didn't really prefer the tone qualities to the Martin. Like the Martin, the JK had a huge sound, but it was just a bit too dark for me; what I mean is, it really seemed to demand a great deal from the player in terms of power. In my hands, anyway, it just seemed a bit lifeless and sort of tubby-sounding--you might say dark-lite :).

I imagine, however, that in the hands of a really great player--somebody like Bill Holloway for eg, who prefers Keilwerths--these horns would be a killer deal. The whole experiment cost me about 300$, but the total cost of about $1200 for horn and set up would have been a great deal if it had been the horn for me. There's no doubt about the pro-level construction quality.

Rory

ps. You've got me hooked on Illinois Jacquet and I can't get any work done :). His blues choruses on the song Speedliner are just killing me!!!!!
 
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I played a Keilwerth Bundy bari. The difference between that and the Special is just rolled tone holes.

Very good horn.

===========

Taiwanese-made Vitos are from Jupiter. Insert your own joke.
 
Rory, glad that you're listening to Jacquet. I'm really not familiar with Speedliner, I'll have to look that one up. Lately, I've been pretty infatuated with his alto saxophone melody statement of the tune "On the Sunny Side of the Street." Check it out on youtube if you get a minute. Man, he can swing a melody!

Back on topic......back in the days of my yoot, when I was playing the Bundy Special, I didn't even know what a Keilwerth was. Was anyone here in the USA playing a Keilwerth in 1964? Sure, I know that someone somewhere was playing the horn, and it had that name (JK) scratched into the bell, but I don't think that I've even seen one that old. I remember seeing H Couf by the early '70s, but I knew nothing of the Keilwerth name then. So all I knew about was Bundy. And I was surprised that a Bundy played that well.

I wonder how the Bundy Special compared to the other stencil that JK was building around that time, the H Couf?
 
pete said:
I played a Keilwerth Bundy bari. The difference between that and the Special is just rolled tone holes.

Very good horn.

===========

Taiwanese-made Vitos are from Jupiter. Insert your own joke.
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Pete, did the Keilwerth Bundy come along after the Bundy Special? I think that I've seen a few of these (JK Bundy) on ebay.
 
I think you're misinterpreting.

The Keilwerth made Bundy and Bundy Special were available at the same time. The Bundy Special just had rolled tone holes (like a Conn New Wonder, for instance).
 
pete said:
I think you're misinterpreting.

The Keilwerth made Bundy and Bundy Special were available at the same time. The Bundy Special just had rolled tone holes (like a Conn New Wonder, for instance).
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Yes, I got a little ahead of myself. Thanks, Pete.
 
The new Bundy saxophones

I just learned something about the new Bundy line of saxophones. Rumor has it that Woodwind and Brasswind has a long term lease on the rights to the Bundy name. It's no surprise that the new Bundy saxes are probably Asian horns - almost everthing is.

The real surprise is that the new Bundy is not made or distributed by Conn-Selmer.
 
Groovekiller said:
I just learned something about the new Bundy line of saxophones. Rumor has it that Woodwind and Brasswind has a long term lease on the rights to the Bundy name. It's no surprise that the new Bundy saxes are probably Asian horns - almost everthing is.

The real surprise is that the new Bundy is not made or distributed by Conn-Selmer.
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This is an interesting development on several levels.
 
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