beaugnier sax help

[gwilly]

hi... i wonder if anyone could help me with info in this sax... its a very old beaugnier from france that i'm thinking of buying for a restoration project... i want to learn to repad and regulate as i have a reasonable technical background but i'd also like to acquire a nice vintage horn for a reasonable price...The things that worries me is whether this instrument will be usable to me... i play tenor and i'm presuming this is a tenor ... but i'm not sure if its a high pitch or low pitch... the measurement from neck tenon to bell bottom is 18 and 3/4 inches.. a bit short for a tenor but too long for a c melody.. could it be the high pitch.. what does that mean? would it be unusable...thanks paul
http://i13.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/ea/68/bd0e_12.JPG

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270229851834&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

[zxcvbnm]

Sigh...
That is a very very old sax. Unsuitable for playing, restoring, etc. Probably would only be of use hanging in a museum. Frankly, I don't know what it is, but I'm guessing it is a high pitch tenor. If it is high pitch, then it is unplayable in any modern ensemble. Plus, it only goes down to low B instead of Bb. Pretty much unsusable. Don't bid on it.

[SAXISMYAXE]

Very true. Of interest to the collector for historic reasons, but wholly unsuitable in the 21st Century as a musician's axe. The reason the bell appears short is because it is based off of the early, original A. Sax designs, and only goes down to low B, not B flat.

By the way, I've fixed your Img tags in the post so that the photo appears.

Cheers.

[gwilly]

i feared as much... the only thing i could find that looked like it was an original A.Saxe model in a museum... shame.. the perfect project for me but i really want to end up with something i can play.. i currently have a yamaha yts-61 but would like the experience of doing a full repad and cork to understand regulation better.. thanks again paul.

[SAXISMYAXE]

Don't be discouraged. There are stencil and second line Tenors that pop up here and on Ebay all the time that would make good candidates to learn overhauling on. C-Melodies are also good for this purpose, and cheap and abundant.

Keep a look out for some examples, and feel free to put them up here to get some opinions and feedback on their worth. One will come along that is right for you.

[schildy]

Hi I bought the Beaugnier you refered to and I can tell you that it is old because it has no bottom Bb and no upper mechanism to regulate the upper octave. There are two rods next to the thumb rest. It was very badly tarnished but has started to reveal itself. The pads will need to be replaced but my repair guy is up to the job. These old french made horns; and there are many of them about, are best found on Ebay.fr. I recently picked up a Leblanc system silver alto. Dolnets come up as do Noblet, but they do tend to be slightly more expensive than the US; especially as the £/€ exchange rates are not in our favour. However, there is no import duty or VAT so the differences may not be so great. Hope this helps. Happy hunting.