Ida Maria Grassi Alto

[RickySuave]

I just found an Ida Maria in my closet, It was given to me a couple years ago but I couldn't work it so I tossed in my storage. Today I tweaked it (which actually wasnt that much and got it playing. It plays pretty well. It doesn't have the jade rollers but looks like the jade model. were the jade keys just replaced? Serial 14xxx. Can someone give me info on this horn? It appears very vintage and has a selmer looking neck with a g on it instead.

[littlewailer]

Does it have green pads?

[J.Max]

Pictures please.

That's a pretty early serial number for a "jade", though.

[milandro]

if it was a " Jade rollers" Grassi, the rollers (and jade G#) would have been all replaced and this looks unlikely.

Never mind, even if it was this wouldn't make it necessarily more valuable or play any better. This falls into this grey area when the data that I was given isn't very precise, the years between 1960 and 1975. From having had several Grassi horns I can tell you that if it has the G neck it has to be a horn of some quality although their keywork became much better when they went " balanced".

[RickySuave]

the left hand spatula keys are slanted and very difficult to use if that gives any sort of hint. I'll post pics tonight.

[milandro]

yes, it does, it definitely belongs to the cheaper line of Grassi saxophone of the time, I am sure that you can find some pictures previously published of at least one tenor with the same type of LH keys , B and Bb on the left hand side