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King silversonic alto sax

7K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  Oric Muso 
#1 ·
I have a question for all you Super 20 silversonic enthusiasts which I am one. I own a vintage Cleveland Super 20 which was handpicked out of the King factory in Cleveland and it is an incredible horn, but I have always wanted a silversonic alto. There is one on ebay but it is an Eastlake which I know from being from Cleveland that they are not as good as the Cleveland horns, but this one I think is right after the Cleveland series the serial number is 448000. The ad reads like this .For sale is a real deal, authentic vintage King Super 20 Silver Sonic alto saxophone with original case in FANTASTIC CONDITION!

This is the extremely elusive full Silver Sonic Super 20.. Both the neck & the entire bell of this saxophone are 100% PURE SOLID STERLING SILVER..

Normally silver is a thin coat of silver plated on top of brass….. These Super 20 Silver Sonics are pure solid sterling silver which is insanely expensive to put on a saxophone by todays standards..

This saxophone is in absolutely pheonomal original condition with very rare gold plated inner bell on top of the silver! These dont come around in this condition! My question would be I don't think it would be solid sterling silver. So before I bid on this horn can anybody answer that question. I think its silver plated. Pure silver would make that horn really heavy right? If you know please Pm me or send a reply to saxzman1@gmail.com, thanks
 
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#2 ·
Here's a reference regarding Super 20 horns: http://saxpics.com/?v=mod&modID=22

Your "plain" Super 20 may be the better PLAYING horn.

And no, if it's a real Silversonic, the neck and bell is silver - not plate. Silver PLATE is a thin layer of silver over the base metal.
 
#4 ·
I have a Yani soprano that I love but I have never played a Yani Alto or Tenor that I liked and I have played a lot of them. I dont understand how a company that makes such a great soprano cant make a great alto or tenor. But to each his own you may have got lucky. Back to the super 20 yeah the eastlake horns are very much hit and miss, but mostly miss. My horn is a tenor thats why I was interested in the alto. Thanks for your replies.
 
#6 ·
I have an alto SilverSonic in great condition which I've put for sale here a while back: http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?231810-FS-King-Super-20-SilverSonic-alto

This one is an East Lake too, but it is just a couple 100's S/N after the transition from Cleveland. It is exactly the same horn as the Cleveland's, same design, same parts, just assembled at the new location - but then of course after 50 years, that initial setup is no longer relevant. They only started cutting costs passed the 440k S/N or so.

When I left it in consignation at Lee's shop he had another sister horn made in Cleveland. The few pro players that tried both at his shop, all though mine was a far superior player, so I was told. Neither of the 2 has sold over there.

I haven't put much effort to move it since. Available if anyone is interested. This is an awesome player!
 
#12 ·
Intonation is dead on. And it has a great tone. This horn is in great mechanical and cosmetic condition. Only major cosmetic issue is the brace on the bottom of the bow was pushed in a bit likely from a heavy set-down. I tried to picture it in a couple of the photos. The interior of the bow looks unharmed. This has no effect on the horn's playability.

I originally bought this horn to pair up with a great tenor I have within a couple thousand S/N from this one. But reality is that I switched to tenor playing about 15 years ago and my opportunities to play alto are very rare these days.

Honestly, I've put about $4k into it, including a full setup from Lee Kramka at his shop last year. I realize that is a bit too much for it's market value and I'm willing to let it go for $3,200. It really needs to be played rather then sit in my closet.
 
#11 ·
I'm not sure exactly when the cost cutting changes became apparent. I'm sure others here will be much more knowledgeable about these facts.
I just know the transition to East Lake engraving happened at around mid 427k and those horns through at least ~440k are identical to the ones just before, engraved with Cleveland. I have a tenor right from that transition period as well which happens to be a Cleveland.
 
#15 ·
Were any S20s or Zephyrs made with silver plated necks or bells? I have never seen one. I always thought that King should have used silver plated body tubes on the solid silver neck and bell models.
I have a Zephyr Special Alto with the sterling neck and full pearls (that I bought on SOTW for the looks) and it is a fantastic horn. My VI sits in the case and only my Martin Committees and Conn 6M can compete.
The silver neck does add a lot to the horn but I never thought the sterling bells were worth the amount of silver cost that would be added.
Think about a Silver S20 with a sterling bell, neck and lacquered or gold plated keys....wow, would be nice.
 
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