Vito Alto Sax

[Stargazerpmo]

Hi Folks, Brand new to the forum, and the sax for that matter. I am 62yrs. old and figured I should learn to play an instrument before I kick the bucket. I have several instruments that I noodle around on just to make noise. I haven't taken any lessons on any instrument.
Anyway one of my instruments is a transverse flute. Now I love the sounds of the flute but I don't like my arms out to the side. I want to play something "up front". I like the clarinet and the sax, sooo I bought a clarinet on e-bay(not here yet). Then I saw a sax for sale on craigslist. I thought about one for a long time but they were a bit expensive for my beginner status. So I went to check it out. Vito Alto Sax. Kenosha Wis ser# 1892A nice condition, but needs some minor work....a few pads. $100. Hope I did ok case is crap!
I just got it yesterday and today I bought a few reeds. I am soaking them in my mouth now as I type this note. I also just joined the forum 30mins ago so this is my first post. Just curious, any idea on a manufacture date? Thanks for having such a great forum. Nice folks and a hugh wealth of information out there for a newbie. I know I will learn a lot.
Allan

[FremontSax]

Ok... Vito/Leblanc has been very non-forth coming with dates and serial numbers. My guess would be the 1960's.

Was $100 a bad deal? Well, that depends on the overall condition of the sax. If it hasn't any major dings, dents and repairs and the pads are mostly in good shape then it is probably a great deal. If you have to do a major restoration then... hmmm, you might be better off looking for another horn. Don't fear you can probably recover your 100 dollars.

The question is given the purchase price and adding any repair costs would you still want this sax?

I suggest you take it to a local tech and have them look it over and run their leak light down its throat. They can give you an estimate of what it takes to make it playable. I also suggest that you ask what is the minimum you have to do to make it playable? Take a look at the high e and high f pads. these tend to collect spit when you balance the sax on your knee. Also look at the low C and D sharp pads, at the bottom of the sax. This is another place spit collects.

Once it is playable it will probably sound pretty good.

[bari_sax_diva]

I want to play something "up front". I like the clarinet and the sax, sooo I bought a clarinet on e-bay(not here yet). Then I saw a sax for sale on craigslist. I thought about one for a long time but they were a bit expensive for my beginner status. So I went to check it out. Vito Alto Sax. Kenosha Wis ser# 1892A nice condition, but needs some minor work....a few pads. $100. Hope I did ok case is crap!
I just got it yesterday and today I bought a few reeds. I am soaking them in my mouth now as I type this note. I also just joined the forum 30mins ago so this is my first post. Just curious, any idea on a manufacture date?

Hi, Allen--welcome to the forum!

I have a Vito Special alto that I got a little under a year ago and then had completely overhauled. My horn's serial number is 1331 (no "A"), and I'm guessing it was made in or around 1965. Pictures can be found here, (http://leannepowers.com/vito/) if you're interested.

Dating these horns exactly is tricky because they were made by several manufacturing plants, or--and this is the case with mine--the parts were made in France (or Japan) and then shipped to the U.S. for assembly. Some variants are surprisingly rare--I've only been able to find one other horn like mine anywhere on the internet. The sax sounds great now, by the way--I keep it as a backup to my Custom Z alto, and friends who have played it were impressed.

Anyway, the best information I've located on Vito saxes is on the Dr. Sax website. A good place to start is with this serial number database (http://doctorsax.biz/vito_ser_nos.htm)--it's linked to a lot of pictures you can compare your horn to. Just note that there were several "transitional" versions of these saxes, so you're going to have to look really carefully at details such as keyguards, tone hole placement, etc. to figure out your horn's pedigree.

Finally, if you're able to post pictures of your sax, please do. I'm oddly intrigued by these horns (partially because the first sax I owned was a Japan-made Vito alto) and their weird history, and I'd love to see what you got.

Cheers and happy blowing!

[Stargazerpmo]

The sax is in surprisingly good shape if it is from the 60's or early 70's. A few very small dents and some scratches. I don't know how to play but I was able to make some very nice noise(to me) with the beast this evening. It does need a few pads replaced but no big deal. When I figure out how to post pictures I will post some. I am very happy with the horn. For a 100 bucks and as nice as it looks I could just use it as a wall hanger and be satisfied. BUT I wanna play it.
Allan :))
p.s. mouthpiece .......Yamaha 5c

[goodsax]

Stargazer: Do yourself a favor and visit Kim Slava's website (http://doctorsax.biz/vito_ser_nos.htm) for more info on Vito saxes including a work-in-progress serial number table and several links to more Vito information.

Check my signature line below for my current Vito collection (two other Vito altos not shown).

[Stargazerpmo]

Thanks folks for your help. I have visited Kims website. My horn seems to have been made mid 60's?? Maybe Kim will jump in. I am attempting to post pictures.
Hmmmm, give me some encouragement. Here goes

[NissanMarkVII]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130331762129&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

I'm selling the case that will fit that! Auction ends soon!

[goodsax]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130331762129&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

I'm selling the case that will fit that! Auction ends soon!Wish I had caught that sooner. You posted your SOTW message at 1:05pm and the auction ended at 1:06pm. I'm not THAT fast. :shock:

[Stargazerpmo]

Bah Humbug, I just missed out. I really need a case. Mine is toast!!
Allan :(

[NissanMarkVII]

Thanks folks for your help. I have visited Kims website. My horn seems to have been made mid 60's?? Maybe Kim will jump in. I am attempting to post pictures.
Hmmmm, give me some encouragement. Here goes

These are awesome saxes, with a very professional build and quality (it is one of the last of the pro-model Vitos). Sound is generally dark, and "spread" (like a German or American sax!). You bought it for a great price!

[NissanMarkVII]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130331762129&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

I'm selling the case that will fit that! Auction ends soon!Wish I had caught that sooner. You posted your SOTW message at 1:05pm and the auction ended at 1:06pm. I'm not THAT fast. :shock:

Sorry :( . We both lost on that one. I posted it as soon as I saw your thread!

[bari_sax_diva]

Mine fits nicely in a standard ProTec case, and they're not expensive.

BTW, awful purdy ax you got there. Looks like you got a smoking deal. :D

[Yellowhorn]

I think Goodsax (aside from Horndoctor) is the VITO player and connoisseur here.

Having heard so many good comments about Vito (Leblanc), I got myself this French-made Vito alto as a backup to my Buffet SDA.

Here are a few pics.

Cheers,

[goodsax]

I think Goodsax (aside from Horndoctor) is the VITO player and connoisseur here.

Having heard so many good comments about Vito (Leblanc), I got myself this French-made Vito alto as a backup to my Buffet SDA.

Here are a few pics.

Cheers,That's a very nice looking Beaugnier, Yellowhorn. Significantly better, cosmetically, than mine that I just had rebuilt by Kim Slava. Congratulations on finding a beautiful example of what someone (Honkytone?) referred to as a "Vibeau" alto.

Btw, my wife, Bach Ngoc, will be returning to VN (Ho Chi Min City) in December to visit her brother and aunts for about three weeks.

[WinnSie]

I have two of Vito Kenosha alto's that I got from the auction site people like a lot and hate also.
Both are under the V-32xx range and are identical. Mine are probably earlier design than yours. They may be from 50-s?

When I got first one, and compared to a few other horns I got from that evil auction I got it for peanuts, I was really blown away by the sound it produced. Unlike the previous respectable SOTW member though who identified the sound as being spread and dark I found mine producing a fine, centered and sweet sound. Since my experience with saxophones is much less than of many on this forum I won't argue.
Anyway, the last saxophone I played with my MP (Vandoren V5 A15) was Yamaha YAS52 and what I rememeber about it the sound I got from it was very plain and lacking any character comparing to this Vito.

Both of these Vito's have very interesting neck receiver design - there is a rubber (or rubber-like material) band in the neck receiver and the neck fits quite loosely in the receiver itself but is held tight only by the band and the tightening screw. You can imagine there are no leaks in that joint unless the rubber band is worn out. The rubber band though feels and looks like it's made from a high grade rubber-like material that can outlive the saxophone itself.

By the way was this a proprietary neck receiver design or was it ever used in any other saxophone make or model?

These saxophones are built very robust, feel very sturdy and are made very well, unlike many student-grade and some earlier professional grade saxophones (of less respectable manufacturers) produced in the US (I read these Vitos were French design and even from French-made parts). I can compare the built quality to a Martin Indiana from 50-s and these Vito's win in every respect. If you are like me and can see and feel the things from the mechanical point of view these saxophone are made and built like they would cost three times more (meaning the current average price they bring to sellers these days).
The octave mechanism is very eleborate. The left hand palm keys' posts are mounted on a single plate - is this what you call the 'ribbed' post design(sorry, I maybe mistaken here)? The needle springs are stainless steel or maybe nickel-plated (if it's possible at all) and there is no hint of rust on any of them. They shine like new.

Ergonomically they are very comfortable. Right hand palm keys are large and raised quite high. The left pinky table is as I understand of the typical French design of those days and is quite comfortable as well.

All in all I think these are great saxophones for the money and perhaps are underestimated by the general public. Two pictures are attached.

P.S. Notice the notched (is this the right word?) cylinder below the tightening screw on the first picture. This is where the rubber-like band sits inside the receiver and provides good seal with the neck.

[goodsax]

WinnSie: Except for the knurled ring at the neck receiver, your Vito is much like my Vito Kenosha with all the bell and bow key holes on the left side of the bell with one key guard for all of them. The right pinkie keys have the same butterfly shape and same color rollers.

Mine doesn't have the rubber o-ring you mentioned, but sounds like a good idea. Scimonettis are using a similar idea to replace the neck cork (corkless) with a series of small rubber o-rings.

I suspect there are more similarites, but you show only one side of the lower half of your horn in the two photos, so I can't be sure.

Thanks for the first hand perception of these fine under-estimated and under-valued horns.

Rob

[WinnSie]

Rob, here is the left side.

[Yellowhorn]

Rob,

Thanks for the kind words. Will you be in Nam in December too?

BTW, do you know roughly what year my Vito alto was made? I don't have the horn with me to get the SN.

[goodsax]

Rob, here is the left side.That is quite different from my Vito Kenosha alto left side. Very interesting. Thanks for showing this.

[goodsax]

Rob,

Thanks for the kind words. Will you be in Nam in December too?

BTW, do you know roughly what year my Vito alto was made? I don't have the horn with me to get the SN.I'm staying home to caretake the homefront in December.

Even with a Vito s/n, it would be a best guess only, Yellowhorn. My best guess without a s/n would be some time in the '60s because the s/n table on Kim's website shows most French made Vitos being made in the '60s.

[The A Train]

Winnsie - My Kenosha Vito is the same as yours in that it has an o-ring inside and the ridges on the outside. I can understand the o-ring but have yet to figure out why the ridges? Seems pointless. I also have a Made in France one that's all apart right now so I have yet to compare the two.

[WinnSie]

Train, that's it - "ridges", I called them "notches" due to my lack of vocabulary (Rob also said that). :)

I'm not sure also about ridges but they look cool! Is it purely a part of the exterior design?

Suppose they are made to comfortably grab the ridged ring with you left fingers while you insert the neck with your right hand? I noticed the neck goes in with some resistance due to the friction between the brass socket and the rubber ring inside the receiver. Can the ridges facilitate insertion of the neck?
Of course that's not a big deal but I don't see any other reason for ridges. Could designers use them as a would-be aid at the same time making the appearance a little more flashy?

[bari_sax_diva]

I have two of Vito Kenosha alto's that I got from the auction site people like a lot and hate also.
Both are under the V-32xx range and are identical. Mine are probably earlier design than yours. They may be from 50-s?


I must be getting mildly obsessed, because I just got another Vito alto, and this one appears to be just like yours. Serial number is V2673. No neck and it's a project horn, but the price was right ($0), so I figure I have nothing to lose by looking around for a neck. I also figure that if all else fails, the neck from my other Vito will probably work.

Will try to post pics tomorrow...

:D