Horn-u-Copia's Display of Makers

The Sax family of started in the instrument manufacturing business in 1815. Charles, the father, was self taught. But the most famous family member was Adolphe, inventor of the saxophone, and designer and promoter of a family of instruments he called saxhorns. Adolphe established a Paris workshop in 1843. Sax was a master craftsman, and aggressive promoter. Unfortunately, he was unable to make business decisions that would keep his enterprise free of legal entanglements.

The company was sold to Selmer in 1928.

Sax’s original saxhorn family of 1845 consisted of the Eb Alto, the Bb Tenor, the Bb Baritone, and the Eb Bass. A Bb Bass was added in 1851.

Part of the argument is that Sax didn't invent the horns he called saxhorns, and the support for that argument are

1) Moritz made compact upright tubas with 5 (3 + 2) Berliner pistons with practically no bell flares in the late 1830s.

2) In 1838, Guichard produced an upright horn with 3 (2 + 1) Stoelzel valve narrow bore instruments designed to supersede the quinticlav in the keys of F, C, and Bb. called clavicors. These horns were widely used in England, known as althorns.

Sax then in the early 1840s, took these predecessors, made modifications standardizing them with 3 improved berliner pistons. His bore profile consisted of a narrower starting bore, but rapidly increasing the bore to the mid instrument, but keeping a more narrow bore until ending with a bell flare. An improvement in the valve was to change the screw guide with a guide channel.

It is also interesting to note Sax's recommended method of tuning: First tune the g'. Then 2nd valve b', then the first valve on d'' and f''. And, last tun the 1+3 d''.

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