19,xxx Selmer Radio Improved Alto Saxophone, Just Serviced, Video
1934 19,xxx Selmer Radio Improved alto saxophone. Selmer made around 2000 Radio Improved saxophones for a total of two years. You don't see many of these horns for sale because there are just so few out there. In fact, Selmer made around 100 Mark VI's for every Radio Improved saxophone!
This particular saxophone came from the estate of a longtime collector and there are a couple of features that make this RI unique. First, the LH pinky table has a rare Bb extension, so you can move your pinky to the left or down to go from B to Bb. I believe this was done by Selmer, as I have seen other Radio Improved saxophones with this mechanism. Second, this saxophone has been fitted with stamped metal key guards, which Selmer started using en masse the next year with their Balanced Action model. It's hard to say if these were original or added later. Either way, this is an incredibly unique Radio Improved saxophone!
The sax was just adjusted by my repairman prior to sale. The pads are still in good condition with a lot of life left. The sax comes in a used Yamaha case that fits the horn well, although parts of the cloth where the saxophone sits is missing. This was possibly done to allow extra room for the bell key position.
The horn is playing very well from top to bottom. There's a warmth and depth to the tone that makes this an incredibly fun, engaging saxophone to play.
