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by dblokillo
(2 posts)
9 years ago

Martin Saxophone (1939)

Hello, all:

I recently received a saxophone from my highschool since they were going to toss it away. After doing some research I found out that it is an 80-years-old Martin Handcraft Commetee, and, as per my saxophone teacher, the older the saxophone the better the sound.

So, my problem is the following:

This saxophone was not used nor cleaned (actually it was not touched) for almost 5 years, and since it is very old most of its pads are damaged and it has no laquer and a lot of rust on the inside (tho an amazing engraved on the bell!).

I wanted to know... where can I find pads for this saxophone? Are there still around somewere or can I use generic ones to change them? Also, how can I take this rust away without harming the 80-years-old metal body and keys?

Also, if you have comments about the Martin Saxophones please let me know since the only thing I know is that they are old. (Mine is a tenor saxophone).

Thank you very much, I apreciate any reply!  

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  2. by GFC
    (842 posts)
    9 years ago

    Re: Martin Saxophone (1939)

    You're one lucky dude.  Your school had no idea what they had.  Is your horn the one with
    M
    A
    R
    T
    I
    N 
    and lion and crown, or the one with the skyline, searchlight beacons, and the airplane engraved on the bell?

    Don't worry about red "rust."  It's a buildup of copper sulfide, basically a really deep tarnish. It's benign.  If you've got green stuff, that's something to worry about  because it corrodes the horn.  

    It would be well worth it to have it looked at by a good repair tech to see what needs doing and get a cost estimate.  By good repair tech, I mean a woodwind or saxophone specialist.  It's worthwhile to be sure of a tech's abilities - by asking what kind of work they usually do, what their customer base is (a contract for maintaining fleets of school horns is usually a red flag), whether they have experience with vintage horns, and asking for references.  The cheapo-cheapo techs can end up costing you more in the long run.  

     

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    1. by dblokillo
      (2 posts)
      9 years ago

      Re: Martin Saxophone (1939)

      Hello!


      Thanks for your reply!

      The one I got from them is the one with the lights and the airplain engrave. What I am concerned about is for the greenish mots it has on the inside, all over it, and a loose key... However I managed to tie the key up until I can take it to a saxophone tech and he can take a look at it...

      Thanks for your reply again! Should I be proud of the new saxophone I got?

       

       

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      1. by GFC
        (842 posts)
        9 years ago

        Re: Martin Saxophone (1939)

        Damn right you should be proud of it!  That engraving is a classic.  Your horn is a Handcraft Committee I, produced between 1935 and 1938.  One like yours in perfect playing and cosmetic condition could fetch close to three grand.   

        The green stuff is scary.  It can cause anything from surface pitting to corrosion straight through the brass (usually from the inside).  You need to have the remaining lacquer  stripped and the horn chem-bathed ASAP.  Cruddy lacquer can make corrosion worse by holding moisture and contaminants against the brass.  Forget about a relacquer, it's very expensive to do right and there are precious few shops that can do a decent job.  A bad relacquer could erase that beautiful engraving and cause other damage.

        It would be worth it to have a high end overhaul done, especially since you got the horn for for free.  Saxquest does those. 

        When it's all done you will be the proud conservator of an awesome piece of saxophone history.  Enjoy!

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