An interesting thing to talk about.
First, the eBay ad.
When I saw this horn, I was reminded of another horn that looks pretty much identical, except for the engraving. It's kewl engraving, too: Selmer.
Now, when I saw that "Selmer," many years ago, I instantly said, "Buffet Dynaction." I think the Dynactions are rather distinctive, with that bell-to-body brace and G#/C#/B/Bb table. I also owned a Dynaction alto, so I was pretty sure I could identify another Dynaction. But I may have been wrong.
There were a couple of design changes in the Dynaction: the G# trill key and forked Eb fingering (with the Eb vent) were removed at some point. Additionally, the shape of the octave key (the key you press) changed a bit and the left-hand thumb rest changed from a pearl to metal to plastic throughout the years. To make things a bit muddier, that "Selmer" had the bell-key keyguard replaced at some point, easily explaining why it's a slightly different shape than a normal Dynaction.
What bothered me a bit then and now is that the Emperor and "Selmer" have the "S" logo on the octave key. The Emperor is green, the "Selmer" is red and a true Selmer is blue. Also the true Selmer logo is a different shape from the Emperor or "Selmer." The only other company I know of that also played with an "S" logo was Grassi, and that's a different shape, too.
So, bottom line is that I can't really explain the "S" logo on the necks, but I think it's still a good probability that the Emperor and "Selmer" are Buffet Dynaction stencils. If I'm right, the buyer is going to get a tremendous bargain: $347 and buy it now? I wish I had some cash!
First, the eBay ad.
When I saw this horn, I was reminded of another horn that looks pretty much identical, except for the engraving. It's kewl engraving, too: Selmer.
Now, when I saw that "Selmer," many years ago, I instantly said, "Buffet Dynaction." I think the Dynactions are rather distinctive, with that bell-to-body brace and G#/C#/B/Bb table. I also owned a Dynaction alto, so I was pretty sure I could identify another Dynaction. But I may have been wrong.
There were a couple of design changes in the Dynaction: the G# trill key and forked Eb fingering (with the Eb vent) were removed at some point. Additionally, the shape of the octave key (the key you press) changed a bit and the left-hand thumb rest changed from a pearl to metal to plastic throughout the years. To make things a bit muddier, that "Selmer" had the bell-key keyguard replaced at some point, easily explaining why it's a slightly different shape than a normal Dynaction.
What bothered me a bit then and now is that the Emperor and "Selmer" have the "S" logo on the octave key. The Emperor is green, the "Selmer" is red and a true Selmer is blue. Also the true Selmer logo is a different shape from the Emperor or "Selmer." The only other company I know of that also played with an "S" logo was Grassi, and that's a different shape, too.
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