Sax or Music Shops in Duesseldorf, Germany & Milan, Ital

[tophatsax]

I will be on a business trip in mid November and am going to try an carve out some time to visit a sax shop or two. Does anyone have any suggestions in these two cities?

Thanks

Phil Brewer
aka TopHatSax

[Claus]

Phil,

what exactly are you looking for? New saxes or vintage ones? Great variety?

Greetings

Claus

[tophatsax]

Claus,

I'd prefer vintage, but new is o.k. too. We don't have much in the way of saxophone shops here in Cincinnati, so I thought I'd see what was available while I'm in Europe.

Thanks

Phil

[gary]

Phil - if you've got the time and transportation, drive over to Saxofoonwinkel in Deventer, Netherlands. I think it's about 1 1/2 hours from Düsseldorf (Deutsch, correct me if that's wrong). Terrific shop and personnel. I even played an immaculate Grafton Alto there. They've got it all. You can get their telephone number from their web site www.saxshop.nl.

Also, give Axel Henning, USA Vintage Sax, a call. He's right there in Düsseldorf. I'm not sure if he's got the same selection as Saxofoonwinkel, but he always carries some serious contenders. He's also a friendly and, like the Dutch, his English is also good. From the US, call 011-49-211-77 13 10 (or within Deutschland 02 11- 77 13 10).

Happy Hunting!

[Claus]

Phil,

I think the advice Gary gave you is very good. The address of the shop in Düsseldorf he mentioned is:

http://www.usa-vintage-saxophon.de

I can't tell you much about this guy since I have not had any business with him.

For new saxes you may try the following:

www.hueyng.de. Mister Huying is quite knowlegable on clarinets, too.

Where in Düsseldorf will you be staying?

[tophatsax]

Claus & Gary,

Thanks for all the help. I'll be staying at the Best Western Hotel Savoy in Dusseldorf. I'll definately try to get to USA Vintage Sax while I'm in town and I'd love to get over to Saxofoonwinkel (I didn't realize it was so close). My problem will be time and transportation. I doubt I'll have a free day until Saturday the 22nd and will not have a car while I'm there but, I'm going to check into the cost of a rental and the complications (if any) of traveling across borders.

Thanks again for all the great ideas.

I don't leave for another couple of weeks, so if anyone else wants to chime in, feel free.

Phil

[gary]

I'm going to check into the cost of a rental

Rental is probably your best bet but you might be able to make good train connections. Have someone take a look at www.bahn.de (trains-germany) and see if you can find a schedule.

...and the complications (if any) of traveling across borders. Hey Hoss! LOL. No more borders, check-points and visas. It's all one happy family now (European Union).

Having said that, if you drive, I hit a traffic jam at the German/Netherlands border a couple of weeks ago that was not good. It didn't have anything with border crossing, per se, and it was a holiday weekend in Germany but it could happen to you so you might plan an extra half an hour. It was clear on the other side leaving Holland, however.

Hope you have enough time to catch some good music and check out the vintage horns. I leave you with two words: Williams Christ.

[tophatsax]

Thanks Gary. I mention the Borders because to book the tickets for my flight from Dusseldorf to Milan they needed my passport number, something about that flight required it. Never having been in Europe, I wasn't sure what I might run across traveling by car.

Phil

[gary]

It's no problem by car or rail, Phil, but I've had that same experience flying. It's all part of the accountability/security programs on airlines, post 9-11.

[tophatsax]

Thanks Gary, that's what I figured. I'm going to check out the train.

Phil

[Claus]

Let us know when you need any help.