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Resources for 20's-30's King soprano saxes

1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  bruce bailey 
#1 ·
Hi all! Long time member and recently returned poster.

I am looking for some information on old King Soprano saxes, ideally from the 20's and 30's. I had made some posts about this particular model several years ago but they seem to have been lost in the board change over. Anyway, my understanding was that based on the serial number, it was an S6 model straight bell, silver plated soprano with gold lacquer on the bell. Unfortunately that gold lacquer wore off long before I ever owned it. I am trying to identify the year it was made, and where I can find replacement spring pins since the original one's are so old that they could snap at any moment. I'd like to get it back into original condition as much as possible, it has had a full pad rework done on it, but I'd love to get it all stripped down and polished, maybe even get the gold lacquer put back on the bell. It is such a great sounding horn that needs some TLC, and any information on these horns would be great. I'd love to play it in a band situation but the intonation is really out of whack as the horn sat in a crappy old case for god knows, probably decades, with only support on the bell and neck, so it bowed in the middle and now sounds flat. But the tone, if I could get it restored to original playing condition, which shouldn't be much since it has new pads, you wouldn't hear one like it, as it's so warm and dark thanks to the silver body.
 
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#2 ·
Welcome back. I've played a few King sopranos over my time, including owning a Saxello. I found the intonation to be a bit off, even with the horns in good playing condition. But what you describe is a horn that needs the OVERHAUL plus a straightening. Find a good repair-tech and pay the freight. THEN, you will be better-able to assess the intonation and maybe compensate for it with mouthpiece choices and placement on the cork. Also, maybe some key adjustments or even crescents in the tone holes may help intonation.

About re-lacquering . . . most of us will advise you NOT to do that. The overhaul-process will most likely include a dipping of the entire horn and that will do quite a bit to make the horn look good.

Springs? Unless King has something unique in their springs (like Bueschers), the overhaul will most likely include adjusting spring tension and replacing springs that are shot. I have a 1930's King Silver King clarinet and a '25 King alto. There is nothing unique about those springs. DAVE
 
#3 ·
It would have been silver plated with a gold wash (plated) bell. When I find one that is worn, I just sand and polish off the remaining plated inside the bell and it will shine like gold plate but be bare brass. I just polish it off once a month. Here is a Conn compared to an original gold wash bell model: https://www.flickr.com/photos/12157552@N02/tags/bell/

On your horn, getting the tube straight may be your biggest issuer but should not affect the flatness overall.
 
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