Dolnet Tenor Worth the Effort?

[Fred]

I've run across a Dolnet tenor cleverly disguised as a Jean Cartier that I could probably pick up pretty reasonably. Problem is . . . it pretty much needs the works. It may not even have a case, and the lacquer isn't in great shape either. It's also marked "Standard". So I'm wondering if this one would be worth the cost of bringing it back to life? Any thoughts?

[bluenote4098]

If you think you're going to keep it forever. But it's a Catch-22, isn't it?--you won't be able to tell if you like it enough to keep it until you invest the $ to get it into playing condition and hear how it sounds. I was faced with this same dilemma with a Martin Indiana alto a few months ago. Was going to cost me $400+ for a complete overhaul, and the horn only cost $150. I think that might serve as a good rule of thumb where vintage horns are concerned--if the overhaul charges exceed the value of the horn in its current condition (sound as it may be), then you may want to reconsider the purchase.

[bluenote4098]

I changed my mind about the Dolnet. If it looks good (no dents, major repairs), buy it. You only live once! BTW Don Byas played a Dolnet after he moved to Paris.

[Fred]

I'm thinking it's still a hard call; I'll have to get some total price figures before I could proceed. It's still possible to buy some pretty nice condition Dolnets pretty cheap on ebay, which makes this sax less appealing unless I can get something worked out on the overhaul. Plus, I've never played a Dolnet and know only what I've read about them. There are some strong Dolnet supporters, but the pricing market doesn't seem to support the adherants' claims. I guess this is the kind of sax that I wouldn't want to put more $$ into than I could get out of it.

[hornimus]

I'd be interested in that Jean Cartier tenor. Is it still available? Could you share the first two digits of the serial number?

[Sigmund451]

They are a very under valued horn....then again some dealers like to ask a mint for them. If you go and dump 1500 on a Dolnet your gonna loose out big if you try to sell it. They are slowly, however, gaining reputation. The only negative I repeatedly hear is that their construction is a bit lacking.

[Pinnman]

Don't know about tenors, but the alto I had was very solid. Weighed a ton (well, 6 pounds actually compared with about 4.5 for most altos). Octave movements down were very secure and the lower register was very good indeed; no real complaints about the upper register either.

Full of extra keys and this, plus the way I had to blow, deecided me not to keep it. In effect, I would have had to develop a completely new way of playing which, as a tenor and bari player mostly, was not worth the effort.

Interestinging sax and I can see why people would like it. I hope these comments may be useful to prospective purchasers.

[ThomasK]

My experience is that even if a horn on ebay looks good, it will still need an overhaul. I once purchased a Dolnet Tenor on ebay that looked good, but came unplayable. I put in $150 to make it playable, but despite the good tone the upper register was unbearably sharp. Instead of paying for a full rebuild (from a specialist in vinatage rebuilds instead of my local tech), I sold it on this forum as a project horn. So I ended up losing a lot of time and money, which make me prejudiced against Dolnets. But, with that said, they can be pretty good horns, but nothing near the quality of a vintage Selmer or higher end Yani.