I've been thinking about this.
One of the main "arguments" that people make about, "You can use vintage horns without a problem!" is that saxophone keywork hasn't changed that much since A. Sax slapped the C bass together in 1843.
Ummm. Sorta.
I know that, for instance, the original production saxophone had a keyed range of low B to altissimo Eb. This was extended to low A on a couple of models (probably by 1861/1866) -- but some of the alternate keywork we're used to, such as a chromatic F#, wasn't standard until the late 1960s (Martin Committee/Magna baris randomly did not have chromatic F#s; lotsa German makes didn't have them).
So, I think I could have fun with this. I'll definitely mention the following ....
* The company that patented the fork Eb, etc, around 1888
* Pre-single-octave key baritones
* The Loomis horns
* The two Evette-Schaeffer keywork designs
* The interesting keywork designs of the Buffet-Powell
* Interesting keywork found on the Kohlert "VKS" baris
* Leblanc's Rationale, Semi-Rationale and System horns
* Grafton's rather unique approach to keywork
* Conn-O-Sax and extending the range from low A to altissimo G
* The Selmer Harmonic mechanism
* The SBA low A baritone and low A baris
* The Mark VI low A alto
* The Selmer Modele 28 (altissimo D# trill key and all that)
* The Hohner President and Pierret's approach to altissimo keywork
* Low G basses
* The Eppelsheim designs
* The Rampone and Cazzani Dell Paine horn
* Ergonomics
Anything I've forgotten? I've only done some design work for this in my head.
One of the main "arguments" that people make about, "You can use vintage horns without a problem!" is that saxophone keywork hasn't changed that much since A. Sax slapped the C bass together in 1843.
Ummm. Sorta.
I know that, for instance, the original production saxophone had a keyed range of low B to altissimo Eb. This was extended to low A on a couple of models (probably by 1861/1866) -- but some of the alternate keywork we're used to, such as a chromatic F#, wasn't standard until the late 1960s (Martin Committee/Magna baris randomly did not have chromatic F#s; lotsa German makes didn't have them).
So, I think I could have fun with this. I'll definitely mention the following ....
* The company that patented the fork Eb, etc, around 1888
* Pre-single-octave key baritones
* The Loomis horns
* The two Evette-Schaeffer keywork designs
* The interesting keywork designs of the Buffet-Powell
* Interesting keywork found on the Kohlert "VKS" baris
* Leblanc's Rationale, Semi-Rationale and System horns
* Grafton's rather unique approach to keywork
* Conn-O-Sax and extending the range from low A to altissimo G
* The Selmer Harmonic mechanism
* The SBA low A baritone and low A baris
* The Mark VI low A alto
* The Selmer Modele 28 (altissimo D# trill key and all that)
* The Hohner President and Pierret's approach to altissimo keywork
* Low G basses
* The Eppelsheim designs
* The Rampone and Cazzani Dell Paine horn
* Ergonomics
Anything I've forgotten? I've only done some design work for this in my head.