Did SML make GM (either I or II) Sopranos?

[hafuch]

Dear SML folks,

I realize that SML made sopranos under both the SML and King Marigaux (and other stencils) labels, and that one could perhaps call the KM sopranos a Gold Medal II, and that SML made sopranos in the serial number range of the Gold Medal altos and tenors (from 15K onward) that one could call a GM soprano, but my question is as follows:

Was there any actual design change (bore taper, ergonomics, key mechanism changes, etc.) among SML's SOPRANOS since the Rev. D (obviously, there were design changes for their tenors and altos)?

In other words, was the Rev. D SML's last soprano design? Is a Rev. D soprano the same in all but engraving as later sopranos of higher serial numbers (such as KM sopranos)? Do SML's sopranos sport any differences in design from, say, serial number 10K through the end of their production, at approximately 27K?

And if SML did in fact change the soprano design since the Rev. D, how do the newer designs (GMs I and II) differ from the Rev. D?

Pete Hale's saxpics.com website seems to infer that SML's soprano design did NOT change or evolve since the Rev. D (he describes GM sopranos as having the features of the Rev.D, and it stands to reason that if something has the features of a Rev. D, but not GM features, we cannot rightfully call it a GM, can we?), but this conclusion is not so clear-cut (refs. http://www.saxpics.com/sml/sml22.htm, under General Information, and http://www.saxpics.com/sml/revd.htm). In this last reference, Hale writes that Rev. D "soprano models maintain the Rev. D body-style and do not have the "Gold Medal" engraving". As additional evidence, the saxpic.com link dedicated specifically to the Gold Medal model notes that Bill Kasper's soprano, which ought to be a GM based on serial number, bears no "Gold Medal" engraving (http://www.saxpics.com/sml/goldmedal.htm).

Was there a distinct GM soprano body tube, ergonomics, key mechanisms ... something that made the GM soprano design distinct from that of the Rev. D?

I apologize in advance if I sound a bit crazy, but am I getting lost in the details here? Am I missing the forest for the trees?

My insanity not withstanding, I feel this is a legitimate question, and was wondering if any SML soprano owners out there might be able to confirm this, or at least shed some light on the topic (at least for me, if not for others).

Thanks. I'm sure we would all appreciate any info you have to share. :)

[tjontheroad]

Saxpics is Pete Hale not David Hale. He's pretty much the expert on all things SML. If he says there's no difference between the Rev D and the GM sops, I'd say go with that. The tough thing about your question is there are few since the time they were made who have actually owned or played both and have had the chance to make a direct comparison.

[hafuch]

Hello tjontheroad,

Thanks for the correction on Hale's first name (correction duly noted :)), and for your quick reply. Since Pete Hale seems to know his stuff so well, I, too, am inclined to think that SML Rev. D sopranos were the last design alteration, but as he does occasionally refer to GM sopranos here and there on his website (see the links above), I started wondering whether SML did in fact manufacture proper GM sopranos.

Apparently, unless someone else has evidence of an SML soprano with Gold Medal engraving (or other such distinct GM features), the verdict is that SML never actually manufactured GM model sopranos (either I or II), and that the Rev. D design was in fact their last for their sopranos (unlike with their altos and tenors). By inference, I suppose we must conclude that KM sopranos (and other stencils) simply continued with this Rev. D design.

If anyone has evidence to the contrary, please post it. I'm sure we'd all appreciate the info! Thank you in advance!

[tjontheroad]

The thing is... SML didn't give names to their saxes other than the Coleman Hawkins models until the Gold Metal. Pete himself gave them the "Rev A, B, C, and D" as well as the "Mark I and Mark II" Gold Metal names. If Pete had not done that, then we'd just be saying a certain higher serial number was more evolved than ones before. I have not read that anyone has done a side by side comparison of the Rev D, GM I and/or GM II in the sopranos. It's not like these saxes are out there in big numbers as they're fairly rare. So, until somebody reviews/inspects examples of them side by side, you can't really say there's an justified verdict. If anyone would like to send me theirs for review, I'd be happy to get this strait once and for all :)