I'm not looking to sell this horn, but I do want to get a ballpark estimate of what it might be worth -- for insurance purposes, and to know how much I need to protect it like a mother hen, etc.
It's a Dolnet "Bel Air" bari, apparently from the 1960's, serial number 753xx. This also is consistent with the previous owner's statement that it is "a little older than he is", and he was born in the late 60's.
I've had this horn for about 12 years, and it is a tank. You can see that it's had plenty of mileage, and the finish is not in particularly good condition. There are no major dents but there are lots of small ones, and the bell brace has quite clearly been separated and re-soldered, possibly more than once. Various key guards have also been re-soldered. The damage to the finish is visible, but not terribly disturbing since the lacquer is in pretty sad shape anyhow. The guard for the right hand stack key rods has been moved up a couple inches, which suits me fine as this is where the horn actually hits me in the leg while seated, as well as protecting the vulnerable low A linkage. The tape patches visible in the bell are there because the low A is quite sharp.
This horn has a nice sound to it, but it is somewhat clunky mechanically. Most notably, the low C# is not articulated, so those jumps from C# to B, Bb, or A are quite tricky. The springs are also fairly stiff, but for the road warrior that it is, I'd prefer they stay that way.
More pics are available at http://mal-2.com/sax
I noticed the "emergency pad" visible in that last pic, and have already changed it since the pictures were taken.
It's a Dolnet "Bel Air" bari, apparently from the 1960's, serial number 753xx. This also is consistent with the previous owner's statement that it is "a little older than he is", and he was born in the late 60's.
I've had this horn for about 12 years, and it is a tank. You can see that it's had plenty of mileage, and the finish is not in particularly good condition. There are no major dents but there are lots of small ones, and the bell brace has quite clearly been separated and re-soldered, possibly more than once. Various key guards have also been re-soldered. The damage to the finish is visible, but not terribly disturbing since the lacquer is in pretty sad shape anyhow. The guard for the right hand stack key rods has been moved up a couple inches, which suits me fine as this is where the horn actually hits me in the leg while seated, as well as protecting the vulnerable low A linkage. The tape patches visible in the bell are there because the low A is quite sharp.
This horn has a nice sound to it, but it is somewhat clunky mechanically. Most notably, the low C# is not articulated, so those jumps from C# to B, Bb, or A are quite tricky. The springs are also fairly stiff, but for the road warrior that it is, I'd prefer they stay that way.
More pics are available at http://mal-2.com/sax
I noticed the "emergency pad" visible in that last pic, and have already changed it since the pictures were taken.