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Selmer Modele 26 Modele Ladário

pete

Brassica Oleracea
Staff member
Administrator
Linky. It's in Portuguese. The asking price was approximately $10,000 US.

This is a custom horn built by Selmer for Ladário Teixeira in 1929. I was clued into this horn by a person who e-mailed me about something else and said, "By the way, have you ever heard of ...."

Doing some very cursory Googling, Ladário Teixeira was one of the pioneers in very high altissimo playing -- which is amusing considering that his alto has a low A -- and Selmer built this horn to facilitate altissimo playing.

It's unfortunate that the pics on the above link are so small. My e-mailer says that he has some more pics available someplace, so if I get 'em, I'll post 'em.
 
I've been fascinated by the story of Ladario Teixeira for years. Thanks for the pix. I know he was blind, and a virtuoso. For what it is worth, I've found that my Selmer Mark VI alto with low A key has a more stable altissimo than other altos I have played.
 
I've been fascinated by the story of Ladario Teixeira for years. Thanks for the pix. I know he was blind, and a virtuoso. For what it is worth, I've found that my Selmer Mark VI alto with low A key has a more stable altissimo than other altos I have played.

Do you have any idea of why this is true about the altissimo. Could it just be a coincidence, perhaps?
 
The one and only Selmer Mark VI low A alto I've ever played was a decent horn. Of course, because I was a bari player, I never had much call to play altissimo, so I couldn't tell you much about that.

Groove's comment makes me wonder if there's an acoustic reason. Length of the cone, perhaps?
 
Is this related perhaps, to why it is easier to play altissimo on bari, than it is on alto, or even tenor? Is it bore size? Or is it cone length?
 
... or both.

My e-mailer has sent me some other pics. I'll post them here when I can. Busy, busy.
 
In the low register, the standing wave (vibrating air column), extends a little past the first open tone hole. In the upper register (with the octave key) the standing wave extends past the second open tone hole. In the altissimo register, the standing wave extends out the bell of the sax. Longer bell = more stable altissimo.
 
In the low register, the standing wave (vibrating air column), extends a little past the first open tone hole. In the upper register (with the octave key) the standing wave extends past the second open tone hole. In the altissimo register, the standing wave extends out the bell of the sax. Longer bell = more stable altissimo.

Thanks Randy. That's the first time I've had this explained in a way that even remotely makes sense. Usually I end up glazing over as I listen to something that sounds like a physics lecture. (Needless to say my instructors in the past haven't been able to get the concept through my rather thick skull.) :D
 
Here are some much larger pics. I think these were from the website that was selling this.

My e-mailer said that he thinks there was a gold plated version of this horn, but can't confirm that. I also told him that it'd be interesting to see if the horn really has toneholes that are in different locations from a stock Modele 26, but I don't currently have the desire to check that myself. I rather like the C#/B/Bb keys above the F/E/D keys. That's an idea that was originally used on Evette-Schaeffer horns and later incorporated into their Apogee key layout -- and I'm fairly sure I remember seeing this on another Selmer.
 
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