Just overhauled a practically mint condition 1939 Zephyr Special Tenor...

[DaveKessler]

So this horn came in out of the blue and the customer really didnt want to put a lot in to the sax. It was a family heirloom and they simply wanteed to get it clean and somewhat playable.

After cleaning the horn (really should have taken before photos but oh well), we called the customer in and wanted them to see just how amazing the sax was physically and to make sure that they didnt want to at least get it into the proper playing condition that it deserved. After they saw the cleaned up body, they went ahead and did the right thing and gave us the OK for a proper overhaul.

We did simply a standard overhaul ($600 job) on this one and boy it is a beauty! So we had to simply snap some photos to share with the sax community as this horn is definitely a rarity in this condition.

Take a look, drool & enjoy!

http://www.kesslermusic.com/images/z...209918/sax.htm

[Atonal]

Wow! Beautiful!

[booboo5000]

It's nice to see what one of these looked like when new. Stunning.

[jjq587]

Wow, that is just a beautiful horn, I like that are on some of the keys!

Perhaps a dumb question but was that re-lacquered at some point?

[brasscane]

Beautiful horn and thanks for posting this. My Cleveland Super 20 has the same finish (silver plate/matte vs shiny areas), but alas no pearls.

[DaveKessler]

Perhaps a dumb question but was that re-lacquered at some point?

No, this is 100% the original finish.

[artstove]

Ooh, that is lovely.

[jjq587]

No, this is 100% the original finish.

Wow! That is awesome!

[hgiles]

I think that's the most beautiful horn I've ever seen! Truly museum-quality!

[DaveKessler]

I think that's the most beautiful horn I've ever seen! Truly museum-quality!

We feel the same way about it. Thats why we called the people in before finishing the job to make them see just how nice of a horn it was. This is a 1 player horn. They even still have the warranty cards for it!

[brasscane]

In the old King brochures, this finish is offered. No clue how many they actually produced. Mine is special (at least so to me), but the pearls must practically make this horn one of a kind. BTW, it doesn't appear to be a silversonic. I have not seen one of those in silver plate, which is sort of peculiar.

[dubrosa22]

I think that's the most beautiful horn I've ever seen! Truly museum-quality!

It is absolutely stunning!

[JayePDX]

Forgive me for asking...but...how does she play ?

[JayePDX]

...then....back to aesthetics.....was it sonically cleaned ?

[DaveKessler]

...then....back to aesthetics.....was it sonically cleaned ?

She plays like a great ol King tenor. Great!

No, this was not sonically cleaned, simply the ol' fashioned way... soap & water bath & then we used Silver Soap (GREAT for satin silver finishes).

[Dave Dolson]

On my computer screen I thought it was gold-plate. Gorgeous! DAVE

[saxphil]

In the old King brochures, this finish is offered.

Looks like five choices of finish for Zephyr Specials.
My guess is that Dave's is an Artist Special tenor, with the most expensive finish and a catalog price of $295 for the horn.

[bari_sax_diva]

Oh, drool....

[warp x]

Beautiful. I suppose those owners must be very very happy.

[Just Joe]

Looks like five choices of finish for Zephyr Specials.
My guess is that Dave's is an Artist Special tenor, with the most expensive finish and a catalog price of $295 for the horn.

Saxphil, Does your catalog reference say anything about the bell and neck being all "shiny"?

I once had a Voll-True with similar finish. The bell and neck were also shiny, they were sterling. When I first looked at these pics I suspected same on this horn.

Thanks, Joe