Our bare brass restoration process eliminates the real issue with refinishing a saxophone: the destructive buffing that's needed to make the brass shine brightly before the new lacquer finish is applied. Until the early 1930s no saxophones had lacquer finishes, so for almost a century all the saxophones came from the builder just like the results of our bare brass restorations. Some of the early bare brass instruments are renowned for their extremely rich & free vibrating tone nuances. It's from the same source -- no restrictive lacquer coating -- as the great sounds so many pros get from their ugly old horns where all the lacquer has worn off naturally over the years. 

With the correct-for-design pads we use on our restos (Res-O-Pads on Conn, Snap-In on Buescher, plastic or metal button on Selmer, moderate-sized, flat metal reso on others), you have the flexibility to play any style of music by merely changing mpc/reed/lig combinations & your oral inputs. You will find these saxes will do raunchy Rock ‘n Roll or cello-like lullabies, all at the player's whim (you just have to know how to ask). Of course if your heart is set on pads & resos of a more exotic bend we will accommodate you (at additional cost), but CS cannot be responsible for the way the sax sounds or responds as a result, and to some extent we may not be able to set the action & intonation to our usual exacting standards where pad thickness & reso size interfere with an instrument's design tolerances. Please keep in mind that we are neither fast nor cheap on our resto projects here at CS. We are, however, your dependable source for top quality restoration work on your very valuable & most cherished vintage saxophones.  You can't hurry quality – so we don't even try ... :-)

Now for the best news: The designer of this instrument was no slouch. The horn is sturdily made. The keywork is efficient & effective, and the old honker has a wonderful voice. Playing with several different bari mouthpieces revealed that this gnarly old dude can tone down to soft, sweet lullabies, or pound out a mean, honking array of R&B bari riffs. The pads are in good shape, and the horn plays well from low Bb on through high F, then up into the altissimo range. It can stand a few adjustments (and certainly a good cleaning), but this sax is a pretty mean player right now. As far as cosmetics, the pix tell the story. So check 'em all out closely. The highlights include a reasonable number of shallow dents & dings, burned finish from solder work at the crook & the bow/body juncture, and not much finish left after an old relacquer job. The engraving was once rather extensive, but the details are weak from buffing. What the hey? You're not after this one for its looks, anyway -- and the horn is structurally sound.

So here's the deal: Take this mongrel monster as is, including a sturdy, reasonably clean case, at the posted price. You do the clean-up. You arrange to have the few minor play adjustments done (some clanks, a few sticky pads, probably a few minor leaks), and drag away this bargain of a playing baritone saxophone. I wish we had a bari mouthpiece to throw in, but I'm sorry, we don't.

If you'd like to explore CS doing more work on the horn: That's a possibility, but if you need to get a playing bari in your hands quickly the turnaround time for any significant amount of work in our shop might be prohibitive. If you're a bit handy, and either have a little experience with DIY sax projects or have a good relationship with a local tech that you trust, whipping this old dude into top shape will be a snap. Of course you can always just play 'er as she lies.

Note: We finally have all the parts needed to complete this great old VI bari -- it will ship totally complete!