The story of the bore shapes is based on the research into the bore profiles of over seventy instruments, most of which are documented in the MEASUREments section.
Seventy sounds like a lot and it is; for the moment it is enough to write this first sketch ever on the history of the saxophone bore profile. There are yet missing links, the most important one of which concerns to my mind the very early stages of american saxophone making. I would very much like to obtain data on 19th century american saxophones. The same holds true for the german lineage. As for the french mainstream, there is always room for a further filling-in of details. Especially for the period of the late 19th century until the first half of the 20th you could say that there are never data enough. Pierret, Couesnon, Feuillet, Strasser Marigaux Lemaire, Dolnet (and associates), Guénot, Pélisson, to name a few of those almost forgotten manufacturers, have all contributed to our present day standard of the saxophone.
I would therefore very much like to urge collectors to take up their instruments and measure them for me. I will gladly assist in helping you with procedures and the like. Please, make yourself heard!
Before embarking on this story I'd like to thank numerous musicians, among whom Leo van Oostrom and Andreas van Zoelen certainly deserve to be mentioned, for trusting me with their instruments. Without these instruments, ancient and modern alike, the story of the bore shapes could never have been written.
M. Postma | december 2017
| Bore profiles in the MEASUREments-section are presented as pop-up pages. You may open them & keep them in view for reference while reading this history of the bore shape. |