A superb SELMER BALANCED ACTION alto saxophone, made in France in 1941, serial #30,880

Acquired by us earlier this year, together with half a dozen vintage saxes from a collector.
Cigar-Cutter Selmer, a good pre-war Balanced Action Selmer tenor,  two M6 altos and a few other pieces.  All are now in the process of being brought back to life, slowly, a pad at a  time.

*** This BA was built for the French market, in  bright silver finish.  Please note....no number stamped on the neck tenon.  Price includes original cheap French  case + a new ProTec.

*** ALL pads and corks are new..
*** Think Al Galladoro, Phil Woods, Bud Shank, Tommy Newsom on the Carson show...

In 1941 Paris was occupied and the production of all saxes was severely limited.  As nearly as I've discovered, no more than 250  - 300 saxes were built in 1941.
This particular instrument came to us as part of a collection and I was very certain it wore original bright silver plate.  However....closer inspection with a magnifying hood has convinced me that it has replacement silver plate, almost certainly from the Selmer factory in Mantes.
Selmer-USA (now "Conn-Selmer division of Steinway Properties...) no longer does factory overhauls.  But the French workshop, so I've been told, still does do them.   Do an internet search and you'll discover that Selmer now has a retail shop in Paris that sells second-hand rebuilt Selmer instruments, some of which are very nice indeed.

Instrument plays bright and full, the voice like that of a voluptuous French lady, who's maybe a few pounds overweight but we love her all the more because of it.   The instrument is not for sissies.

Intonation is perfect.  The low notes are NOT sharp.
Superb intonation means low notes are NOT a quarter-step sharp.  Use a VanDoren 2 1/3 or 3 on a modern Selmer mouthpiece and you'll be amazed at the warm and liquid tone-color. 
We have no hesitation in recommending it to the most particular musician.
 
**** Bottom line.... It looks so perfect that we thought the silver-plate was 1941-original.  A closer inspection has convinced us that the plating is more recent and LOOKS like new.
 
*** Better than a new one?  In OUR opinion, ABSOLUTELY!
 
***GR/Wichita
 
HG