This is a beautiful King SilverSonic tenor from 1959 with solid silver neck and solid silver bell. The bell also has the 'gold inlay' (gold plate inside the engraving and a gold wash in the bell) that King players desire with the lust a dragon feels for its choicest treasure. This Silversonic tenor has most of its original lacquer intact, and it has all the features you want. This desirable and rare version still has the double socket silver neck but is the more modern style of keywork that starts with the series III Silversonic, so if you want a big bright projecting King tone, but you want much of the complexity of the series II and its double socket neck, BUT you also want the silversonic bell (which is ridiculously rare before 343k serial) then this is the horn for you! This one plays on a mix of pads and is sold on consignment. It is hard to exaggerate how loud and projecting these Silversonic tenors are. You just can't find a more satisfying tenor for leading a section, cutting through a loud band, or playing jazz with an expansive, unlimited tone. The upper register, though bright, is way fatter and fuller sounding than a Selmer, and works better than a VI with a projecting mouthpiece, in my opinion.
Repairs wise: It's in quite good shape, though the lacquer is of course speckly from just living in the world. Here's what I see: It had a small, insignificant dent removed from the front of the bow area, and I don't see any resolders. There's a little line of lacquer loss on the side of the solid silver neck from flexing, but it isn't pulled down and doesn't look like it's had any kind of serious pull down. Also a sizeable area of lacquer loss on the back of the bow from a dent being removed, and some scratches on the front of the bow from using a metal sax stand.
This horn had its first life playing in a great dance band in Philly and also at some of the early NASCAR races. Now it will start its next life with its second owner. Comes with the original case! Only one available! These tenors are HARD to find, so if you want one, I would grab this one at what is a very fair price for what you get.
