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Grassi & Company Sax
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Kacey Kiehn
Jan 8, 2000, 3:00:00 AM1/8/00
to
I've got a Grassi & Company Tenor Sax and was wondering if anyone had
information about the sax or the company. The inscription on the bell
says: Grassi & C. Ida-Maria Milano Italy Fabrica Strumenti Musicali
Italiani I'm not sure if the number on the instrument is a model number
or a serial number or something else, however it is: 4773. Thanks in
advance, Kacey Kiehn
information about the sax or the company. The inscription on the bell
says: Grassi & C. Ida-Maria Milano Italy Fabrica Strumenti Musicali
Italiani I'm not sure if the number on the instrument is a model number
or a serial number or something else, however it is: 4773. Thanks in
advance, Kacey Kiehn
Jerry Luzeniecki
Jan 8, 2000, 3:00:00 AM1/8/00
to
I play a Grassi alto and have also sought info. They don't have a web
site. All I've been able to find is what I've seen in catalogs-printed and
on-line.
According to the Woodwind and Brasswind Catalog out of South Bend, IN,
(www.wwandbw.com) the Grassi Co. has been around for about 50 years, is not a
very large outfit and has modernized in recent years. Dennis Bamber of WW&BW
speaks well of these instruments and has visited the factory. (As a Grassi
Dealer, of course he would.)
I also found a website for a store in WI (Milwaukee maybe?) that sells
Grassi's and has some more info re. the manufature and design. I don't have
that web adress handy but stumbled across it on one of the postings on this
news group.
Jason Dumars (www.saxophone.org) recommends AGAINST Grassi's, but I really
like mine as did several other players who have tried mine. Others have
indicated to me that they find them to be less "consistant" as some of the
other brands.
The number that you gave sounds like a serial number to me. If it'll help
you to determine the age of your sax, mine is a Model 2000 and is about 4 or 5
years old and has a serial number around 59000-60000.
Currently, Grassi markets two models: the Model 2000 and the Prestige. The
Prestige is gold plated and has a few more features.
I've only played one or two Grassi's other than my own. I like them.
Would I prefer an older Selmer, Yani or Yamaha Custom? Sure. Maybe someday
I'll get one. But, at this point in my life, Grassi's what I can afford.
Beside's-mine was a Christmas gift from my wife.
Hope this helps.
site. All I've been able to find is what I've seen in catalogs-printed and
on-line.
According to the Woodwind and Brasswind Catalog out of South Bend, IN,
(www.wwandbw.com) the Grassi Co. has been around for about 50 years, is not a
very large outfit and has modernized in recent years. Dennis Bamber of WW&BW
speaks well of these instruments and has visited the factory. (As a Grassi
Dealer, of course he would.)
I also found a website for a store in WI (Milwaukee maybe?) that sells
Grassi's and has some more info re. the manufature and design. I don't have
that web adress handy but stumbled across it on one of the postings on this
news group.
Jason Dumars (www.saxophone.org) recommends AGAINST Grassi's, but I really
like mine as did several other players who have tried mine. Others have
indicated to me that they find them to be less "consistant" as some of the
other brands.
The number that you gave sounds like a serial number to me. If it'll help
you to determine the age of your sax, mine is a Model 2000 and is about 4 or 5
years old and has a serial number around 59000-60000.
Currently, Grassi markets two models: the Model 2000 and the Prestige. The
Prestige is gold plated and has a few more features.
I've only played one or two Grassi's other than my own. I like them.
Would I prefer an older Selmer, Yani or Yamaha Custom? Sure. Maybe someday
I'll get one. But, at this point in my life, Grassi's what I can afford.
Beside's-mine was a Christmas gift from my wife.
Hope this helps.
Steve Grover
Dec 2, 2017, 9:37:09 PM12/2/17
to
This response is only 17 years after the post. But FWIW, Grassi began making saxes in 1958 and ended operations in the early 2000's shortly after Ida Maria Grassi passed away and none of her family wanted to continue the business. Too bad, since they had just really upgraded things and started producing truly noteworthy saxes.
That 4773 number is the serial number and would have been produced around 1961, give or take. They started in at #1000 in 1958 and averaged about 3000 units a year once they got going.
You can read more about them including old posts by me on the Sax-on-the-web forums.
I've had a few of these over the years. BIG sound. Cheap keywork. They sold them cheaply in the 1960's and 70's, often by mail order. Back in those days, if you had a sax with a very loud voice and it wasn't a Selmer Paris, it was likely a Grassi or Grassi stencil like Martin Busine, or Majestic, etc.
That 4773 number is the serial number and would have been produced around 1961, give or take. They started in at #1000 in 1958 and averaged about 3000 units a year once they got going.
You can read more about them including old posts by me on the Sax-on-the-web forums.
I've had a few of these over the years. BIG sound. Cheap keywork. They sold them cheaply in the 1960's and 70's, often by mail order. Back in those days, if you had a sax with a very loud voice and it wasn't a Selmer Paris, it was likely a Grassi or Grassi stencil like Martin Busine, or Majestic, etc.
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