VINTAGE BUESCHER ARISTOCRAT SERIES IV S-80 BARITONE SAXOPHONE W/ CASE & COVER

Description

My other seller account is MusicareOttawa.  Parting out with some vintage / rare / special instruments I have collected over the years.
Beautiful 1955 circa “S-80” Buescher Aristocrat Series IV Baritone Saxophone with original case and cover.
Serial number 358455.
Believed to be original finish – lacquered body w/ nickel plated keys; an easy 9.5 out of 10!
Only one little wear spot on the bell in the engraving and very slight scratches here and there.
BUT
I say “original” with slight hesitation; I’m a professional sax technician by trade and I’ve seen my share of re-lacquer/plating jobs.
The detail in the bell engraving and the scripting below the serial number is perfect and shows no sign of definition loss from buffing.
Granted there are masters of the instrument overhaul trade, but if this is indeed a re-lacquer, it’s an amazing job!
The color of the lacquer appears to be correct based on examples of this horn I’ve seen online.
However there appears to be slight dust/debris here and there in the lacquer (not orange-peel effect) which I’m not sure would’ve been typical in the factory finish.
As for the plating…it is slightly “shinier” than typical nickel plating – looks more like chrome plating, but without that luster.
The plating on some of the spatulas has a very slight “waviness” (usually from wear spots buffed smooth pre-plating), but there are no imperfections anywhere else. There are extremely small dots on most of key cups; appearance of very light pitting (which isn’t uncommon to old nickel plating), but it’s not rough to the touch - more like staining.
If anyone can attest to its originality via these pictures, I’d appreciate any information.
This sax was acquired as part of an estate sale.
No real history other than the previous owner had this horn a very long time and clearly took care of it.
This horn was professionally re-padded at some point.
It has all the original Snap boosters, amber-colored rollers, Norton springs, etc.
There is nothing wrong with the set-up and it plays beautifully.
There are no dents in this horn.  Some dents have been removed in the bow just below the Eb tone-hole at some point – slight distortion remains, (as it was not done with MDRS or smoothed out perfectly) but attempts to perfect will likely damage the lacquer in that area.
There are no structural issues, and no repairs or soldering has been done to this instrument.
Everything is straight and where it should be.
The neck is the only part that shows a bit of lacquer wear; discolored slightly beyond the neck cork and there is slight wear on the curvature edges which could be a result of neck pull-down and then a repair at some point.
This is speculation (as this is a typical sign of neck repair), but it could also just be lacquer wear being a frequently handled part of the horn.
AND NOW THE BAD NEWS:
Horn and the case have a pretty strong musty odor.
There is no water damage and there are no mold spores anywhere, but that “old musty smell” is quite noticeable upon opening the case.
This could be concerning to someone who has sensitivities or allergies.
Seeing as though the horn is in beautiful condition both cosmetically and mechanically, I chose not to clean & repad the instrument because without replacing the case, a repad is pointless (as the smell would leach back into the instrument).
Knowing that an original case is desirable to collectors, I decided to leave this horn as-is and accept that not everyone would consider it.   All that said, this is an extremely rare find in such beautiful condition!
It appears that Ebay is currently experiencing technical issues and despite my efforts and assistance from Customer Service, I can not list this item on the .ca website in order to have the correct Canada Post shipping options.  Therefore, I have set a flat fee shipping amount of 0 for any Canadian or US destination that Canada Post services.  International parties please contact me for options and pricing.  There may be limitations due to parcel size & weight to some countries.
So again, instrument is in Canada and can be shipped anywhere within Canada and the USA where Canada Post Expedited Ground service allows for 0.  Apologies in advance to international parties who may be interested; I will gladly discuss available shipping options even though the listing shows No International Bidders due to the Ebay issues at the moment.
Shipping
This item will be shipped in a suitable cardboard box w/ proper packaging.  Will ship via Canada Post Expedited ground service anywhere within Canada and allowed US destinations for a flat fee of 0.  International parties please contact me for shipping options.
I reserve the right to sell this item locally and end auction early.
Payment
For increased security and ease, I
only
accept
EBAY &
PAYPAL
payments.
Satisfaction Guarantee
This item is as described and pictured above so there will be no hidden surprises.
Item will be properly packaged to ensure no damage will occur.
In the event you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, please send it back – I’ll gladly accept its return and refund you the purchase price No-Questions-Asked within 30 days of the purchase date.