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Super 20 Fan Club

318K views 1K replies 236 participants last post by  Instrument Attic 
G
#1 ·
We're baa-aaaack! Super 20 players, stand up and be counted.

Super 20 tenor, 364xxx, silver neck, brass bell, no pearls on the side :(

I've had this horn since 1974 (sophomore year high school). Dad paid $75 for the horn, then another $100 for a complete overhaul/relacquer (it needed it).

Despite what you may have read, these are very flexible horns, adaptable to all musical styles. The combination of the sterling silver neck along with bore taper/neck curve/bow curve allows the Super 20 tenors to bring out the best in a variety of mouthpiece setups.
 
#104 · (Edited)
Welcome to The Club, John. You got a deal on that Silver Sonic!

Dad bought me my 364xxx tenor in 1974 (my sophomore year in high school) for $75. It was in sad shape, so we had it completely overhauled and relacquered by the best shop in Kansas City. They did a masterful job.

One of my goals in this thread is to dispel the myth that Super 20s are strictly R&B or jazz horns, and/or are 'bright' horns by nature. They're actually dark, resonant horns by design, thanks to the broad bow design. HN White advertised them as such, too. I'm obviously biased, but I think the Super 20 is the most versatile sax ever made.

These days I play mostly at church - an independent Baptist church, where we're very careful about the music we play at our services. No CCM here! And even though I'm playing what most would consider the quintessential R&R tenor sax, I get many compliments on my sound. Of course, I'm playing a modest mpc setup: Hite 128 hard rubber mpc (.095" tip), but with Vandoren V16 #4s (their R&R reed). It just goes to show, it's all in how you play, not what you play.
 
#107 ·
Super 20 Player said:
One of my goals in this thread is to dispel the myth that Super 20s are strictly R&B or jazz horns, and/or are 'bright' horns by nature. They're actually dark, resonant horns by design, thanks to the broad bow design. HN White advertised them as such, too. I'm obviously biased, but I think the Super 20 is the most versatile sax ever made.
I never thought of my Super 20 (tenor btw) as being bright in the least, well unless I was using a bright mouthpiece that is. My palying has always tended to be quite dark. I totally agree that they are versatile and I really like the keywork on them in general. They are incredibly solid in construction also and don't seem to need adjusted very often.
 
#109 ·
What I have done in the past is go to a custom hardware store and buy high quality brass nuts...I mount them on a motor spindle and sand one face until they just match. I have done this several times to replace damaged ones for customers. On my own S20, I replaced all the nuts with some real sweet tiny acorn nuts that I found...this horn is far from original (custom keywork, bezel-free pearls, etc) so I wasn't worried about that.
 
#111 ·
shmuelyosef said:
What I have done in the past is go to a custom hardware store and buy high quality brass nuts...I mount them on a motor spindle and sand one face until they just match. I have done this several times to replace damaged ones for customers. On my own S20, I replaced all the nuts with some real sweet tiny acorn nuts that I found...this horn is far from original (custom keywork, bezel-free pearls, etc) so I wasn't worried about that.
Do you have pictures of that horn? I'd love to see the customizations.
 
#112 · (Edited)
My 2 cents regarding S20 vs Silversonic tenors. I had (and sold boohoo) a beautiful silver neck, full pearls early S20 tenor, in the 70's. My friend had(still has) a mint Silversonic tenor. ( i don't recall the year) At the time i "hated" his but loved mine; the Silversonic seemed like it had a rag stuffed in the bell compared to mine. It was tite with a more centered tone...prettier maybe. The older horn "kicked ***** and took names!" But i had two tenors, a girlfriend/wife with 6 kids and I hadn't really had the blues yet, so one horn had to go. I kept my Yanigisawa T-500; a good compromise between the Selmer mkVI tone i couldn't afford and "that King sound" i didn't need...yet.
 
#115 ·
I play a '60-something Super 20 with a silver neck, body, bow, and bell. I'm not sure if it's solid or plated, and i don't really know how to tell. I just got it last month for only about 1500 and i absolutely love it. It has a very flexible sound, and depending upon your mp/reed/lig/embouchure/air volume, you can achieve a lot of different effects.

-Bleeding Gums Murphy

p.s. I would appreciate it if someone could tell me how to tell whether the sax is solid or plated. I've been plagued by this mystery since i first opened the case a month ago today.
 
#116 ·
If the body and bow are silver, they're plated. It's possible that the neck and bell are solid silver. In fact, if it's an early 1960s model, it's likely that the neck is solid silver. If the bell engraving says "Silver-Sonic" then the bell is solid sterling silver as well. But my guess is someone had the whole horn silver-plated at some point.
 
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