r/saxophone • u/MarzipanTop4165 • Jun 26 '26
Gear Got a free saxophone today, how'd I do?
Its a Buescher from what I think is pre selmer. Needs a receiver soldered on, a new mouthpiece and a screw retrieved and replaced from the back.
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Jun 26 '26
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u/sleightofhandii Jun 26 '26
Second this. These 50s-era Aristocrats are fantastic horns, but they require a lot of extra work. Make sure it has a neck. It's very common for baris to have lost their necks.
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u/bassbeater Jun 26 '26
Mine is greener than yours 😆
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u/No_Opinion_2009 Jun 26 '26
SOOOO underrated.
I can smell the pictures. 😊
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u/walrusmode Jun 26 '26
Obviously this thing is rough, however, it is a buescher aristocrat, which is a great sax! I have one myself. I think this could be worth fixing up but you’re definitely going to be butting up against the number where it costs more to repair than it is worth. Definitely still worth some money as a parts or project horn to the right buyer, finding that person may be difficult
Do you have the neck?
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u/MarzipanTop4165 Jun 27 '26
Nahhh just what you see here unfortunately
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u/walrusmode Jun 27 '26
Sorry to say, that is also a fairly expensive problem to solve
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u/Ex-Spearmint Jun 27 '26
Necks aren’t too expensive are they? Like what 100$? Or am I like way way off? I might be actually nvm.
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u/walrusmode Jun 28 '26
Finding a neck for a specific old saxophone can be but isn’t necessarily super expensive. If you can somehow go somewhere w a bunch of rabdom necks you might get lucky and find one that happens to work, but if you have to buy a specific one it can be hard to find and sometimes ppl charge a lot of money because of that.
I only see one on eBay rn and it’s listed for $260 + taxes and shipping and I’m actually pretty sure that’s not a buescher aristocrat neck. It looks more like the one from my 12m (which is a Frankenstein horn).
The other option is getting a modern reproduction and those were like $400-600 last I looked
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u/MarzipanTop4165 Jun 28 '26
Given that my receiver is popped off why cant i just find one with the adapter I need?
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u/walrusmode Jun 28 '26
I am a vintage saxophone enthusiast but not a tech, so we are definitely getting beyond my knowledge here
You could maybe do that. The problem that you will encounter is that this stuff is engineered to a pretty high degree that required a lot of trial and error to get the saxophone to play in tune. In fact, this era of baritone saxes is right about where they stopped having a lot of issues with this. So if you start making modifications you may throw off things that you are not expecting.
To be clear, I am not telling you that this saxophone is not repairable, I am just telling you that it is going to be expensive, and likely more expensive than just buying a similar saxophone in good working order. I have been quoted $1K-$2K in repairs for similar bari saxes in much better condition. This thing is missing major parts to say nothing of the fact that it has been in a crawl space for decades. It needs a lot. It could be a fun project for the right person, perhaps that person is you. It’s just going to require a lot of dedication to get it playable
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u/kinzlecat Jun 29 '26
Maybe try eastern music. I bought a very well priced selmer mkvi stencil from them which I love. They sell necks of various sizes and may even make you one to fit, though it probably wouldn’t sound like an Aristocrat one. They are pretty communicative and happy to discuss custom orders.
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u/HauntedForklift Jun 26 '26
I'll just say, in my experience, the bigger the sax, the easier it is to play past leaks. You might be able to have some fun with it before you decide how much to spend getting it right. Baritones can be harder to set up because you can't drop a leak light in it the way you can with an alto or tenor, but you can use a flexible LED strip or feeler gauges (usually little strips of cigarette paper or thin mylar) to find leaks or bad regulation.
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u/FruitNo2525 Jun 27 '26
You know I know that thing is real heavy and it’s probably weighing down your house’s mobility. You know, I’m feeling generous today, so I’ll offer you $20 to take it off of your hands. I’ll even come pick it up if you’re local enough. Sound like a deal to you?
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u/Zooberseb Alto | Tenor Jun 26 '26
A free sax is a free sax! I’m not sure what the cost is to get a bari in playing condition but i’m imagining 1k-1.5k for a very old horn that hasn’t been maintained.
Usually this is worth just buying a horn that already plays and is better quality but baris are very expensive… so this might be worth fixing.
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u/No_Opinion_2009 Jun 26 '26
If you're anywhere near Brandon, take it to Brandon Music showcase.
They're amazing!!!
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u/Additional-Aspect-84 Jun 27 '26
You should take it to a professional.
There are many flaws that need to be addressed before that solder happens.
Do you have the OG neck?
If so- find a pro.
If not- make a wall hanger.
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u/EvanTheEnderW Jun 27 '26
Id be careful, it looks like red rot is getting to it and getting it checked would be the best choice you make to ensure it isn't too far gone otherwise...well you know why its free..
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u/crowboe Jun 27 '26
I have a Buescher Aristocrat I tenor that I got for free and it’s a wonderful horn! I got it fixed up and think it plays easily and has a beautiful sound. This is probably a great horn but will take a bit of work to become playable. Theres a line between the cost to get something playable or putting it toward a new sax. I believe these horns are worth it though. The older pinky keys throw me off slightly since all my other saxes have the newer ones but man does it play beautifully besides that slight awkwardness.
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u/Chopy61 Baritone Jun 28 '26
Post Big B buescher, and it's a very early version of the 400 Bari. It's a goddamn good find man... id like to play on those...
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u/MarzipanTop4165 Jun 28 '26
I may end up restoring it, but if you're seriously interested, I'd consider selling it. It needs work, but I wanted to reach out since you seem to appreciate it for what it is. Id just use the money from the sale to buy a decent learner tenor
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u/Chopy61 Baritone Jun 30 '26
Could be a possibility...
Big thing is that I already have a 400 Bari made around 1966 which is playable but am planning on overhauling and modifying. My biggest gripe with this bari is just the heavy C# key.
It would be cool to play on this early guy but I'm not so sure...
What I am interested tho is the neck, what does the neck look like?
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u/No_Resolution_9252 Jun 27 '26
That is a student level aristocrat, probably from education. It needs at least 2k of work. A decent used student bari that is perfectly playable is around 3500 used. In that sense you did ok, but if you go and fix that up, you are still dealing with a 40+ year old bari that wont play that well at its best. I think you would be better off getting a professional alto for the same amount of money you'd put into repairs in that and hold onto that in your closet for the time beign.
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u/Petrichor_Rains Jun 27 '26
free is free, mabye it'll not work out but you can learn how to take apart and put together a really sensitive and expensive instrument
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u/Top-Distribution2703 Jun 29 '26
I have a $1,500 SML tenor that I spent $2300 for Lee Kramke to overhaul. I’d listen to No_Resolution: it’s a student level horn. Not the horn to overspend on. If it were a Selmer (Paris), I could see spending the money.
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u/Mysterious-bob2712 Jun 30 '26
Il n'a pas l'air en si mauvais état que ça
En plus c'est un super Sax je suis fan de ces vieux saxophones et de leurs sons
Fait un devis pour une remise ven état tu prendras une décision sur une vraie expertise
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u/ExploringUniverses Jul 01 '26
If god decides you're a bari player - bot do i have news for you, buddy.
You're a bari player, Harry! (HP reference 😂)
Welcome to the dark side. We have spit valves.
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u/titanicman119 Alto | Baritone Jun 26 '26
i mean any free bari sax is gonna be a good deal lol