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OK, well...I guess I'm "in"....

6K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  al9672 
#1 ·
Why not ? I have 2 Noblets and a Malerne kickin' around, so it would only make sense to continue down the French path and pick up a Dolnet.

Just won a tenor on eFlay...$280...looks to be a series II based upon the pix but I will add more info when I rec'v. She'll need some work, doesn't look up to speed, but what the hey....
 
#4 · (Edited)
Here she is...

Am stoked to have her here...NOT stoked with the eFlay seller, who really DIDN'T HONESTLY ANSWER my specific Q regarding dents....so I am gonna mull over what to do regarding feedback.

Good news there is my tech can remove the dents for $50-75... but 3 of 'em were where the pantguard used to be...literally looks like someone pushed it into the horn, then ripped it off without heating the solder. Nevertheless, it is in awesome shape besides that....oh, and the bent octave stem....

Anyway...I did get a chance to blow her and she sounds pretty nice. Smooth, big tone...kinda pure, not very reedy/edgy, nice bottom, nice midrange...sort of reminiscent of the Orsi I just sold. The action is very good, smooth.

Sorta wacky bell angle (like the M70's I figure, maybe ?). Really Funny.....Old Keilwerths and Holtons have offset bells, but Dolnets are in the OPPOSITE direction.

So, folks, help me out....which model ? Was I right on the Series II ?
 
#6 ·
Next on your list:

Beaugnier
Cousnon

:D

Once you go Beaugnier, you won't want another non-Selmer French sax (at least to play)!
 
#9 ·
Hello, just by the look of it, I'd say it's not a serie 2 but a two-tone belair, probably from the 60s. Not that it makes much of a difference with some o fthe late serie II, apparently. Now, I'm a bit puzzled when you say that the bell is angled like an M70, simply because the M70 was the only model to have this kind of angle ! Well, the important thing being, does it play well and do you like it. As I said in a previous post, my own M70 is currently undergoing repairs and should be ready in june. I'lllet you all know how it sounds.

Cheers.

Yohann
 
#10 · (Edited)
Thanks for the replies.

Mine is at the shop too, so I can't look at it now. Your comment is interesting, since it seems to have a canted bell, to the left...unless I wuz smokin' somethin' when I took it out of the case....:shock:

But I remember my first thought was "dammit...the bell got whacked off-center"...but then I saw that the bellkeys and guards were all nice and aligned...

That was when I said 'oh, it's like my Holton bell angle'...then when I put the strap on and held it, I realized it angles OPPOSITE the Holtons and Keilwerths.....

....so....I will report back with more info on that shortly....again I don't have it here right now...

...maybe one day they had some M70 bodies kicking around and picked one up by mistake ...????:?:cool:
 
#11 · (Edited)
Uwe suggests it to be a 2-tone Belair, and it does look a lot like one at Saxpics, that one within about 300 of my serial #.

Body damage and octave stem is now repaired, but she has massive leaks on her lower stack...so I can only hear her between F and C.....

...but sounds nice, so far.....very French sounding horn...smoother sounding and more balanced across the midrange than American or German Tenors, IMHO....will report back when I have the lower stack repadded/regulated....

 
#13 ·
Thanks Sebo....the lower stack is repadded and clamped at the moment, I will be removing the clamps this evening so hopefully I can hear its bottom end finally:TGNCHK:

My bad on the canted bell, it's actually the location of the strap eyelet which makes the horn tilt to the left when it hangs from my neck. It's a pretty straight bell, maybe just turned a tad.....d'oh....:scratch:
 
#14 ·
top to bottom

OK, so after 2 separate goes at the lower stack padding, she is finally playable...

Nice horn. I actaully was a bit surprised by it's volume...like the other French horns I have, she doesn't have a very wide body...

Similarities to Malernes and Noblets and the Orsi tenor I had would be a very smooth and even midrange throughout....but this Dolnet had a slightly edgier, reedier tone to it. It's low end is also slightly wider than the Malerne or Grassi...

I would say in sound, it falls between the vintage American sounding big-sound tenor (it doesn't have the wide, fat low end but does have the punch and edge)..and the classic French sound I have experienced thus far (in that it's sound smoother and more even-toned across the registers).

Ergos are fine, intonation does not seem to be much of an issue either. LH palm keys are higher than Malerne or Grassi, but it's no problem. It's got the funny E key up there which is oriented differently than the others, at first I thought it was badly bent but then realized it's supposed to be that way. Pinky table is very nicely designed and easy to find.

All in all, I am quite pleased.... for the $300 selling price + $150 of tech work and maybe 5 hours of my own time...it's (another) beautiful pro-grade sax, 'fer sure...
 
#15 ·
A nice playable Belair for $450.00? I would say that is a great deal. I've payed more than that for ones that needed overhuals or repads. the bells do turn slightly to the players left but not as much as the M70. Nice score even with the damage it had.
 
#16 ·
Yes, thanks....I thought it was a decent find. The week after mine sold, a similar BelAir bidded up over $600. And last week a Dolnet soprano went for $700+ on eFlay....so it's funny...sometimes they seem to slip under the radar, and sometimes not....

Someone in my Malerne thread asked me how the intonation was on the BelAir...and I have read elsewhere here that some folks felt theirs had some intonation quirks....but this one is actually very clean in that dept. Plays in tune top to bottom.

I like this horn....as I said before, it's an interesting medium between the big, fat American and German tenor sound and the smoother, softer French/Italian sound....and it's made really well, too.

Thanks, Spider....I have been smokin' a variety of things..but regardless...each time I look at the horn and hold it, that damn bell still never did look forward-straight-aligned to me....:confused:

BTW, I enjoy your posts...haven't seen you around too much, recently....
 
#17 ·
Someone in my Malerne thread asked me how the intonation was on the BelAir...and I have read elsewhere here that some folks felt theirs had some intonation quirks....but this one is actually very clean in that dept. Plays in tune top to bottom.
The thing with Dolnets is, they seem to be inconsistent. One horn plays beautifully with excellent workmanship. Another may have some quirks and more sloppy assembly work. They are definitely one of the cooler horns overall. Worth the investment IMO.

BTW, I enjoy your posts...haven't seen you around too much, recently....


Thanks, I have been busy trying to get some things done on the homefront so my time has been limited.
 
#18 ·
Well, I just plucked what looks to be a BelAir stencil off of eFlay today (kinda funny, it is the exact same engraving design, border, and font as the typical Dolnet design, it just reads a different name !)...this one for $300 (using an 8% off coupon !) but it needs $100 of body work.....so now I will have another Dolnet tenor to compare my current one to.

I do hope this next one is more like your former description ('plays beautifully with excellent workmanship') as opposed to your latter ('quirks and sloppy assembly work').

:TGNCHK:
 
#19 ·
No worries. Most of the problems if any can be corrected or ignored. most of the "sloppiness" are cosmetic issues, crooked spring cradles, scratches underneath the plating, stuff like that. Easily ignored. With a nice big chambered mouthpiece that these horns seem to favor, most of the intonation issues are no worse than similar era horns. Don Byas certainly sounded great on one.
 
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