I just stumbled into the club, and boy am I glad I did. I'm constantly surfing L.A. craigslist for tenors, I found a dude selling a 427xxx eastlake silver neck super 20 for $1000 (a typo??) and I hounded him for weeks until he finally got back to me. He had it shipped from Florida where he bought it in 1999 from his high school band teacher, who owned it since it since its birth in ~1966-7. Apparently 15 people contacted him the first day of the listing, but I was first!! YES!!!!!!
It's a really clean relac, though the engraving is somewhat soft (from buffing or thick lacquer? i dunno), but it does play like a winner. I use hr link 6* with RJS 2H reeds and the response is effortless despite the 15 year old pads and lack of TLC. Compared to my yamaha 62II, the altissimo and palm keys notes leap out without even trying. wow.
It's my 4th sax and first vintage tenor, and I am so bloody happy I made this impulse buy, at a steal no less. The last owner seemingly never swabbed it (other than pad saver) and the inside of the sterling neck was totally coated with black mildewy crap. I cringed when I saw he kept his C* mouthpiece permanently fastened with reed and rovner lig scratching and denting against the neck in the neck bag, what an a**. When I finally swabbed the body some pieces of dead grass came out. I'm so glad I rescued her...
I'm currently investigating some overhaul options to fix the neck dents and repad. can I get a roll call on what you all prefer for pads and resonators? tenor or alto.
I'm leaning towards sarge's vintage premium rebuild with saxgourmet pads and flat seamless resos. it currently has plastic domes and I think it could use a little bit more edge. Downside is wwsax waitlist is till october. I've heard music medic does good work and uses newest materials, may go with them. Horn improvement is a couple hours away, will consider them if the price is reasonable compared to shipping out of state.
Also, I'm not sure how to describe my ideal action setup, since I've only played newer horns, sharp and fast or as close to the original setup as possible...?
I'll post some pics when I get a chance, pre-and post rebuild.
THANKS!!
PS. anyone in the market for a Yamaha 62II tenor? haha