Feb 27, 2016 For the other instruments I have cataloged so far I have also created a database of Yamaha serial numbers. Yamaha seems to be a bit tight lipped about their serial numbers in general. You can email them at the US Band and Orchestral Division for a date of manufacture for a particular serial but before about 1982 not much is known. Robb Stewart has further educated me on the status of production during the war: There were few musical instruments made during the war at Olds except for the surprising military order for Olds saxophones. (We do know that serial# 14005 Super trombone was made in May 1942, from the original warranty card, possibly.
If this web site's (numbers are correct and they apply to saxophones, then it was made around 1950. Olds didn't manufacture saxophones (the Olds Super being a possible exception), so what you have was probably made by Martin or Buescher for F.E. Richard Schneider Jr Dreamlike Land RARE on this page. If it has beveled tone holes, it was made by Martin and is a 'stencil' similar to Martin's Indiana model.
If it doesn't have beveled tone holes, it was made by Buescher and is a stencil of Buescher's 'Elkhart' model. Both were 'second-line' or intermediate-level instruments, but are considered good players by many folks around here, including myself. Do a search on the words 'olds ambassador' in the Google search box at the top of this page and you'll find plenty of threads where these horns were discussed. I hope that helps. The Olds serial number chart doesn't apply to their stencil instruments.
Judging by the serial number and Los Angeles marking, it's probably a Martin stencil made in 1952. Olds started stenciling saxes from Martin in 1950, and the Ambassador shown in the 1957 catalog still looks like the Martin-built model. The latest one I've seen and made note of was from 1954.
As Jorns indicated, if it has beveled toneholes, it's a Martin. I've only ever seen one Buescher-built Ambassador, it was engraved Fullerton, but there wasn't a serial number shown. Autocom 2013 R1 Keygenguru. Pierret also built some Ambassadors before they switched to the Parisian Ambassador, but these had lower serial numbers and were engraved Fullerton. Martin was the only one soldering in tone rings at that time.
If the tone rings are thick, they are separate parts soldered into the body like the 'real' Martins. The Ambassador had thick tone rings with a radius cut around the rim to make the seating ring the right width. Martin saxes had thick tone rings that curved in at the top to reduce the seat width. Here's a typical Olds Ambassador by Martin.
