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Who is offering Engraving Services these days?

12K views 48 replies 24 participants last post by  Tenor Mattness 
#1 ·
I am considering having engraving on a couple of bells and necks. Who has had this done and who can you recommend?
 
#8 ·
Entirely personal choice on ones own property of course but my heart always sinks when I see extra custom engraving on vintage saxophones. Not to criticise the quality of the work either. I saw someone selling a Super 20 tenor recently that had been ornately custom engraved and I just thought shame. The S20 is a strange horn engraving wise in that one side is beautifully engraved and the other very plain indeed so the temptation to fill that expanse of plain brass must be very tempting for some. For me it devalues the aesthetic qualities of a horn much like relac does ,stripping a horn to bare brass or adding an ugly sling ring to a soprano . I think it also devalues a horn rather than adding value. Apologies for raining on anyone's parade.
 
#12 ·
Yeh I agree. I think it's a personal thing. I just prefer to leave well alone even " improvements ".. I feel the same way about classic cars . I think the fellow selling the S20 might find if he had left the horn alone it would sell easier but maybe I'm wrong... and a horn engraved by a well known engraver like Jason does make the horn more desirable. I remember seeing photos of old jazz musicians who had had their names engraved inside the bell either by the makers or by themselves. Don Byas springs to mind... I can see that if authentic adding value.
 
#19 ·
I wouldn't do any extra engraving either. I have a Martin Committee III tenor in which the engraving looks light to me. Some of the zig-zag patterns are incomplete, I presume due to some buffing or maybe it's just wear. Anyway I'm considering having the original engraving restored.
 
#13 ·
I own a modern B & S alto 1000/F. Schmidt that is a fantastic horn but has no engraving at all. I am only going to have someone add the B&S logos to the octave key mech. and the bell plus add the engraving that my B & S 2001 has on the bell.

After owning a beautifully engraved B & S Chicago Jazz Series Tenors for a couple years I have become accustomed to seeing the engraving.

I am fully aware that it will not make the horn lighter or play better but I have always loved metal engraving of all sorts.

If I owned a vintage S20 or Mk 6 etc... you could bet I would not add new engraving except to re-cut the old if I could afford it after buying one of those horns.

Thanks for chiming in sotw!
 
#14 ·
Hi Brian. I do indeed engrave saxophones (and thanks for the kind mentions earlier!). Sherry has officially stopped taking on any custom work that isn't re-engraving original patterns. I have gone the opposite direction and will only do select custom designs. Unfortunately your plan falls in between these two, but you should contact Sherry regardless. Her site is www.artisticengraving.com and if you want to see some photos of my work, they are here: http://flickr.com/saxgraver As far as I know, I'm the only person who will do the same level of engraving you'll find on old Conn, King and Buescher artist models.

In terms of originality on horns, I almost never work on original lacquer vintage horns, so there's not really an issue of it "spoiling" something that should be left pristine. And, if I ever do an original horn, I meticulously match the original engraving style, including the graver types. That said, additional custom engraving shouldn't be something you do if you're not going to keep a horn or are concerned about value. I engrave my own horns because I love the way it looks, and the inspiration of deeply complex patterns and artistic nuance.
 
#16 ·
I actually dislike horns from an aesthetic point of view that are left without engraving. Many Paris assembled Mark VI horns were without engraving. In the US it is very common for VI sopranos to be left unadorned ... My US assembled VI sopranino is " naked" but being so small gets away with it. I almost bought a Series 3 soprano a few years ago that was far more extensively engraved than others I'd seen and was all the more beautiful.
 
#27 ·
Yeh those little King thumb rests take a bit of getting used to. I had the thumb hook on my saxello moved up but it can be silver soldered back to original .

I guess I'm in a minority of one regarding custom engraving... that's ok. Each to their own.

Michael,

I added a modern Thumbrest with base plate to my Zephyr tenor recently. I kept the original Thumbrest in case someone wants.

It was a comfort issue for me and I'm not worried about that being a potentially devaluing modification.
 
#18 ·
#23 ·
I think Jason's engraving is about the best you will find. My Mark VI has no engraving and I have considered having him do a montage of scenes from where I lived my life and gold plating the body (has silver keys). It may devalue the horn but it is one of about 3 things I own (not just horns) that will be with me until I croak.
 
#24 ·
Well it seems at least so far that I am stuck in between vintage engraving and special order engraving. I am not needing anything complicated and in fact am wanting to add the actual manufacturers logos to enhance my experience. I am 55 this year and frankly have purchased the very last horns I will be performing on because they are THAT great.

I guess I will break out the pocket knife and scratch it on myself LOL !!!!
 
#25 ·
Sherry at Artistic Engraving will put any type of pattern on it that you want. She is excellent at restoring factory engraving or doing something completely custom. It you have something in mind, just send her an email and she will tell you what she can do. She has done dozens of instruments for me and I have never been dis-satisfied. I have looked at her re-engravings many times under magnification and am amazed at how well she duplicates the original pattern.
 
#28 ·
I would highly recommend Sherry or Jason.

I have had both do fantastic work, but given the style that Jason does, I really prefer his work to all others.

Reading the comments about the pros and cons of engraving: guys it's about beauty, artistry. It's aesthetic. We like what we like.

I want horns that play like gangbusters. If I get one that I want to keep, I am happier with it if it looks unique- in a good way. Both Jason and Sherry have done that for me over the years.

I get almost 100% compliments on the work...so I think you can get your work done with confidence!
 
#30 ·
Ok how about this. 1) It's my property and I can do what I want to this instrument I own. In fact I believe to my eye I'm improving the aesthetic qualities of this horn I own

Or 2) Despite ownership we are also custodians of these icons from a Golden Age ( What would be the cut off date? ) We accept there is a limited stock in the world of iconic saxophones ( Is a Conn iconic and a Mexiconn fair game ?) One day no matter how much we love our horn we will depart this life and someone else will inherit the instrument. Do we have a responsibility to preserve the originality as well as condition of these instruments.
 
#42 ·
Ok how about this. 1) It's my property and I can do what I want to this instrument I own. In fact I believe to my eye I'm improving the aesthetic qualities of this horn I own

Or 2) Despite ownership we are also custodians of these icons from a Golden Age ( What would be the cut off date? ) We accept there is a limited stock in the world of iconic saxophones ( Is a Conn iconic and a Mexiconn fair game ?) One day no matter how much we love our horn we will depart this life and someone else will inherit the instrument. Do we have a responsibility to preserve the originality as well as condition of these instruments.
1a ...and each custom engraving drives the value of the non-customized horns up as inventory declines.
 
#31 ·
Jason's work is great - I bought a Buescher 400 from him that he had added some engraving to, and it was hard to tell what was the original and what he had added, both in style and technique. Eric Drake (who is also quite a good metal craftsman, and not one to give praise lightly) saw it and remarked at how good the engraving was.
 
#32 ·
Well given that Jason is busy becoming an organic farmer and Sherry is apparently so busy she is not answering her phone or emails I guess I will try again at a later date. No biggie but I guess I missed out on the some great engravers work to enjoy personally. Sad :(
 
#33 ·
Sherry is in Key West for the winter. She may not get back to you as quick as usual. She is working from there. I think she only has her cell phone. I just sent her a King Zephyr tenor, so I should be hearing back from her in a few days. I will pass along that you emailed her.
 
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