The Keilwerth Shadow tenor saxophone is Keilwerth's top of the line model and one of the best modern tenors on the market. It sits alone in the category of having a dark, complex tone with a fat, full-sounding upper register. Keilwerth was inspired by the tone of Conn saxophones of the 1930's (which is what I play), and you can easily tell that when you play them side by side with a great Conn. The Keilwerth has the advantage of being new instead of 90 years old, and also of having comfortable, fully modern keywork unlike the Conn (though I think the old Conn keywork is better than you might think). The Shadow is an 'honest' finish where the entire saxophone is made of solid nickel silver and is then plated with black nickel plate. The engraving is cut by hand through the black nickel into the nickel silver to give it that gorgeous two-tone look. It's really satisfying to experience, and it's one of the best looking horns made today. Keilwerth remains a small manufacturer of only professional instruments in Germany, and the quality control and build quality is high. The Shadow model is basically an SX-90R with rolled tone holes and all the bells and whistles, plus the solid nickel silver. The upgrade metal gives it a bit of extra power and complexity versus brass, and it also just looks cool.
The great thing about the dark, fat tone of a Keilwerth is that you can pair it with a really bright mouthpiece like a Guardala, an EB Link, or a Berg or a brighter FL Link etc and it doesn't get shrill. If what you want to do is project over a band or over a DJ or a tenor section, or play in a wedding band or play R&B or rock, this is a huge benefit, and it's probably the #1 reason people get a Keilwerth like this. Nothing else does that as well. Grover Washington Jr was the most famous exponent of Keilwerth tone for R&B/Soul and thousands of other players have taken the hint. But it works just as well as a swing band tenor to get that Conn/Basie band tone with a 40's style darker mouthpiece like a Reso Chamber Link. So you really can't go wrong. These horns now go for big money new. This one has no resolders, no dents, and no past repairs save a tune up, so it's a solid value at this price, and someone will get a great horn for a great deal. Comes in a new ProTec XL tenor case. I threw away the original case - maybe foolishly as it possibly adds a bit of value - but it's just not that protective for shipping, and the ProTec is much better for this particular horn.
