Buescher 400 Top Hat and Cane Alto 313xxx

Description

This is a beautiful original lacquer Buescher 400 Top Hat and Cane alto SN# 313xxx, with all original pads and snaps intact. This model is the pinnacle of Buescher’s saxophone manufacturing, and it is known for its great build quality, big sound, and excellent intonation. Structurally, this horn is super clean with no dents, no past repairs, and no resolders etc at all. There’s one tiny ding in the back of the bow area that is very minor. The original neck is similarly very clean, and has not been pulled down and not had the octave key resoldered. There is some light wear to the lacquer, but very little. The color is actually a bit darker than the photos, and more honey-colored. This horn is in beautiful and very clean condition overall and the main thing you notice is that it looks great.

You can still play it a bit on the original pads, so you could hang in there with those for a while before swapping pads out if you wanted to. They are the original pads though, so after 50 or so years, they’re not going to last all that long! The sound is rich and medium between bright and dark, with plenty of power when you want it, but also with the ability to play beautifully and right in tune on lyrical passages. The keywork is fast and comfortable – you just have to get used to the LH pinky table if you are already used to a modern horn. The adjustment takes most players a couple of weeks but is well worth it for the sound you get. If you’re having this horn shipped very far, I would recommend buying/adding a ProTec XL alto case, which is the only modern case I know of that fits the large bell of this horn. Otherwise, it ships in a vintage Buescher case.

It is not very common to find such a clean example like this. It is on consignment for a discriminating saxophone collector who is reducing the size of his collection and letting some of his prized horns go. Get this one while it’s available!