Saxaphone question????

Question

have you ever heard of the saxaphone brand DeVillier???

i have a tenor but i have no idea on the backround of it

help??

Answer 1

It's a Keilwerth stencil.

A couple of the production line employees for Keilwerth, named Dörfler and Jörka, left the company (late 1950's ish?) and began producing their own line... they never made it passed the stencil stage, but they are similar to the Keilwerth brand in make.

The main difference is the taper of the neck.  But since it's just a stencil, it's not worth much.  If you like it though, and it plays well, congrats!  Keilwerth is actually a really decent brand and they have had some awesome horns over the years.  

Hope this is what you were looking for! :)



PS- here's a little more info on stencils... if you scroll down to "Keilwerth" and look for DeVillier, it will give you a little more background and info.

http://www.justsaxes.com/links/stencils....

Answer 2

Here is some info on the DeVillier sax that may help. Basically, it's a "stencil".... which means that is made "in the style of" a certain more well-known name brand.:

"Keilwerth-like" Stencils

Known Brands:

* Roxy

* De Villier

* Corvair

Possibly made by Dörfler and Jörka, ex-Keilwerth employees producing horns also in Nauheim, circa 1950-1968? There are several stencil lines whose keywork and hardware are indentical to that used by Keilwerth over various production periods, but which may have been made by D and J. These horns play very similarly to Keilwerths of the same period, with a very similar voice. The major evident difference between the horn that seem to be by D and J is in the taper of the neck, and its acoustical dimensions; despite a much smaller neckpipe opening, for e.g., the [putatively] D and J horns play with a very Keilwerth resonance & "smoky," tangy character.

Hope this helps! Enjoy yours!