Vito curved soprano

[czaucer]

I may have the opportunity to buy a Vito curved soprano. SN s970970. It has Vito (the "i" dotted with a blossom) in large letters, underlined, and Leblanc in smaller letters below, also some floral engraving, on the bell. I'm guessing that it is at least 10 years old, but in excellent condition, so hard to say. I have been a repairman for many years and have never seen anything like it. It is not marked "made in Japan", and I would guess it was made in the states. It is in a nice brown case. It is solidly made and has a nice sound.

Does anyone know what I've got here? Model #? What it might be worth? Anything else?

Thanks

Czaucer

[zxcvbnm]

It's french, and these are nice players and somewhat rare. Is it fixed neck?

[czaucer]

It has one unattached neck, with a key.

How do you know it is French? Do you know when it was made?

[sax-ony]

For comparison, here are some photos of my French Vito curved soprano:

http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w237/sax-ony/Vito%20sop/?albumview=grid

This one is actually stamped "MADE IN FRANCE" and has a serial number from the Beaugnier sequence: 20XXX. It is apparently a Beaugnier in every detail, except for being stencilled "Vito" for Leblanc. It is in the original Leblanc case.

Later, as I understand it, Beaugnier parts were shipped to the US (to avoid import tariffs) and the horns were assembled in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I have only seen pictures of these in alto and tenor. They do not say "made in France", and they have a few minor differences from the Beaugnier horns, but they appear very similar. I do not know about their serial numbers.

There are more knowledgeable people around here who will hopefully chime in soon.

[czaucer]

Thanks for the input and pictures.

But the sax in your pix is not the model I have.

I looked through some old Leblanc parts catalogs in my shop today to see if I could find this Vito I'm trying to identify (I'm a repairman). The Vitos were all straight. But in one catalog (at least 10-15 years old) there were parts and diagrams for Yanagisawa horns. Apparently Leblanc was selling Yani's at that time. The "Vito" I have is virtually identical to the Yani SC900 (just some slight differences in the key guards, as far as I can tell from the small, black and white catalog pictures.)

So it looks like I've got either a Yani with the Vito name on it or some kind of Yani knock-off.

Anyone know which it might be?

[al9672]

Could be a yani.

There was a thread for identifying votos based on their serial number, try searching for that

[Walter Webb]

If it's serial numbers and manufacturing locations and dates you want, go to the expert on the subject, Kim Slava, and scroll thru the charts for a while: http://www.doctorsax.biz/musical_instrument_reference_inf.htm

Sax-ony: that is a wonderful Beaugnier Soprano. I had no idea they existed.
I would pay you any quantity of money, if I had any, but can only offer you one Chihuahua, not housebroken, in trade....

[fluteypiccolosax]

pictures might help.

[sax-ony]

Sax-ony: that is a wonderful Beaugnier Soprano. I had no idea they existed.

Thank you. I first saw them mentioned by Uwe Steinmetz, a member here who rates them very highly, but I hadn't seen one until this came up on Ebay. It had had an amateur lacquer coat over everything - old lacquer, bare brass areas, pearls, pads, the lot! Otherwise it was perfect: low-mileage and with original pads. I've had it chemically stripped to bare brass and fully overhauled.

I would pay you any quantity of money, if I had any, but can only offer you one Chihuahua, not housebroken, in trade....

Alas, I am not fond of dogs, housebroken or otherwise; but it makes no difference: this one is only likely to be sold by my executors. It is a joy to play. While at my repairer's, it was play-tested by a couple of pros: one - a professor of saxophone and soprano specialist - thought it absolutely gorgeous, and the other just wanted to take it home.

If you find one - buy it!

[Uwe Steinmetz]

http://cgi.ebay.com/SAXAPHONE-SOPRANO-B-FLAT-VINTAGE-1963_W0QQitemZ160335320704QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item2554bad680&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1| 293%3A1|294%3A50

HERE´s ANOTHER ONE FROM BEAUGNIER!!!

Good Luck!

Uwe.

[sax-ony]

"This listing (160335320704) has been removed or is no longer available."

Anybody know what happened?


....Ignore that: I see it's back up again.

Very nice, and very similar to mine, though a little earlier. Obvious differences seem to be the G# key, the LH palm keys, and the bell key guard. (And of course the apparently complete original lacquer... a bit envious about that!)

Did anyone here win it?