SML Rev D (=Gold Medal 1) Alto Saxophone Original Silver Plate Overhauled! 11584

Description

Freshly overhauled, and hand-polished! This SML Rev D alto is looking its best and is ready to go for a long time now on a completely new high-end overhaul. It has high quality Pisoni leather pads and correct flat metal resonators with rivet. 

SML, short for Strasser-Marigaux-LeMaire, is probably the best known small French maker of saxophones.  They produced high quality instruments with a unique blend of features that ended up in what I like to think of as a perfect blend of Selmer and Conn- a very French tone, but big like a Conn.  

The SML “Revision D”, which was not an official name but rather one given by collectors to the model run with this particular set of features, is a professional handcrafted French saxophone whose features include rolled toneholes, a switchable automatic G#/C#, double sprung octave mechanism (which is an excellent feature preventing slow octave changes and should be standard on all saxophones), a 4 slot neck tenon receiver (again, an excellent feature that should be made standard, this time one that applies pressure more evenly around the neck tenon for a more secure fit less likely to develop leaks), and adjustment screws on the upper and lower stacks.  In fact, the Revision D is very much like the model that came after called the Gold Medal, and shares the same bore. The only features that the Gold Medal has that this horn doesn’t are the rocking octave thumbrest (which isn’t actually so great and is often times disabled at the request of the player) and the adjustable felt bumpers for the low notes, which while nice is not a game changer in any way.

The original silver plating is in very good condition and seems to be almost unworn, and the neck shows no sign of past damage or repair work. There was a little dent by the F#/G# tone holes that was removed nicely, and is very hard to see now, if you can see it at all. I have a few photos of that spot and it’s nearly invisible. 

These SMLs have a fantastic sound, unique in their blend of refined yet powerful, and possess excellent craftsmanship.  Not very many were made- about 15,000 total of all sizes of the horns considered to be their best- and they hold up very well over time.