Pierret Super Artiste tenor... Pro or no?

[xax]

Is a Pierret Super Artiste a pro horn, a student horn or an intermediate horn. Even though it does not have the modern keywork, it seems to have a quite fast and light action. I don't plan to have it as my main tenor but it is a nice 2nd (or 12th) horn. It definately has the "French" sound and with an old Selmer Airflow/Soloist, I can get a very vintage, even "foo foo" tone. I just don't want to invest in spiffing it up unless it's worth the time/money. What say youse?

[samsax51]

Hello, I have Pierret tenor silver plated model “Super Artist” in perfect state. It is a very good saxophone which is a professional saxophone. Malgres an ergonomics not modern, it is powerful and pleasant all the same. The placement of the fingers differs a little from the last saxophones but I find very well it effective and. It is a saxophone very pleasant and attaching with an enormous sound. I find it ideal for the jazz. You will not regret your acquisition. I compared it with Selmer Mark VI and Buffet Crampon S1 with various mouthpieces and the saxophone Pierret Super Artist do not have anything to envy has these other large competitors. Here is my opinion. Concerning ergonomics the little difficulty is in the passing in the suraïgus, if not with you have quickly in hands. Bye

[samsax51]

Horn = saxophone in French.

[samsax51]

My Horn is a
Tenor silver PIERRET modèle "Super Artiste"
Sérial N° 16623.

[goodsax]

Go here (http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk/Reviews/Saxes/Alto/Pierret_Competition_alto.htm) for an excellent and thorough review by Stephen Howard of the Pierret Competition alto. I know it's not a Super Artiste, nor a tenor, but there are enough similarities that a look at the review might be helpful. I think your Super Artiste is worth keeping and sprucing up for future use just based on the Pierret name reputation and reports from a friend of mine who's test played more than one of them. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to try one.

[samsax51]

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?p=453542#post453542

[samsax51]

# ?? Super Artiste is my Pierret tenor Horn ! N°16623.
http://web.mac.com/mjean2/iPhoto/pierret---jeuffroy-et-stencils/index.rss
Look at this.
Samsax51.

[goodsax]

# ?? Super Artiste is my Pierret tenor Horn ! N°16623.
http://web.mac.com/mjean2/iPhoto/pierret---jeuffroy-et-stencils/index.rss
Look at this.
Samsax51.This adds a live bookmark RSS feed to your list of bookmarks and could become problematic if activated. See Carl H.'s post in this thread (http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=54257).
Rob

[samsax51]

With Mozilla Firefox is possible. Install Mozilla Firefox and right !
Bye.

[Farina_man]

Pro horn or not? Unfortunately the answer seems to be yes and no, according to how late in the Pierret production it was made. There are quite a lot of Super Artistes about, and while all are decent horns, the later ones seem to me to be lighter, and generally inferior in construction - identical to a 1960's model Olds Parisian (see Saxpics), and about the same quality.

The Super Artiste was around a long time - from at least 1952 (I have seen a 1952 catalogue with pictures which correspond to my Super Artiste tenor). The early ones have very distinctive keyguards which are fussy and quite easily damaged - they share these with previous Pierret models such as the later Modele 7s - and rather 'art deco' posts with a square section like on the 'Competition' model (see excellent article mentioned above). Although I have not weighed different models, earlier Pierret models are very heavy compared with many other makes including Selmer, and later models got lighter, which implies skimping on construction to save money. I suspect that the Super Artiste, the Artist, and the Competition models were produced alongside each other at various periods during the 1940's - 1960's. As I understand it, production ceased in 1972.

Sadly I have never found a serial number list for Pierrets, and neither have I ever been able to make any sense of the numbers which are sometimes (although not always!) engraved on various parts of the horn. There does not seem to be any particular sequence, unless perhaps it was model by model.

My opinion, for what its worth, is that if it is an older model of Super Artiste it is well worth keeping and enjoying. My S. Artiste tenor has a great big sound, very similar to my (no.1) Pierret 'Vibrator' tenor of around 1930. Personally I much prefer this sound to that of a Selmer (and also the price, of course!). If it is a later one, it could still be a very nice horn - with Pierrets it's all about the sound.