Sep 06, 2017 Some time ago I received a question about Evette & Schaeffer Clarinets. I happen to own one myself, with a similar serial number, and I also had trouble at first finding out much about it – there seemed to be a lot of conflicting information about Evette & Schaeffers and a lot of confusion about whether they were the same as Evette clarinets.
Hi, I have an Evette Schaeffer tenor sax with a serial number of 39793, Italy. Does anyone know what year this was made?
Unfortunately I don't have any information from previous owners about it's history. The Evette Schaeffer logo is engraved on the bell, and part from that and the serial number and the word Italy - nothing. Photos attached.
#2
5 years ago
Help us to help you.This is the minimum information that must be provided for an assessment, identification, and monetary evaluation:
1. Good photos of the entire horn, back and front. 2. A thorough listing of any and all markings, serial numbers, make/model names etc. stamped or engraved on the instrument. 3. Any anecdotal history of the instrument in question that might be available (Such as 'my grandfather bought it in NY, NY in 1940 I'm told' etc.)
Condition and other details that require good photos AT A MINIMUM to accurately assess are paramount regarding a horn's value. Without that information, an accurate monetary evaluation is impossible.
#3
5 years ago
#4
5 years ago
This is a student level sax, likely made by the Italian firm of A. Santoni for Evette in the 1960's or early 1970's. As a 'Stencil' horn (i.e. an instrument made by one manufacturer for another maker/retailer to brand with their own name and model), catalogs of serial number vs. date of manufacture listings are not published and thus the only ay to date it is to ID the features of the instrument as I have done.
Older Italian saxophones are in general the 'Rodney Dangerfield' of the sax world, in that the get no respect. Most are not held in high regard, and thus do not fetch much in the marketplace.
Current production, high level, hand built professional Rampone & Cazzani and Borgani horns being very much the exception.
The above, coupled with the fact that it is a student level horn, means that your example is worth a coupe of hundred dollars +/-.
#5
5 years ago
Hi,
thanks for that. Sounds like it's about the same age as me - but in a bit better condition ?
It's nice to have an idea about the value (I was given it) but I'm interested in learning to play not selling it.
Thanks for your help.
Tony
#6
5 years ago
Once a good tech has examined and adjusted the horn, replaced any or all of the pads corks and springs as needed, and insured that it is sealing top to bottom, it should be a worthy horn to learn with.
#7
4 years ago
http://saxpics.com/photos/album/541/?v=ser&manID=5 My research might put from 1950 - 1970. This is one page to check it out.
#8
3 years ago
Ya man tune it up and learn to play...just because it does not have a blue blood pedigree and history doesn't mean it doesn't have some more music to sing. Cherish that unique horn you have,very cool!! Gary in Colorado. 36 yer sax man.
Evette And Schaeffer Serial Numbers Search
Those may interest you:
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There are three 'subsets' of horns produced during this period:
Low B models:
These models, functionally and visually identical to earlier horns, were available (probably) as the low-cost or 'introductory' line. Couesnon, Sax and other French-manufacturers also sold their low B horns as low-cost models, so I'd say this was standard practice (pun intended. SML revised this practice of selling the older model along with the newer one in the 1940's with their Standard model). HOWEVER, these horns may have been A=435hz horns (French standard pitch) and discontinued 'around' 1914 when the A=440hz (low pitch) international standard was introduced.
Non-patented models:
These are essentially an evolution of the earlier series of horns and have improved keywork and extended keyed range (see below). They just don't have any of the alternate keywork that the patented models have.
Patented models:
Paul Evette and Ernest Schaeffer bought the Buffet-Crampon firm in 1885 and patented their first saxophone on July 25, 1887 (December 5, 1899 in the US). These horns are significantly different than earlier models and are possibly the most technically advanced of any French-made horn produced at the time, with the possible exception of Couesnon.
Instrument Features
All horns had the following features:
Updated engraving featuring the Buffet-Crampon logo and the Evette & Schaeffer name. The importer's name, generally either 'Carl Fischer, New York' or 'HN White, Cleveland' (HN White, the manufacturer of the King saxophones, imported these horns as their saxophone line until approximately 1908) is only engraved on horns exported to other countries.
Double or 'split' octave key. In approximately 1916 the automatic octave key became standardized (it was an 'additional cost' option before this). Low B models probably never gained the automatic octave key.
Roller keys. Most low B models do not sport this feature.
Horns available in both low pitch, A=440hz and high pitch, A=457hz. See my comments regarding LP vs. HP instruments HERE.
Some horns are engraved 'Conn' to avoid import taxes into the US. (Some Conns were engraved 'Buffet' to avoid export taxes to France, so I guess it all works out :)
All models except the Low B horns introduced the following:
A keyed range that extends from low Bb to high F on alto, C melody and Bb tenor. Keyed range extends to low Bb to high Eb on soprano, baritone, bass and contrabass models.
A front altissimo F key is available on Eb altos and Bb tenors.
C horns (melody tenor and soprano models) in approximately 1920. These horns are very uncommon, as France never had the same fascination with C horns that the US did.
Contrabass models around 1920. These were only custom made and very few were produced -- it's theorized that somewhere between six and 20 sitill exist. (Take a look at my SOTW article regarding a performance that included one of the few surviving Evette & Schaeffer contras.)
Baritone models that no longer had a fixed neck.
Pearl keywork, in the mid 1920's. They don't appear to be 'standard fare' until the 1930's.
Keywork Changes
The patented horns introduced some interesting keywork changes:
Evette Schaeffer Serial Numbers Saxophone
'The 1920 Buffet soprano is an interesting horn. Notice two things: all the right hand keys (D, E, F) can be held down with the third (D key) finger alone, leaving the first and second fingers free to engage alternate RIGHT HAND touchpieces for the low Bb and B. These right hand levers are suspended above the E and F keys. A variation of this key system was available later on Evette & Schaeffer saxes and called the APOGEE system.'1
Below is a copy of an 1899 advertisement for these horns (click the image to view it full size). I've made the text a little more legible (you can see the original HERE). It gives you a very good idea of what the additional keywork is for. (See also the Vintage Saxophones Revisited article by Prof. Paul Cohen in the March/April 1994 Saxophone Journal magazine.)