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looking for soprano sax

Steve

Steve

Clarinet CE/Moderator
Staff member
CE/Moderator
I'm looking and trying to budget a nice soprano sax.

I'm primarily looking for:
Selmer SuperAction80 (from the 1980s), or Series I/II
Couf Superba I/II / heritage
Buffet DA/SDA/S1

of course budget is kind of limited, say $1,500 right now
 
pete said:
How's this?

:p

You missed SML, Pierret and Dolnet on your list. Those should be in that price range. Interesting that you've got French, German, French.
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I thought of those, and the palm and LH table keys have a direct impact on the playability for me.

mk VI type table keys are fine with me.
Conn/Buescher table keys are not.

inline, mk VI type palm keys are not fine.

Pierret seems to have good table keys. But I haven't seen a Pierret sop in ages.

And another important factor is one's own goals. Anything else other than the above models then I would just keep searching and wasting more money until I got to those 3 brands.
 
I've thought about getting a Kessler or a Barone (on my short list) but it's just one of those things. I could just bid on ANY sop, in any color, on ebay. But there's a reason some people want to buy a certain brand or model of sop (or not buy one). I'm just that way. :)

Interesting that you've got French, German, French.
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You also seem to forget. I already play Selmer and Couf alto & tenors, and Buffet clarinets. Do you see the brand correlation there ?
 
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Just the suggestion that if you play flute, it'd have to be a Selmer or something German -- or you'd have to go completely off the board and get a Japanese made one :p.

JunkDude.com's got a couple B&S/Weltklang sopranos under $900, if that floats your boat. Yes, not Keilwerth, but somewhat close.

Those Buffet sops will be a tad difficult to find. There's one on eBay, right now, but it's close to $1600.
 
I've now bought a nice closet horn.

A mid 1982 SN# 333xxx Super Action 80 soprano in close to mint condition.
I'm waiting for it to arrive this Friday from a guy who actually used to live close to me, but retired down to Florida years ago.
 
Hope it's a player for you. Nice that you actually knew the fellow who owned it up to now. Especially nice if that means it was a single owner instrument that was cared for by a musician.
 
Hope it was only played in church twice a year. It will be a real bargain. :)
 
Why can't we have Star Trek technology ... beam the instrument to me instead of waiting for shipping .... It's one state away now.

Maumee, OH, United States02/20/20149:12 A.M.Arrival Scan
Sharonville, OH, United States02/20/20145:48 A.M.Departure Scan
02/20/20142:04 A.M.Arrival Scan
Knoxville, TN, United States02/19/201410:09 P.M.Departure Scan
02/19/20146:24 P.M.Arrival Scan
Jacksonville, FL, United States02/19/20148:43 A.M.Departure Scan
02/19/20144:23 A.M.Arrival Scan
Orlando, FL, United States02/19/201412:33 A.M.Departure Scan
Orlando, FL, United States02/18/201411:49 P.M.Arrival Scan
Tampa, FL, United States02/18/20149:59 P.M.Departure Scan
02/18/20149:54 P.M.Arrival Scan
Bradenton, FL, United States02/18/20149:01 P.M.Departure Scan
02/18/20148:54 P.M.Arrival Scan
Sarasota, FL, United States02/18/20148:26 P.M.Departure Scan
02/18/20147:23 P.M.Origin Scan
 
Waiting for an instrument can be an unneeded frustration.
 
Keesha said:
8 years later.
@Steve! Did you get your soprano saxophone and was it everything you expected.?
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Yes, I have it, and still have it.
It's totally awesome playing (when I actually play it).

Before the SA80 I had an Antigua 582 LQ that was hand selected by Dave Kessler (I think I sold it to @Gandalfe for his son ??). It was great keywork and easy playing. A friend of mine sent me his Antigua 582 LQ which was 95% of what mine was. Keywork was a bit more sloppy and you can see that Antigua started cutting corners quite quickly (within a year) of the great press they had when they originally released the 582 LQ.

But the Selmer, being a Selmer, is a Selmer with the mystique in the tone and everything else. Of course the Antigua was a bit better keywork as it was based on a Yanigasawa, but not as sturdy.

Previously to that SA80 & 582 LQ I bought a SA80 from a music store in Tennessee or some place. The body tube was bent. It kinda looked that was in the pictures but lenses can make things look curved. But I recall as soon as receiving it the body certainly looked bent to me, and putting a weighted string through it you can see the bend of it. I think there's pictures here or on SOTW. I was able to send it back and the music store was perturbed as it's return wondering why a bent body tube was a problem. I recall seeing an SA80 over the years with a bent body tube passing thru hands until some repairer fixed it.

But I recall a music display at school (University of Michigan) in the ballroom of the Union which had the SA80 sopranos and all their other instruments. I wanted my own sop as before that in high school I always borrowed one normally a Couf Superba. I was able to fiddle with the SA80 sop and from that point on always wanted one. So that was 1985ish ... so it took a few years but I finally got my SA80 soprano.
 
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What a fabulous story. I really like how closely connected you all are. It’s nice being able to sell a well loved saxophone to someone you actually know who will equally love it.

It’s good incredible that music store personal would have such an attitude about a bent saxophone. Of course it’s a big deal. There’s keys that need to line up accurately.

I had to look up SA80 soprano sax. A Selmer.
The name speaks for itself. One day I might actually get one. They really are fine instruments. Does the sound of it when playing give you chills? Maybe I’m being too nostalgic. Lol. When I first played my soprano, the hair on my body stood up. The sound gave me goosebumps.

That’s such a nice story.

This site has a lot of happy musicians on it. It’s nice to know.
Thank you for your answer.
 
I started playing soprano in high school. Some makers have a brash sound. I think SML's have a great tone but I don't like the keywork (very vintage).

I actually borrowed a soprano from Herbert Couf for jazz band or something for a short time back in my high school days. Since then I wanted one but back then the mk VI soprano was always the holy grail in tone and such. But the palm keys are a killer for me, the Super Action 80 fixed the palm keys - the 6 table keys were fine for me too.

But I wouldn't mind having a Couf Superba soprano too, but it's not high on my list. I *need* a Selmer Reference Hummingbird alto sax ... well, maybe. I also need another mk VI (for no reason at all) and a Ref 36 & 54 (for no reason at all). I need more lamps and wall art. :) j/k
 
nah, not poking fun.
I've made lamps out of clarinets, R13s to be specific. Nothing permanent. But .. hey .. why not ?
And wall displays .. just like the ones on music stores .. so one can see their instruments all the time?
It's just like people having their instruments out on instrument stands.
 
Oh ok. Sorry! I’m not good at picking up social cues due to mental disorders.
I’ve known quite a few musicians use instruments in creative but useful ways.
It’s looks quite fun but I’m not sure I could enjoy an instrument that I can’t realistically play. It’s an ocd thing. Lol

Joking aside I wouldn’t mind a Selmer Reference 54, but I already feel too greedy wishing for something better when I just got this. It’s really easy to play. Yayyyy!

Thank you. :)
 
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