Info on Noblet tenor?

[bfoster64]

There's a nice looking Noblet tenor in a local music store. It looks like some of the Pierret pics on Sax Pics, and a lot like some of the Olds Parisian tenors I've seen, but nicer than those. It has an interesting neck brace unlike any I've seen on Sax Pics or Ebay--kinda like the Olds Parisian, but it extends further towards the mpc, and has a nice elegant swoop to it. It is in the 9xxx serial number range and has a man's face in profile in a badge on the bell to body brace. It is all brass, no nickel, and has two individul keyguards on the bell--right side, not player's side. There is engraving on the bell that resembles the engraving on my Superdynactions. The sound is fantastic, very tight, centered, dark, and round, with good projection, and reminiscent of a good mid-60s Mark VI. It is definitely more centered than my Superdynaction tenor. The keywork is a little slow, but I wonder if some new springs would smooth it out. Anyone know of any horns like this? They are asking $800 for it.

[fballatore]

I sold mine on eBay a couple of months ago for about $500. Great sounding horn and very well constructed. I thought I was done with tenor for a while, and didn't want it gathering dust. Of course, a couple of weeks later, I bought a "couldn't resist the deal" Yamaha tenor. :shock:

It appears that mine was a bit different than the one you describe. My serial number was 14199. Here's a link to the pics of the one I sold - http://www.necgnet.com/sax/noblet/pics.htm.

Frank

[bfoster64]

Frank, thanks for the link to the pics of your tenor. It looks like a very nice example, and probably a heckuva player for $500.

There are many similarities between your tenor and the Noblet I'm looking at, but I think yours was made by Beugnier whereas the one I'm interested in appears to have been made by Pierret, at least according to SaxPics.

Here's the link to the SaxPics photos of the silver tenor that is similar to the Noblet I'm talking about:

http://www.saxpics.com/the_gallery/pierret/stencils/Robert_Martin/tenor/silver/oldsax.jpg

The bell keys and bell key guards are the same, but the neck brace is different. Lots of other subtle differences, but of all the pics on SaxPics, this one most closely matches the Noblet I'm looking at. I'll have to grab some photos of it next time I'm at the shop and post them up here. If the horn were in minty condition, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

I think there are some great sleeper horns among the small French labels from the 50s and 60s, including Beugnier, Noblet, and Pierret. It seems like the small French shops were using a lot of common parts and craftspeople, hence the frequent similarity of engraving patterns on the bell of many of these horns, for example. I'm still waiting for someone to come out with a detailed history of these manufacturers, like the one that was done for SML.