Serial NumbersOrig Seq.BrandedTypeModelSer.

• Yanagisawa Alto Sax Serial Numbers

Questions to Lee's Sax Worx 415-759-6001 Lee Kramka of Lee's Sax Worx wishes his visitors and valued clients to know that their repair questions are important! Lee's Sax Worx - Ask a Repair Question and see the ANSWERS, belowQuestions for LEE? Click HERE!Your SAXOPHONE Questions(and Answers!)On 8/15/2005 Nathan Chiang wrote:Hi Lee,I'm thinking about gold plating my delaquered Mark VI Alto. Is it worth it? And, how muchwould it cost to do it?

Also, how will the sound change? And, I've heard you have to silver plate it first andthen gold-plate it so the gold will stick. Is that true?-Thx, NathanGold plating is the best finish you can give your sax. It is very sturdy. Gold does not tarnish easily andreacts less to the acids in your skin. Silver is plated first and then gold.This allows the plater to control the amount of gold. Brass is very porous and would soak up too muchso the brass is first plated with silver.

Acoustically it seems to enhance the sound and visually is verypleasing. The down side is the expense because your sax must be overhauled at this time.Just the gold plating for an alto runs about $1300 plus the cost of the overhaul puts you in the $2500 range.The other parameter is turnaround time which runs about three months.

If its done properly you will neverhave to overhaul it again in your lifetime.LeeOn 8/15/2005 Richard Fontana wrote:Hi,I have a fairly new Selmer 64 Series III tenor. It's apretty nice instrument except for one problem. When Ipress the octave key and play G or lower, there is anannoying clicking sound.

I've isolated this - Idon't know the correct terminology, but there's a'nipple'-like mechanism that is lifted out of a holewhen the octave key is pressed for notes lower than A.The clicking is caused by this. I can eliminate theclicking by placing a small bit of paper between thehole and the nipple.

Is there any way to permanentlycorrect this problem?Thanks, RichardThere are ways to correct this problem. A qualified technician knows how to shim this mechanism so theparts are quiet when they move together. Sometimes new oil on the hinge rod and in the hinge tube andgrease on the bearing parts will quiet this mechanism.

There should be a leather pad on the body octavekey. This is the part that moves when you press G with the octave.

You don't want oil on the pad or in theoctave hole itself, just the mechanism! I hope you are enjoying your new Selmer.LeeOn 8/8/2005 Gen.

O'Neill wrote:I was wondering what the difference between a student alto sax and a professional alto sax is(besides price). What’s the difference between a student clarinet and a professional clarinet?Student instruments are mostly designed to produce a tone easily. Mechanisms aredesigned simpler and are not as precise. Student models have to be priced at a beginner level.Pro instruments are all about creating a beautiful tone and precise mechanisms that allow a player toplay fast and accurately. More attention is paid to intonation.

Also the appearance of the instrument ismore important. There are some absolutely stunning pro instruments out there from many eras includingthe current one.LeeOn 8/3/2005 Carrie wrote:I have a Vito Bass Clarinet. I have had this instrument checked for leaks as well as doing it myself.All pads and corks are new. I cannot get upper register to play on my right hand(bottom section of the horn), the left hand is fine, any suggestions?Most bass clarinets are difficult to play in that area especially student instruments.Pro bass clarinets have a more complex octave system designed to help in that part of the register.That given, if the pads are truly covering properly the only other possibilities are the octave is not adjustedproperly or the right hand keys are not venting properly(not open enough). Can you get a moreexperienced player to try the clarinet for you? A good repairman could certainly help determineif its the player or the instrument.LeeOn 8/2/2005 Patrick Peterson wrote:I have a Selmer AS110 that I purchased used earlier this year. It plays well and seems to be in goodcondition, although I wondered about some green coloration a few inches down inside the bell.A similar green discoloration can be found in a few places on the outside of the instrument.Is this corrosion, or some residue from a botched cleaning job?

What causes it?Can it be removed/repaired?Patrick PetersonVersailles, KYPatrick,Most saxophones are made from brass. Brass corrossion is green. When a sax is sprayedwith lacquer the lacquer can only go so far into the bell.What you are seeing is raw brass where the lacquer stops.On the outside the lacquer must be worn or have some pitting to expose the brass.This can be removed with a chemical clean.LeeOn 8/2/2005 Richard wrote:Hi.

What is the difference between a tenor and a low pitch sax? I recently purchased an old Martin sax.It has the words.' Martin'.then a serial # below that.then the words 'Low Pitch' below the #.thanks, RichardThe words 'low pitch' stamped on vintage saxes was the first move in standardizing pitch at A-440 forwoodwind instruments.

Before then pitch was somewhat random but European makers were usinga higher pitch to tune their creations. This would help make the tone a little more brilliant.American makers discovered new bore shapes and manufacturing techniques that would help aninstrument project. Whether all this connects or not, A-440 became the standard in american musicalinstrument manufacture.LeeOn 8/1/2005 Dave Connell wrote:My grandfathers old York sax Ser#108060 has a strong odorI am told it is from his saliva when he played it.

Is there any way to clean it with out damagingit? It is in perfect shape as far as I can tell; stored in its case, which isstill in great shape as well. Do you know the approximate value of this saxand year manufactured?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.Your sax was manufactured in 1937. Because saxes get wet when played mildew can develop in allthe soft parts of the sax and its case. Some have had success with placing the case open in the directsun without the sax.

This could help the sax also but the heat could damage the pad adjustments.The best way to get rid of that smell is to throw away the case and chemically clean the instrument.Unfortunately to clean the keys this way all the pads and soft parts should be replaced, a major job.It will help some to clean the body and wipe all the keys with something like lemon pledge furniture polish.You will still need to do something about the case.LeeOn 8/1/2005 Jim Grindrod wrote:Have purchased an older Saxophone and have had the pads and cork replaced on it. It has a silver bodywith Carl Fischer National Deluxe on the bell.

It has a serial number under the thumb guard is C 29552.Any info on this instrument you can supply would be greatly appreciatedJim GrindrodAll of the Carl Fischer saxes I have seen were made by Buescher. I believe they were all made in the 1920'sand 30's. No one seems to have Carl Fischer serial number lists to identify them more exacting.These are called 'stencil horns' made specifically for Carl Fischer and were typically not as good aquality as the ones with Buescher's name.LeeOn 7/31/2005 Jazz Fan wrote:Hi, this is my first time asking a question here. Hope to hear your answer.Basically, I have a wonderful Buescher Big-B that needs some new pads. However, I asked around and nearby repairmen all quoted $400 up for re-pads. I see that ordering a set those snap-in pads costs somethinglike $50-70 a set, and since they are snap-in, I am getting the idea of doing it myself.Is that a stupid thing to do? MUST I send it to the repairmen(they are not experts either, since they don't know about snap-in pads.).If I do it myself, what should I be aware of?Unfortunately there is so much that goes into a proper repad or overhaul.The snap pads were an attempt to make emergency repairs easier.You rarely can remove one pad, snap in a new one and away you go.Old pads shrink and get adjusted that way.

New pads are thicker.Replacing the pads on the keys that are sprung down and keys that operate by themselvesis an easier task. You might consider trying a couple and seeing how it goes.Certainly you don't have to deal with an alcohol lamp and shellac but you have to get the padsto stay in the key cups ( snaps get fatigued and sometimes will not hold in the thicker pads).Each pad still has to seal properly on its tone hole and then key combinations must be regulated.This is done with cork and felt shims and also key bending which I don't recommend to a novice.Typically on an old sax like this I do a lot of realignment of the keys and posts and also leveling ofkey cups and tone holes. To get these snap pads to seal well it really helps to start with a level playing field.

If you are lucky things are still pretty well aligned on your sax. Get a set of pads and see what you can do.

Probably the worst that could happen is you will need to seek professional help and you will be out the time you put in and maybe a set of pads. Good luck.LeeOn 7/28/2005 Mike H wrote:I recently purchased a Selmer Reference 54 Alto to go into college with:I am a tenor player (mostly jazz), and to play test the horn I only had a RPC 95 mouthpiece (alto)with a wedge baffle. The horn sounded amazing and still does with that mouthpiece!However, the reason I really bought the horn is because I needed a classical horn and I knowthat it is an amazing classical horn because even with that wedge it sounds deep and very dark.Yet, the projection from that mouthpiece is horrible for symphonic band and smaller ensemble work.The stock Soloist D mouthpiece that came with it sounds amazing all the way to low D anything lowerand the horn barks back at me and tends to 'warble.'

I've heard of this problem happening in theReference Altos and know that mine does not do it with the other mouthpiece. Do you know of anymouthpieces, classically oriented, that would alleviate this problem?Thank you!Mike H.Mike, You may have a leak in the sax.

If the G# and F# arm are not adjusted properly you will get theseexact symptoms. Play any of the right hand notes and while you sustain the note press the G# key.If there is a difference in tone it is out of adjustment and the adjusting screw needs to be turned down alittle. If there is a repair tech in your area they may be able to help.

The other thing that occurs to me is themouthpiece needs to swallow a lot of the neck cork to play properly. Have you used a tuner or checked thetuning another way? You've tried some good mouthpieces. They should work.LeeOn 7/14/2005 Charlie wrote:My wife has been playing her clarinet since about 1960 when her dad bought it for her used.It's an Evette & Schaeffer modele buffet- crampon, serial No. It's still in good shapeand sounds great. She would like to know: When was it made?

And, what is it's current market value?I tried finding the answer but with the company out of business, I hit a dead end.I hope you can help.Thanks.CharlieBuffet is still around and making the best clarinets. The company has just been bought and sold a coupleof times. They are now part of 'The Music Group'. Evette & Schaeffer owned Buffet in the very early 1900'sbut their name was also used later for Buffets' intermediate clarinet model. I believe this is what you have.Manufacture dates don't seem to exist anymore. They were not produced much past 1980.They were lovely playing clarinets similar to the pro model.Thanks for writing.LeeOn 6/20/2005 GHill wrote:Bought an old King Zephyr Alto Sax in an intique store.it has a serial # 460-782and on it is also written Kings Musical Instrument Fret Lake Ohio.It is badly tarnished.rust all over.seems like it was stored for a long time.Can you tell me it it's worth anything and if so how to restore the brass?GHILLAccording to the info you gave me this instrument was manufactured in 1970 at the new factory inEastlake, Ohio.

King was no longer making the high quality saxes they were known for in the 1940'sand 50's. The Zephyr was an intermediate quality sax at that point. Typically these instruments werelacquered. To restore the finish one would have to strip the old lacquer, polish the horn and relacquer it.This is not an easy job and is costly. More than the sax is worth. Visit your local repair shop and get anopinion on what it takes to make the horn playable. What it looks like may not be so important.Good luck.LeeOn 6/20/2005 Fran wrote:Can you tell me all you know about my saxophone?

Yanagisawa Alto Sax Serial Numbers

It is a Conn alto sax serial number K51365.There is the shooting stars on the bell. That's all I can tell about it. Is it an M model? What year is it?What is it worth?Thank you so much.

I am perplexed.FranAccording to the serial number, this was manufactured in 1967. The shooting stars indicates a studentmodel. I would guess it is a lacquered body with nickel plated keys. This was one of the last Connsproduced in Elkhart.

By 1970 the factory had been moved to Texas where the quality plummeted.The M series you are referring to was a model designation. M stood for saxophone and waspreceded by a number. 6-M for alto, 8-M for C melody, 10-M for tenor, 12-M baritone, 14-M bass,26-M Conqueror alto, 30-M Conqueror tenor. These were made from 1920 up to the 1960's.Have fun with your alto.LeeOn 6/14/2005 Susan Lehmkuhl wrote:I recently purchased a Vito LeBlanc Alto Sax for my daughter.It is obviously an older sax, but I'm not sure of anything else about it.The serial # is 2958 A.

Would you be able to share anything with me regarding this instrument??Thank you.Susan Lehmkuhlps.Please respond either directly or on your board as I will be back there again.I found it very useful.Most manufacturers have their student instruments made in a different factory than their pro models.Vito was Leblancs student line. There was a period of time when these student horns were actuallymade in France. In the 1980's Leblanc had Yamaha make them. These were model YAS23's with adarker lacquer and Vito engraved on the bell. They say Japan by the serial number.I can't tell by the serial number what era this is that you have.

An expert can tell by the keyconfiguration among other things. I hope it plays well and someone is enjoying it.LeeOn 6/14/2005 C Lane wrote:My 10 yr old son wants to learn to play sax.We have found 2, but don't have any experience.What can you tell me about a Bundy, serial #485,415 and a Conn, serial #11,777(can't find any 'M' on it)? I am interested in their history and playablity for a beginner.Pads and corks appear to be ok and everything seems to work, tho finish isn't great. Thanks very much.The Bundy was manufactured approximately 1969. This was a very good time for Bundys.They were built with the tooling from the Buescher factory so they look and play much likethose respected instruments. This is a sturdy sax with a simple key design that is easy to work on.The Conn serial number is confusing to me. It suggests either a very old (1906) sax or a relativelymodern one, maybe 1970?

Were their any letters before the numbers? In 1970 the Elkhart,Conn factory closed and moved to Texas where woodwinds were manufactured up to 1986.Some of these instruments were also made in Mexico and you will see Mexico stamped on the backby the serial number. These were not good saxes so this whole era is suspect.If this alto is one of the last out of the Elkhart factory it may be a better sax than I'm imagining.If I could see it I would be able to identify the era it was made. Old Conn's have great respect, new ones not.Although to be fair Selmer has joined hands with Conn and current instruments are improving.Good luck to your son. I hope he enjoys the sax.LeeOn 6/14/2005 Jerry Jurkiewicz wrote:I received a Yamaha Custom 82ZU alto as a gift. It has some serious intonation issues (very sharpstarting near high G and worse with each note up).

I have tried different mouthpieces, reeds butcan't get this horn to be pulled into tune. It's so far off I can't pull it in with my embouchure.Neither can a stud pro sax player friend of mine. He notes the same issue.

This seems very unusualgiven Yamaha's reputation. Have you seen this phenomenon? Can this be fixed?What fixes should be tried?I'm constantly reminding people that saxes are very individual and you can't particularly judgethem by their name. Saxes are also dependent on the player to play them in tune which requiresa lot of listening.

Yamahas are known for their good intonation and typically modern hornsas a whole have been engineered better. Saxes do have a tendency to play sharper the higher you gobut you describe the problem as being pretty extreme.

If the key heights are set too high they will accent this problem. If you don't pull your mouthpiece out a little after it warms up it will tend to play sharp. Small movements of the mouthpiece effect the pitch on the high end much more than the bottom of the sax. The other possibility is a problem with the neck. I was told that Yamaha had a neck problem with one of the earlier versions of the Custom but have never experienced this myself. If the octave tube in the neck is drilled out too far it will make those notes you are talking about play extremely sharp.

I've experienced this with Selmer Mk VII's. Replacing that octave tube with a correct one was the fix. You could try another Yamaha neck and see if that makes a difference.The Yamaha Custom line has been created to compete with Selmer. This means Yamahahas even borrowed more of their design from Selmer, specifically the Mark VI. The Selmer MkVI bore has atendency to play sharper on top than some other makes but the tradeoff is a very rich sound full of overtones. Yamaha model 62's have a different bore and thusly a different intonation pattern.

One that seems easier to control. Personally, I don't like the sound of the 62's. Always a tradeoff with saxophones.If you are close enough to San Francisco I would be happy to check it out for you.Let me know what you find out. Thanks.LeeOn 6/13/2005 Willem wrote:HI LEEGREAT SITE.THANKS.I BOUGHT A YANI A-5 RECENTLY AND MANY PEOPLE ARE GOINGOOOOO.IT'S A MARK SIX.HOW GOOD A COPY IS IT?I LOVE THE TONE BUT IT SEEMS TO PULL SHAPR ON THELOW/BELOW D FINGERING AND THE TONE COLD BE MORECENTERED, I FEEL.