King Super 20 Saxophone Restoration

Taking a break from strings, we'd like to show you a woodwind restoration project currently on my workbench: this is an original King Super 20 Alto Saxophone from 1947, complete with full pearls and a silver neck. This legendary model of saxophone was made famous as the preferred instrument of Charlie Parker and Cannonball Adderly. While this instrument was the proverbial (full) pearl of great price, it was also a bit of a diamond in the rough.

So far I've taken the instrument apart, removed the old pads, and smoothed out some minor dents. While the original lacquer on the body does show some wear, it is mostly intact, so I've carefully cleaned it up, but I'm going to otherwise leave it alone. In contrast, the lacquer on many of the keys had deteriorated to the point where some minor pitting was starting to occur, so I've polished them, and re-applied the same kind of cellulose lacquer used by the factory when it was made.

After this the next steps were to replace the pads, felts and key corks, then reassemble the instrument, and make some final adjustments. I still have a bit more work to do for this instrument realize its full potential, but we're looking forward to seeing how this one turns out--stay tuned!!