
If I have missed any models (like the Concertino!), please get in touch and I’ll add to this document, prior photographic proof! Like any other make, sound quality can vary whichever the model tested.Īll the models contained in this guide have been either spotted on various internet sites, owned by SAXFORUM.IT and Café Saxophone users (a big Thank You!) and the very few owned by myself. It would be very difficult (and maybe unfair) to give my opinion of the qualities of these instruments, as, like any other make, it depends so much on individual samples, their playing conditions, mouthpiece setup, the player, etc. I should also add, that what follows is purely based on mechanical differences and will limit itself only to the Made in Italy production. So what follows is simply a guide to recognising the different models produced in Italy. It was my intention to provide some details around the Grassi production (exact production years, rationale behind the models, etc.) and around its history, but so far found very little. Grassi logo and started producing saxes in the Far East with model names identical to the defunct Italian production.Īn easy way to recognise these saxes is to check the logo printed on the bell: it is no hand engraved, but laser engraved and it now shows “Ida Maria Grassi – Italy” instead of the old “Ida Maria Grassi – Made in Italy” logo. Many years after the “Made in Italy” production ceased for good, Proel (an Italian importer of musical instruments and equipment) bought the rights to the I.M.
#Ida maria grassi saxophone serial numbers
Different models were produced around the same time which makes mapping models to serial numbers impossible.There seems to be no real chronology to the models.Grassi produced saxophones from the 60s to the 90s with similar model names, however with very different designs.There are no known details about its production.There is much confusion around Grassi saxophones and it is easy to understand why: It is somewhat peculiar that although Grassi was one of the largest producers of wind instruments in Italy, very little is known about the company and its products. This guide was compiled mostly out of personal curiosity on these saxes and hopefully it will also serve to all those trying to identify the different models produced by this famous Italian manufacturer.
