Parisian Ambassador

[Merlin26]

There is an alto Listed for Sale - seller calls it a Parisian Ambassador
Does anybody know this branding?

Thanks
Merlin26

[David Spiegelthal]

Olds "Parisian Ambassador", a stencil horn most probably made by Beaugnier.

[knighttrain]

I use one of these as my "backup" horn. It's a competent horn, well made, and they are great bargains for the price at which they are normally sold. I would not say they are in the top rank of horns though.

[Sax Hut]

knighttrain, how stiff is the LH spatula keywork on these horns, and in terms of sound, what might you compare them to? I'd like to try a tenor.

[knighttrain]

Wind Mill, The left hand cluster feels more natural than most horns I've played. It is not stiff at all. The action and feel are not bad overall, though not in Mark IV territory. Peter Ponzol currently has a tenor on ebay. Here is the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2541719880&category+16 234 His Tenor has a lot better lacquer than my alto. Sound on the alto is typically french as opposed to vintage U.S. I haven't played on a Tenor Parisian personally.

[cfile]

I have played the Olds Parisian Ambassadors since my folks purchased me a new alto in 1963. A couple years I ago bought a tenor off of ebay. I am currently playing a '47 Conn 10m. The Olds are great for the money. Excellent intonation and decent sound. Not as full or dark as the 10m but then what is? Since I played these horns from childhood, the keywork feels great to me. Pinky cluster isn't bad at all and better than the 10m. There have been posts complaining about the weak solder and soft keys. I never had any solder breaks except once a key guard came lose. But this horn was played through high school marching and concert bands by me and my daughter, so one key guard ain't too bad. Keys are a little soft, but once adjusted pretty much stayed that way. My daughter is still playing the horn and her recorded work sounds very French. I still have the tenor as a backup. Hope this helps cliff

[Alain_G]

Olds "Parisian Ambassador", a stencil horn most probably made by Beaugnier.
They were made par Pierret until mid 1970 for F.E OLDS. When Pierret stop his activity the staff were hired by Selmer in Mantes-la-jolie (France - 30 Miles west of Paris)

[kasax63]

Ok just over a year to reply! This may set a record!

But after being gone from this forum for about that amount of time, I ran across this thread and couldn't hold myself back!

It's great to see that others are willing to step-up with the truth about this black sheep of the French made saxes. I too played one since about 79' my first year in high school band. I was struggling with an old Selmer Bundy "tank" I called it back then and one of my friends who was not continuing with band sold me his 1961 Olds PA alto. He purchased it almost show room new when we both started band in 1976 and the first time he let me play it I knew there was something special about it. Needless to say after getting me through high school as lead alto in jazz band and college I still am playing that same alto. Just know good reason to replace it. The intonation is good, the tone is great, very MVI ish and I've done the comparison test with a great 6. I've also compaired it to SB80s and the older pro Yamahas. Yes the keywork is slightly better on the latter two, mostly with regard to the spatula cluster, but IMO the Olds PA has a sweeter and warmer tone, capable of more subtones. I realize this may be because I've had many years to learn to make it respond the way I want it to. But the important fact is that it can!
Durablity has never been an issue, as it's constructed of heavy brass just as you'd expect from a 60's horn. With all the bad reviews over the years I had just figured that I had gotten lucky and latched on to a good one. Now I see that quality and consistancy was also an aspect, which really does make more sense, when you consider the popularity of the vintage Brass (horns) carring the Olds name plate as well.

Well I'm playing mostly Tenor these days, but still look forward to occasions to pull that sweet little sax out and to play from time to time! :D