1953 52,xxx Selmer Super Balanced Action SBA Tenor Saxophone, Overhaul, Video, High F#
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1953 Selmer Super Balanced Action tenor saxophone, s/n 52892. Here is a gorgeous SBA tenor that just received a full mechanical overhaul from Eric Beach, whose work is outstanding.
This was a fun project horn to get to this point. I acquired the saxophone from the son of the original owner. It didn't have any engraving, and an old coat of lacquer that likely wasn't original. I sent the horn out to get engraved with the characteristic SBA pattern. It was then chemically stripped and overhauled by Eric. He used Pisoni Pro pads and domed rivetless metal resonators, similar in form to what the horn originally came with. Eric's key fitting is top notch, so the horn feels tight, quiet and efficient. The sax comes in the original case, which zips up but with some effort, as the end of the zipper has come apart. The neck is original to the horn and has never been pulled down. Also, take a close look at the neck tenon, which has the last three serial numbers stamped there. I've never seen serial numbers stamped there, so this must be a relatively rare phenomenon. Also, this saxophone has a rare optional high F# key, which is very uncommon for SBA tenors.
The horn has a lush, vibrant, dark sound that you'd expect from this vintage. There's a ton of presence and warmth in all registers and the horn can whisper down to low Bb. The action feels light and effortless under your fingers. I'm quite confident that whoever gets this horn is going to be blown away by how great it plays.
