Description

Priced to sell! need to keep the inventory moving and make space for the next project.. I'll miss this one Demo video pending NO RETURNS - I hate to put this up front but once it is out of my possession I am no longer in control of what happens to it. If the package is obviously damage in shipping notify me and don't open the package before taking photos and document. I'm not Amazon I can't. just automatically take returns. I put a lot of time into the these saxophones and confident they are in excellent playing condition when shipped. If you are buying a vintage saxophone I assume you know what you are buying. Look at the photos view the video and ask questions. I make the recording through my phone so sound quality is only fair. There are plenty of modern less expensive sopranos available right here on EBAY. According to Saxophone.ORG's serial number list, between 1919 and 1937 Martin manufactured about 100,000 saxophone SN 17721 - 118037 all prior to the Committee 1 model, if only 10-15% were sopranos then there are just not that many manufactured and fewer still around in playing condition like this one. Add in some stencils and maybe 25,000 ever made. Admittedly a difficult number to come up with a accurate estimate though. Here is a lovely vintage Martin soprano saxophone. It is engraved VEGA but has all the classic Martin key work, features and most specifically the heavy soldered-on tone holes associated with Martin saxophones. Noted, the serial number is not consistent with Martin time line maybe a later special order or unique Vega order number. Martin did not make any sopranos after the Handcraft series that I am aware of Sale includes: Sax, Original vintage case, generic stubby mouthpiece ligature and cap. Mouthpiece tested for tuning and sax plays in tune with this mouthpiece. I will pack it extremely well to assure a damage free delivery. I have shipped many saxophones with no issues. Due to personal preferences, you may want to have the spring tension adjusted by your local technician. All replaceable parts: pads, springs, neck cork and regulation material have been installed except for the flat springs which were still in good shape - except one that was a little too short and replaced. The following process has taken me over 20 hours. This is not a simple slap new pads on an old sax repad. All materials for the renovation were ordered from Music Medic as they manufacturer their pads in Wilmington, North Carolina and offer excellent customer service to the general public, I can order what I need and replacement parts can easily be sourced. Pad and spring measurements will be provided. I have renovated this saxophone with multi-step process to a possibly better than new playing condition. Over it's nearly 90 year life it had accumulated wear and original defects from the factory that I have endeavored to eliminate. A experienced instrument tech once explained to me that even straight from the factory the key fit and post alignment was not always 100% as less time was spent on fine tuning. The work was performed 10/24 -11/24 resulted in a saxophone with smooth, accurate and quiet operation where the key work won't interfere with your playing. With the soft feel pads you will not get that pop - pop - pop when closing the pads however they seal well and accurately and that is the goal of the process. It is a saxophone not a drum, unless your listening to James Brown then every instrument is a drum. Body: 1. Disassembled, clean and hand polish body, then coated with Flitz ceramic coating to reduce future oxidation. 2. All posts aligned such that any of the long rods slide freely vertically between the posts 3. Post fit for a snug fit around the rods reducing any free play 4. Posts (open and threaded) cleaned with pipe cleaner and naphtha 5. Post angle adjustment such that there is no end to end play between the key and posts 6. Two minor dents under the Side D/Eb posts were professionally removed. Springs - New Music Medic blue steel needle springs 1. All old springs removed and discarded, inconsistent set, some old ,some replaced, some needle, some bunt different lengths was not worth trying to pick and choose what was good so all new. 2. All spring holes measured for accurate fit and new springs ordered (biggest diameter that would fit through the spring hole). 3. New springs refit and installed with a consistent ~1- 2mm over hang beyond the keeper. 4. Spring tension adjusted for balanced feel. 5. Original Flat Spring were removed and cleaned and found to be in acceptable condition and reinstalled with the screws being lubricated when reinstalled. One flat spring was replaced on the top register key as it was not acceptable. 6. All springs were coated with key lubricant to reduce any future oxidation / rust Keys 1. All old pads removed, and old shellac removed 2. Keys were hand polished then coated with Flitz ceramic coating to reduce future oxidation 3. Key cups were checked for level, roundness and measured for replacement pads 4. Keys were fit on each corresponding rod, and any play around the rod was removed this could be end to end and/or vertical "swageing". 5. Any key binding on the rods was eliminated all keys swing freely on their rods 6. All rollers and roller rods removed and cleaned all were free. 7. All keys were cleaned with detergent, rinsed and then tubes cleaned with naphtha and pipe cleaner 8. During dry fit assembly without pads, the key cups were centered and leveled with its' tone hole. Three axis: left to right edges equally covering the tone hole, side to side - each side of the pad cup equally above the tone hole and front to back equally covering the tone hole. 9.Upon final reassembly fresh lubricants were applied Rods and Pivot Screws 1. All were remove and cleaned with naphtha and polished 2. All long rods were straightened as necessary and checked for free play with the keys 3. Upon reassembly fresh lubricants were applied. Tone holes 1. I did not detect any galvanic corrosion that occasionally is associated with the Martin tone holes. 2. All tone holes were check for level and gently sanded using successive finesses of emery paper (220, 400, 800, 1200, and 1500) on flat metal disks. Most tone holes were level when checked with a leak light and a few needed minor attention. All were treated the same way for a smooth consistent tone hole, providing a level surface for a good seal with the pad. Pads - New Music Medic Soft Feel single brass rivet. 1. All old pads were removed and discarded 2. Each key cup was measured and new Music Medic Soft Feel pads ordered. Soft feel pads selected to allow good sealing on the top of the soldered tone holes as well as quiet operation. I opted for single brass rivets as that was what was in the original pads and very few pads could be fit with a resonator any way. I decided a consistent single rivet pad set up would be the most appropriate. 3. Each pad was installed using uniform layer of natural shellac. 4. Upon assembly all pads were adjusted for level alignment to the tone hole by gently heating the shellack with and air torch and allowing the pad to naturally settle into position on the tone hole. 5. A leak light was used to confirm and adjust pad seating. 6. Utilizing the above strategies pad seat is almost automatic so not wedging or wet seating is necessary - level tone holes, parallel aligned pad cups, and good quality uniform pads the pads almost seat themselves and pad seat will only get better the more it is played. "Plumb, Square and Level". Regulation 1. All old regulation material was removed as was any residual adhesive 2. All replacement regulation material is natural cork and attached with contact cement 3. Neck is natural cork. 4. Ultra suede or felt was applied to some keys as buffering material 5. Thin Teflon sheet was applied to some keys were cork to metal sliding occurs ie between low B and Bb 6. All lost motion between keys was eliminated Tuning - Once the saxophone was re-assembled and pads were sealing well I spent 2 hour tuning the final set up. This is not simply just adjusting the mouthpiece to make it play in tune it is more complicated 1. I tuned the saxophone with itself by adjust key height with each note. 2. I use a Selmer C* S-80 soprano mouthpiece which is a consistent, reasonably priced and available model. 3. First I play Low Bb until it is in tune; so I have the complete bore of the instrument in tune. This is where I leave the mouthpiece once that is accomplished. 4. Then I play B and adjust the height of the Bb key to tune B. 5. Then I progress up the instrument tuning each note by adjusting the lower tone hole key's regulation material. 6. On this instrument the high C# is also adjustable by altering the regulation material between the thumb register key and the C# key. 7. This sax's keywork includes a back alternate "trill" Eb in the lower stack. I kept this feature active and it functions as intended. The E pearl lever is sprung with the Alt Eb key cup. Reversing the spring to keep the alt Eb closed could negatively impact the spring balance of the lower stack making the E key cup spring lift the E Pearl lever. Lubricants: Rods and Keys - Ultimax Medium Viscosity oil Pivots and Rollers - Ultimax Pivot and Roller lubricant Flat Spring retainer slots - Ultimax Pivot and Roller lubricant Polishing Swaging and Adjusting I did my best to leave as few marks on the sax. My attitude is that it better to be well regulated than mark free. In addition as vintage bare brass instrument the finish will change over time. It is currently a moderately bright polished brass finish. I have been testing the effectiveness of the Flitz ceramic car coating on my bare brass saxophones. It is a clear liquid that binds to the bare metal and the shine is enhanced by buffing with a microfiber cloth. I have not experienced any issues with this coating. I was avoiding paste or liquid polish / waxes as they tend to build up in the nooks and crannies and show as white residue. The ceramic coat was applied prior to he pads being installed and does not have a white residue. This saxophone will be a joy to pl