Keilwerth
75th Anniversary Model TenorAll now sold, sorry.
The year 2000 was Keilwerth's 75th anniversary and to commemorate it they produced a limited edition anniversary tenor. Based on the top of the range SX90R it featured a black nickel plated body with silver plated body, bell, bow, crook & keywork. Badged "SX90R Edition 75."
(The following is taken from a sax test at
www.saxophone.org and we agree with every
word!)
"I have played many SX series tenors and altos and wanted to see for myself how
Keilwerth planned to commemorate their saxophone-making success. What I found
was a horn with some very positive and striking tonal characteristics that allow
this horn to stand up evenly to other pro horns out there.
The first impression of the Keilwerth is its striking beauty. This is certainly no ordinary horn from an aesthetic perspective. With the exception of the body, which is black, the entire horn is silver plated and mirror polished. The black body gives it a sense of invisibility, handsomely offset by the mirrored keys. That said, the appearance of a saxophone is the smallest part of the equation. Many very good looking horns play quite poorly. Thankfully that is not the case with this magnificent instrument.
I found the intonation to be quite remarkable with only the slightest adjustments necessary on high D, middle C# and the bell keys.
I put the horn through its paces and was struck by the strength and presence of the bottom end of the horn. Low notes were booming and resonant, yet responsive to subtone playing. Playing the top end and into altissimo was very even. One particularly nice aspect of the horn's timbral characteristics was its sameness between the regular and altissimo ranges. Many horns tend to get a stridency in the upper range which the Keilwerth did not seem to possess.
From the under-the-hands perspective, I liked the placement of the keys, especially the adjustable palm keys. Pearl keys are somewhat cup shaped and tend to easily cradle the fingertips. Side keys are well-placed and within easy reach for modest sized hands like mine. As with most modern horns, the right-hand thumb rest is easily adjusted to accommodate different hand shapes and sizes.
Overall, I was very favourably impressed by the horn. I do consider this model of Keilwerth among the top offerings on the market, and certainly recommend it for a player who wants to shift between styles of music with equal ease."