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Bought a King Cleveland yesterday!!!

5K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Guto 
#1 ·
So yesterday I finally went and bought an alto sax for the house, now to start teaching my almost 9 yr old to play. :) Sadly had to pull my 11 yr old out of after school band due to not having anyone to pick her up anymore. But she'll be fine, it was her 2nd year in beginning band and I can teach her at home too.

So on to the new sax..... Looks to be a late 1950s or early 1960s. Came with a pretty cool mouth piece too that I think is from when the sax was new. The case comes with 2 keys. Looking at the case I'm pretty sure it's older than our King Cleveland tenor.

Here's a few pictures of the alto, plays nicely.

Any idea the year of the sax and the year and value of the mouth piece? Sax model is 112,804 and mouth piece is a Penzel-Mueller (New York) that came in a metal case. If the mouth piece is worth a good deal then I want to buy a cheaper one while the girls are younger and still learning to play. They can use the good one when they are a bit older.

 
#3 ·
Yeah, that's the same years I was getting. Was hoping to really pin it down more, lol. The Bond paperwork that came with it says "With this King-crafted instrument, 65 years of musical leadership responds to the command of your playing." Since King started in 1893, the paper would leads me to believe that the instrument was made in 1958, but the serial number says otherwise. Guessing they printed a lot of these papers. I do love the sound of it. The tenor we have is a 1965-1969 serial number on it, sounds great.
 
#4 ·
Nice, but be careful which serial # chart you use. According to the Cleveland serial # chart on the H.N. White site, a horn with that number (112,xxx) would be a ca. 1961 vintage, not late '60s (scroll down for the Cleveland chart):

http://www.hnwhite.com/Serial%20Numbers.htm

I kind of already knew that from the style of the case, though, which is characteristic of a Cleveland-made "Cleveland" (as opposed to one made in Eastlake, Ohio after the company relocated). H.N. White Cleveland-made horns are generally considered more desirable than "Eastlakes," whether you're talking Clevelands or Super 20s. So the brochure from the late 50's was actually closer to the date of manufacture after all.

Most folks refer to those as the "Acorn" Clevelands, unlike the later Eastlake-made variety which were stamped 613 on the bells. Yours is still a model 613 Cleveland, however, if you check the advertising and catalogs of the time.

Enjoy it. They have a big sound and are easy to blow.
 
#5 ·
I have an Eastlake Cleveland (late 1965 or 1966) based upon the serial number, and it has the Acorn engraving, rather than the 613 on the bell. It also seems to be identical to the Cleveland models in every way, although I've heard that the keywork is different. I'm curious as to why my Eastlake seems to be different from its siblings. It says Eastlake but it seems to have Cleveland "DNA" as far as I can tell.
 
#6 ·
Been reading a lot of good stuff about the old Clevelands here lately. I am just getting back into mine after way too many years of being out of it.

Mine is an alto, also the Acorn style, serial C-196xxx. What I have been able to find, puts it in the mid-late 1960's. Clearly says "Cleve, Ohio" just under the acorn. I assume that puts before the move? Took it in, had the pads replaced and hoping to start up again with some lessons real soon.

I think the coolest part, it is my original sax from back in Grade School when I first learned. Won't tell ya how old I am now, lets just say, looking forward to retirement in a year or two.... :mrgreen:

Gold Amber Brass instrument Wind instrument Wood
 
#7 ·
Mine is an alto, also the Acorn style, serial C-196xxx. What I have been able to find, puts it in the mid-late 1960's. Clearly says "Cleve, Ohio" just under the acorn. I assume that puts before the move?
One of the last before the move to Eastlake. The engraving changes shortly after C200000. (Granted, it's not clear how closely the engraving change is tied to the actual move of the tooling to the new factory.)
 
#11 ·
My parents bought me a 1960 model King Cleveland in 1961. It was identical to your's sans the silverplate and the case didn't have the Cleveland badge on it. I played it for 4 years then bought a Carl Fischer (Buescher) tenor when my parents traded the King in on an organ. I wouldn't call the Cleveland a beginner sax. It was much better.
 
#13 ·
Congratulations!

I've always played Selmers since my debut almost 30 years ago. Only recently I ended up buying a 1966 late Cleveland Super 20 tenor to try something different. What a pleasant surprise. A great horn, with a giant sound ... and it looks beautiful too. Let alone the case with crocodile leather, a real treat. Only required small personal adjustments to its slightly different ergonomics.
 
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