This month we caught up with Father Matthew Askey – an Anglican priest with a passion for vintage saxophones.
Although there are lots new saxophone brands on the market these days, for many people, the allure of a vintage saxophone is much stronger. With the internet it is possible to find saxophones from all over the world and the prices for vintage instruments is still quite low in comparison to a brand new model.
“Part of the rediscovery of saxophone for me was when I bought my first vintage instrument about 9 years ago” says Matthew. “It was a Buescher True Tone Bb Soprano from 1929 and it’s still my main instrument today”.
Matthew quickly discovered that French eBay was a great place to find antique instruments, although he has now bought saxophones from the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, and the USA. Matthew’s collection now includes a full set of 19th century saxophones. “My dream is to play 19th Century sax quartet music on 19th cenutry instruments” he says. “I have the instruments but many still need restoring”.
Challenges with vintage horns
When the original Adolphe Sax patent expired in 1866, the floodgates were opened to other instrument makers to manufacture and innovate their own saxophones. And they did in great numbers. Although most really early saxophones from the 1860s – 1880s were made close to modern pitch, their tuning can be an issue compared to modern horns.
“My dream is to play 19th Century sax quartet music on 19th cenutry instruments”
The trade off though is that many vintage horns have a wonderful tone. “To my ears the older horns sound much nicer than modern horns. I discovered that saxophones made before about 1930 have different shaped bore which gives them a more complex, messy sound. I think it sounds much sweeter” says Matthew.
Restoring
Chances are if you are collecting vintage horns that they will need some restoration work but a good repairer can fix most issues. “I have a 1919 Buescher True Tone Baritone sax which was restored by Steve Crow. Steve fitted white leather pads with no resonators as it would have had originally and it has a great rich sound – really meaty and woody” says Matthew.
What to look for
If you fancy getting a vintage instrument of your own then the internet is the best place to start. For antique horns, instruments made by the workshop of Adolphe Sax command large prices.
“There are a small number of collectors of early saxophones in the world, but it’s definitely a growing field. Now is a good time to get into it as prices are still relatively low for these instruments. It is an area of collecting that is bound to keep getting more expensive as time goes by, as instruments become less common and are more known and collected”.
Of course every saxophone deserves to be played and that is one of the great joys of owning an antique horn. Matthew gets to use his Buescher True Tone Soprano in the cathedral where he works. “Sometimes I also use my C Soprano and we’re planning a jazz mass too where I can use ” says Matthew
You can find out more about collectable saxophones in the book “100+1 Saxen” which disuscusses the instruments in the Oostrom collection.