Underslung Pierret

[stitch]

Here's (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/L-Pierret-Es-Alt-Saxophon-20er-Jahre-m-Berg-Larsen-362_W0QQitemZ7345706599QQcategoryZ84585QQrdZ1QQcmd ZViewItem) a pretty cool looking horn. Check out the underslung neck octave - is that what the 'vibrator' refers to? Same number as on the bell. Got to be one for the gallery, saxpics.

[Helen]

This is interesting. It appears that the only significant difference between the horn on eBay now, and mine is the slightly different underslung octave mechanism. The eBay horn is the Vibrator, while mine is the Virtuor model.

Given the serial number of the eBay horn is 3927, and mine is 5XXX, it would seem that this is the model that was made just before mine. The patent number on my horn indicates that it was deposed to the French patent service in March 1929, whereas on the eBay horn, they US patent was pending. I wonder if Pierret ever got the US patent?

If anyone is intersted, the pictures of mine can be found at: http://www.bassic-sax.ca/pierret1.html

[Farina_man]

With reference to the "Vibrator" Alto that was on Ebay, I bought it. I have been searching for years for one of these as a stablemate for my "Vibrator" Tenor. Although it is not the shiniest, and the pads are getting on, this alto fulfilled every expectation I had. Without doubt the easiest blowing, rightest feeling alto, with fabulous creamy tone a la early Benny Carter, and excellent intonation. When I got my tenor, nine years ago, I sold my Selmer S80. Since then I have been collecting Pierrets, and now my MKV1 alto is consigned to the cupboard.
Helen, I agree with you about the date but I don't know about the American Patent. Incidentally, I also have a mint "Virtuor" alto no 5212 (marked Pierret, not C. Jeuffroy). It is very sinilar to the Vibrator but I find the key positioning a little less comfortable. This may well be due to the fact that Pierrets of this era were hand made.
It you are interested, to date I have 2 tenors - "Vibrator" SP serial 34xx, Artiste (1950's) GL no serial. 1 SP C-melody stencilled D.Davis Ltd., Sydney which I would say was older. 10 altos - Vibrator, Virtuor, Model 5s, Modele 6, Modele 7 (all these I would date to late '20's/30's and all follow essentially the keywork layout and style of the Vibrator/Virtuor) There follow two with the same model numbers, i.e. 5s and 7s with different bell engravings and very different keywork - some of which is more modern in an "art deco" kind of way, yet including the obselete Holton-type D# trill and clumsy G# trill. To further complicate matters I have 2 stencils engraved as "Kingsway" by Hessys of Liverpool which are absolutely identical to the latter modele 7s except that the bell has opposed B & Bb keys!! (Could this be a peculiarly English thing?). My last Alto is a beautiful SP Pierret Competition, which seems better made than the Artistes of the same period.
Generally I strongly disagree with people who say tha Pierrets are of poor quality or old-fashioned for their time. It is arguable that the Artistes and Super artistes of the 1940's onwards are inferior in quality to those which went before: though still good horns they don't compare with a Selmer BA or later. The early one's such as the Vibrator and the Virtuor and my Modele 6 & 7 are as good or better than anything I have played (and I've presently got 53 saxes and have had many more over the last 38 years!). You can see my modele 6 on Vintage Sax Gallery, by the way!
Sorry to take so long, but I hope it is of interest.

[stitch]

I have 2 stencils engraved as "Kingsway" by Hessys of Liverpool which are absolutely identical to the latter modele 7s except that the bell has opposed B & Bb keys!! (Could this be a peculiarly English thing?).

Until recently I had a Pierret Hessy's Super Model tenor, with bell keys on the same side, so not necessarily an English thing!

[aennea]

Wow Farina Man, you seem very knowledgeable !
I share your enthusiasm for the Pierrets, though in my case it is based on a single but fantastic sounding alto.
You say the Super Artistes of the 40s onward were not as good as the older ones ... how do I know how old mine is ? Absolutely the only digits on it even remotely resembling a serial number are the two digits "48". Would that make it a very early Super Artiste, and if that is the case, when did they start making them ?
I would dearly love to know ! Thank you for any info you might have.

[Farina_man]

Hi Aennea, I'm glad there's another Pierret enthusiast out there!
I wish I was knowledgeable about this, but I'm just stumbling around in the dark picking up bits of info as I go from forums like this and websites such as Helen's (see above), then trying to draw some conclusions. So the answer to when your Super Artiste was made is "I really don't know!"
Pierret serial numbers seem to have no logic to them that I can determine. For a while, I thought that the first digit of the serial no. denoted the model no. eg a 6xxx no. would be a "modele 6". Sadly, a couple of saxes later I realised that this didn't work either. To further complicate matters, my "Artist" tenor, which I guess dates from the 1950's (but I don't know for sure) has no serial number anywhere on it! I have seen a Super Artist Baritone which had a serial of around 13xxx - I felt that this was probably made a bit later than my tenor, perhaps in the '60's, because it was finished in gold laq. with nickel keywork and the general "feel" of the horn was less robust: it felt more cheaply made. (I know this is hardly scientific!). To complicate matters further one of my 1930's Hessys stencil altos has a serial no. in the 13xxx range too!
I don't mean to denigrate the later Pierrets, by the way, My Artist tenor is an excellent horn with good action and intonation, and my "Artist Competition" alto is a superb and beautifully built sax. It is stamped on the bell with the dealer's name - "A. Gerday, Mons". Apparently M. Gerday was apprenticed to Pierret as a young man and later sold their instruments in Belgium. This horn also has no serial number on it that I can find.
If anyone out there has any more concrete information on Pierrets I would be very interested to hear it

[aennea]

Thank you Farina Man.
I guess I'll just continue to enjoy this sax for its many sterling qualities and not worry about its history ; age doesn't matter anyway, right ?;)