RIA Baritone 6 original with Lig, very clean

RIA baritone 6 original.  This is a very rare and well made piece with a dedicated following.  crafted off of the Berg Larsen design approach these have a lot of power and precision.  They are really very hard to find and were generally made to a very high standard. They made these out of a number of different metals including aluminum, but I believe this one is stainless steel. Good luck finding another.

Continue reading

Selmer MK VI 86xxx Original US Lac. Fully restored, Powerful and Complex

A tenor like this is very uncommon to find.  At 86xxx this is within the exact construction period of Brecker’s famous preferred horn at 863xx, as I was told.  This is a beautifully surviving original example.  The lacquer has aged to a dark bronze.  The horn has had no damage or trama and barely any scuffs of significance.  The worst issues are a few spots of finish wear or past lacquer corrosion that have been cleaned up, that’s it, nothing else of note. All the important areas, neck now brace, bell etc are untouched by impact or accident.  This is a very clean horn.

It has been carefully restored to perfection with new treated pads and an assembled set of original Selmer Tone-X nickel plated brass resonators, all keys fitted and toneholes level etc. It plays and feels like a race car in the hands.  The sound and response especially rare; an impressive slightly dark core with a wild-side type of growling aggressive edge all delivered in a particularly compact, compressed forceful airstream.  This is basically the dream VI for most people who are looking for this serial period and it absolutely does not disappoint. It’s very difficult to find any tenors at 86xxx at this point and harder still to find a truly great player at full power.

Continue reading

Otto Link transitional EB/FL original 6

Here is a very interesting piece; clearly a late Florida mouthpiece but finished at Babbitt with the denim table milling (that FL Link did not use).  So this was likely leftover FL stock that Babbitt bought and then finished in house.  This would often be referred to as ‘early Babbitt” but the facing font is small, stamped in Florida, not the large font Babbitt used.  oddly, the tip and baffle finish appear very much Florida style, sharp and fine with a rather extensive higher flat shelf baffle..

This piece is a master player; bright, crisp, very fast and compact.  Really special player measuring at .0925 (approx.) for me.

Continue reading