Pierret 1950s ‘Super Artiste’ Eb Alto, #1,010

1953-55? Pierret "Super Artiste" Alto Sax

(On Consignment - Plays Great!)

Updated writeup: 7/5/23 dating eras

PIERRET ARISTE INFO: This little alto is a sleeper for the money! The more you dive into the French-made Pierrets online, the more you'll walk away with high hopes for its potential. --"they sing", "they'll make a Mark VI sweat", and they are light-weight, nimble, and have several trill key options. If you dive into the research sites below, you'll find the struggle with serial number dating, leading to this sax being [the 1,010th Artiste model made], rather than linear dating. The next model, the Pierret Competition, contained several similar traits of this Artiste, often seen with less trill options. The patent on the Pierret publishing is dated from 1953, so my extreme guess is that this sax was made around after year one of production, or about 1954-55; it could have been into the late 50s as well. WWS RESEARCH NOTE: This specific Artiste has the bell brace that is later advertised on the Competition model(The single arm vs the circle brace); as well as a ribbed neck support brace vs a floating rib(not seen as the main neck design on most photoed models). I call attention to this because bell-to-body braces do affect tone. If the brace went back to the previous design, that is saying something worth nothing and researching further.

*Special thanks to Yann on ebay, owner of 9 Pierrets(!!) for some proofreading on my info. He is correcting much info on the web, even the highly regarded authors below. In effort to preserve knowledge, I'll post our correspondence here:

"The Pierret patent of 1953 does not concern the Super Artiste, it is the patent for the keys of the Competition model with the flat pillars (and of the latest Super Artiste & Artiste Competition, but yours does not correspond). I don't remember if it's Helen or Pete who made a mistake in the USA. I enclose the famous patent. It was published in 1953 but was requested in 1950... Moreover, the Pierret's serial numbers are chaotic, it is difficult to specify a date. The clues are contradictory: its serial number is low but it is not signed by Hyppolite Poinboeuf, it does not have the keys of the Competition or the Artist Competition, it has ball pillars, not flat but it does not indicate the address "205 Boulevard Voltaire" (= Voltaire Bd) ... So, we don't know its year of manufacture.  ... [Yes, The year is therefore unknown],
- the patent does not concern your "Super Artist",
- the links don't prove anything, saxpics.com repeats Jazzbras' nonsense (see below),
- there is of course the Competition model but there is also the "Artiste Competition", the "Artiste" model, the "Super Artiste 47" and "Super Artiste 48" models which have similarities and differences,
- there are significant differences in quality and construction between copies of the same model, it's a mess,
- the US forum translated the version of a french forum written by Jean Monange aka Jazzbrass (who is dead), who told/invented anything without ever proving anything. For example, he says that the French saxophonist Marcel Mule played on Pierret, while Marcel Mule himself says that he played on Selmer, then Couesnon, then Selmer again...
But we agree on one thing: they are excellent saxophones, especially ones of the "Boulevard Voltaire" period (1937-). The Steven Howard's Competition is one of them and I completely agree with him on the qualities of these saxophones. I love the Pierret saxes and I have nine of them. I was able to compare the models and there are very important details that cannot be seen on a photo.

Regards,
Yann"

The information on Pierret saxophones has been slowly gathering among forums and experts for years. For more thorough reading, please see:

1. Helen's great info blog at www.Bassic-Sax.info. 
2. Steven Howard's writeup on the following model, the Pierret Competition http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
3. Pete's writeups at Saxpic.com are also good, yet vague as they were perhaps first. 
4. ....google the forums. 🙂

This sax was adult-owned, and invested in to love. The owner had a few horns and played some but not extensively. This sax was rebuild by WWS Master, Sarge, with a Premium rebuild back in about 2010, that included black roo pads, teflon, techcorks, and felts in the WWS custom fashion. The most notable fun perk on this sax is the Trill Eb3 key. It helps palm D-to-Eb be with ease. This can also double, and be of better use in my opinion, as a trill from C3-D3 also. There is the common G# trill key, Articulated G# with C#, yet no high F# on this model.

PADS:  Saxgourmet black roo pads, with flat metal resos and rivet at 50% pad sizing (WWS Standard).

FINISH: The lacquer finish is tricky for Original or Non-Original lacquer. I think it's a very nice relacquer; Nice because of minimal engraving loss or embellishments being worn. It would trick the untrained eye.

CASE: it arrive with a vintage hard case is function condition, but a bit rough and safe for shipping and immediate use if needed. If you'd like to discuss a case swap/upgrade, simply bring that to our attention.

BONUS: Mouthpiece, (modern) ligature and vintage "Buffet" cap. The mouthpiece is a Claude Lakey that looks like the plastic era(not rubber).

SOUND: I would describe it as "French" with some American seasoning. It has the focus and crispness of some French saxes, often linked to Dolnets & SMLs(although these are wider and deeper tones to me). It also reminds me of the Buescher Aristocrats/Elkhart models.

Sound Files on Actual Sax:

Item#:WWSCONMC1S0.0S0.00.04282.2-C15