Buffet Super Dynaction alto saxophone
Origin: France
Guide price : £800 +
Date of manufacture: 1971 ( obsolete model )
Date reviewed : 02/05

Description : A pro level horn that was built to compete with the Selmer.

I think it's fair to say that Buffet never quite achieved the reputation for making saxes that they perhaps felt they deserved. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but it could well be that their horns never quite have that certain something that pushes them into the limelight. More often than not they have quirks that seem to work against them.

I sat and looked at this horn for quite a while - there was something about it that looked a little odd - and then it occurred to me that it's down to the placement of the top F# tone hole. It's right on the crook socket. What's missing is about another centimetre or so of socket - and what's extra is about the same on the length of the crook.
This is no big deal, though it does mean that there's a section cut out of the crook tenon that generally corresponds to the tone hole position. In normal use this cut-out lines up perfectly, with a little bit of extra to spare - but if you were playing the horn sitting down with the horn to your right you could find that the angle needed on the crook caused the edge of the cut-out to impinge on the tone hole.
I've been told that earlier SDA models didn't feature a top F#.
The overall build quality is good, the individual pillars sport substantial bases and are well fitted though I noticed that some of them show a small excess of solder around the base. More than a couple have small scratches around the base where the excess solder had been removed. Otherwise, the whole horn is well finished with a decent lacquer job.

The bell brace is perhaps a little misleading in that it looks quite beefy but the mount point on the body is woefully small. This particular horn had taken a small knock to the bell and the shock had been transferred right down the brace and into the body. The nett result of this was a dent that deformed the G# and Auxiliary F tone holes. This is precisely why I like to see large bell brace mounts, to help distribute the shock when the bell gets knocked.

The keywork is refreshingly simple, and far less cluttered than later Buffet horns ( there's a later transitional model of the SDA, with some S1 keywork).
I noticed that the keywork was a tad on the soft side, and whilst this isn't too much of a problem from the player's point of view it could still have implications for the heavy-handed player.
Some of the keys feature holes instead of post for the spring mounts. This isn't going to affect the player in any way ( unless they like to tweak the odd spring every now and again ) but it's a real bind for the repairer...it's so easy to forget that the springs on these keys have to be inserted into the holes before you assemble the action - and the one you miss is usually the key that requires you to dismantle a whole section again in order to fit the spring. Gets me every bloody time!!

The layout of the bell key spatulas is pretty basic - as per the early Selmers, and whilst it works fine I felt it was perhaps a little on the sluggish side, particularly the low C# mechanism.
The octave key mech is of a simple design, and whilst it's not as fancy as the Selmer type it works very well - and its simplicity means it's less prone to wear or damage. Considering the horn's age the mechanism still felt very quick and positive.
Proper point screws are used throughout, which means there's plenty of scope for adjusting the keys that use them over time.

The springs are all finished in gold, which lends the horn a unified look - but it does tend to mean that, as a repairer, you can't bend and tweak the springs with as much abandon as you might like. Not that they needed much tweaking anyway - the action was on the firm side, but when I slackened it off a touch I found that it felt less responsive. Either through design or key weight, or a combination of the two, this horn needs a harder action than most and yet still feels comfortable under the fingers.

There's an oval thumb rest fitted, and I can see where Buffet were going with this one. Your thumb, or at least the bit you place on the thumbrest, isn't round - so an oval plate should give you more support along the length of the thumb. Unfortunately the rest is fitted straight across the body - and your thumb sits roughly at 45 degrees. It's probably not a problem for most players but with my big thumb I found myself sometimes rolling on the rear edge of the rest.
The lower thumb hook is a plain brass affair, non-adjustable but comfortable enough.

Under the hands, the horn feels comfortable, everything's pretty much where it ought to be - and in spite of having a stiffer action than I usually like it still felt adept and sprightly.
I stumbled a bit over the low C# mech, but because of the nature of the design ( there are three distinct keys in play ) I can't see that it can be improved much without drastically reworking the mechanism.
The fork and pin arrangement on the side Bb/C once again shows why it's really the only way to implement this mechanism. Simple, fast and effective - no messing.

In playing I found a few problems with the horn.
The first thing of note ( excuse pun! ) was a tremble on the top C. This isn't uncommon on older altos but I'm always disappointed when I come across it. There can be several reasons for it being there - but all too often it simply boils down to the design ( other causes include leaks, flapping pad skin, rattling reflectors, loose action or sympathetic vibrations...the lyre screw being a typical culprit ).
The great shame of it is that it limits your choice of mouthpiece. This tremble seem to get worse as you go brighter or louder, so you'd need to match the horn with a more laid back piece.
In fact, laid back is a pretty good description of the tone.
I found that if I played loud the horn seemed to unwilling to respond. There are some horns that like to be driven - the harder you push them, the more they give you - but this is a lazy horn that responds so much better if you back off. I'm thinking that this is perhaps a Buffet feature - I noted much the same effect in the S1 tenor review.
When you back off, the horn really shows its true colours. Tonewise it's light and playful, considered and refined. Very Paul Desmond, I felt. The top C behaves itself, and the tone seems remarkably uniform right across the range.

I noted a small tuning problem with the low D and C. I didn't have the same problem with the mid D, which rules out an action height mismatch - so I suspect that it has something to do with the design of the crook and its socket. I couldn't find a way around the slight flatness, and as soon as I dropped past the C to the C# it came back in tune.
It could even be down to the design of the bottom bow - but once again it improved somewhat when I backed off with the volume.
It also improved when I adjusted the tuning. I'm used to fitting my mouthpieces on about three quarters of the way up the crook cork - but given the non-standard length of the crook I found I had to make a suitable adjustment. This helped the tuning, and the tremble on the top C to a lesser extent - and I think from that you can infer that you need to be spot on in order to avoid problems. You should always be spot on anyway with regard to overall tuning, but sometimes you might have to tune slightly flat or sharp in a horn section.

To sum up then, this horn follows steadfastly in the Buffet tradition. It's a quality horn that works within quite a narrow set of a parameters. This probably explains why Buffet saxes never quite achieved mass appeal - but if the horn fits your style of playing then it represents a very respectable choice, and at a significantly lower cost for a similar quality horn from the 'other' French manufacturer.