SOLD - Priced to sell! One of the great sopranos on the market. This YSS745 is a series 1, and was adult owned (!). It received very little playing time and is a in excellent condition. Comes with a Yamaha stock mouthpiece and Rovner ligature($25) and cap.
PADS: Original pads in excellent shape!
CASE: Original hard case, in great condition.
There's really not much to add; I'll let it speak for itself.
Jupiter ‘JAS-869SG’ Eb Alto, #H01,7xx (Archived)
SOLD - I like these as a great intermediate sax. Great Ergos, high F# key, nice original hard case. Made in Taiwan, Model JAS-869SG. Sterling silver neck! Currently in factory pads that come with slight-domed metal resonators. These have fast action and you'll love it over any student sax. They play a little louder with power and presence - from the extra rich from the silver neck.
Cosmetic Rating: 8.8 -- Quite nice - minor tarnishing to note on the silver body, but I'll clean it up a lot!
CASE: a yamaha hard case in ok/good functioning.
Item #:WWS5.0E2.6E7.01131.8-C0
Keilwerth 1964 ‘[Tone King] – Selmer MAJOR’ Eb Alto, #51k (Archived)
SOLD - A pro sax that is hidden by the other popular name on the bell. But the key guard design, and the plastic pants guard, serial stamping, and keywork will label it as a full-blooded Julius Keilwerth sax. All JK Stencils has the high-quality metal from JK. And to my knowledge, there is no bad-JK-stencil. The original finish is in good shape overall; the photos show the wear. This is the TONE KING model design, and the early era with Rolled Tone Holes.
SOUND: These are still in the "vintage" category for tone, but actually these JKs carry more brightness and treble that I want to expect or admit. They are not like their Tenor brothers who are meaty and dark.) The altos have 'spunk' in the tone; 'kick' you might say.
REBUILD: I'd like to sell this with a full rebuild, and set it up to your specifications because it is playing on the original pad setup and it beginning to show age beyond what will be enjoyable. Let's discuss what you'd like; otherwise, I can put the JK Standard setup on it: seamless-domed, nickel resonators, on tan pads.
CASE: original case in pretty worn condition. I haven't given up saving it for use; but I am leaving the option to upgrade the case to a new one (the price would jump up also, at cost). Protec XL model recommended.
WWS2.7E0.0E0.8151.7-0
Buescher 1955 ‘Aristocrat II – Big B’ Eb Baritone, #351,41x (Archived)
SOLD - WWS REBUILD in buescher snap-in pads, Finish: Original Lacquer at 50%.
Serial number 351xxx. 60+% Original Lacquer, The Big Bs are famous for a BIG warm sound with rich low notes--resonant low end the fills the room, probably due to some help from the big bell flare. Mid-range gets a little thin but the low notes make up for it. These fit very well in jazz or concert bands. Intonation is pretty good all-round, C# is non-articulated, but my biggest complainant on the model is the lack of pants-guard on the backside. Beyond that, the Big B Baritones have a cult following who seek that fat warm sound.
This sax has a a WWS Rebuild on it. We originally sold it to a local customer who chose to sell it back to us due to their life changes. I will happily tune our pad-work up and send it out playing as good as I remember it.
CASE: It came back with the original case (working, yet poor condition). We can talk about case options for this one.
Keilwerth 1958 ‘Tone King’ Bb Tenor, w/ F#, Silver #32k (Archived)
SOLD - Rare. Stunning condition. Deluxe JK. A silver plate, professional Julius Keilwerth with high F# key, and G# trill, and the plastic guard in tact. If this is for the collector in you, I might even throw in a JK slimline mouthpiece to the sale of my baby. She is not perfect, as you can see the dreaded sax-stand scratches on the bell.
PADS: She was rebuild elsewhere with black roo pads and plastic resos. (The pads are far too new/nice for me to be unhappy with the setup that was choosen, so I will leave them. JK would have had domed-metal resos originally.)
CASE: Original "JK" emblemed, green case in excellent condition. It's super cool to see these with the case, but they are hard to trust for safety of the plastic guard.
Item #:CP-WWS1E5.7E8.58.10181.7-98
Keilwerth 2001 ‘EX-90 Series II’ Bb Tenor, #113k (Archived)
SOLD - An intermediate sax with the big brother as the SX90(pro model). You'll love the pro build in quality and slick keys. As a fellow JK (couf) player, the main difference I noticed was the side Bb-C-E placement. It was very close to the body. Perhaps this is a design for smaller hands to not bump them.
SOUND: full of harmonics, like the JK sound is known for. "meaty, robust, round, full".
PADS: It has what seems like mostly original factory pads with nickel resos (domed with rivet center). they have a good pad life left and should be good, with normal, mild maintenance, for the about 2-7 years.
CASE: original case in good, working order; but note the wear and tear to the styrofoam backing in the interior.
This sax was given a recent tuneup on arrival here at WWS. You should be able to leave with this sax and enjoy it right away.
Olds 1940s ‘Super’ Bb Tenor, Silver #1,08x (Archived)
SOLD - The rare OLDS Super tenor sax - in superb condition! These are strongly linked to Martins - think: Committee 1 & 2 blended. These are very well built saxes. There was a tone of love and craftsmanship in this era. This sax arrived in what I believe is likely the original pad setup from that era! - it is only a rivet in the pads, no resonators. The tone of it is thus muted and tubby. I should capture this for history's sake! At any rate, with a proper pad setup these will have a focused core tone and the small bore acts much like a Committee 1 & 2. The silver in very well intact, the neck has the matching serial number... CONS: There is solder evidence near the neck insert. My plan, address some of that on the body neck receiver, and silver plate any repairs (aka: make it awesome!). Otherwise, the sax is in excellent condition!
BEAUTY NOTE: I tried capture the luster of the pearls - I couldn't with a camera! These pearls glimmer with a green/turquoise hue that is so beautiful. I've also taken extra photos for documentation; and you'll notice that I have anti-tarnished/polished a few areas as a test. Enjoy!
CASE: A vintage wood case, with a white/yellow interior fuzz; likely the original also! It's only in "OK+" shape. A horn of this caliber should demand a new case, but I hate to separate the original parts.
REBUILD: Included in the price is a WWS Standard Rebuild: Prestini Tan pads, Resos at 60%+ (flat nickel with rivet), natural cork throughout, plus extra love for OLDS keywork. Ask me about special gold plating on the engraving or other ideas that we are considering.
2016 added research (to be continued): Prior to growing internet knowledge, Sarge used his collection and experience to help with the history and profiles on saxes. This horn needs an update to documentation: The CA company employed a former Martin employee. Thus the strong link in design from Martin. Was is made by Martin?-No; but you can clearly see the direct similarities.
Item #:WWS1S0.2S0.00.661.7-0
Buescher 1945 ‘400 – “Top Hat & Cane”‘ Eb Alto, #304k (Archived)
SOLD - A gorgeous Buescher TH&C alto here. These are less common to come available for sale and once you hear and feel this one, you'll know why. Paired with a good mouthpiece, these have great intonation, evenness in tone, and a warm, fat, melodic tone that is tied the Buescher's pinnacle and the big bell on this model. The older pads on this sax have tons of life left, minor tune-ups were done and few more that are included with the price. The sax plays to low Bb easily. Notable mentions: one shipping-damage repair was done here to the octave linkage to replace the lever.
CASE: Comes with original red case in ok/good shape (all latches work etc).
I'm more than happy to queue up a Sound File to prove this baby plays lusciously.
Item #: ConsBG.1W8.0W1.00.10101.7-C20