That Super 42 is a beautiful horn.  If you have the ability to send more and bigger pictures, I'd greatly appreciate them.

Of course, you know that this horn has messed up a perfectly good SML model chart that had remained stable for over two and 1/2 years.  I forgive you, because this horn looks so nice -- and because it helps solidify a better serial number chart.

My impression, at this point, is that the SML Super was a kind of "Super Pro" horn, a custom-built model.  The reason I say this is because the Rev. B models were kickin' around, as well as the Coleman Hawkins horns.

I'll have to look into it a bit further, because it doesn't make that much sense for SML and their production of approximately 500 horns per year to have three different models floating about.

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The Super 47 is a nice quandry, as well.

I don't particularly have a problem with the keyguards, as morgan witthoft's 7xxx Super and other Rev. C horns on my website evidence some of the same characteristics of your horn (keyguard "soldered into" the engraving, sloppy keyguard solders, etc.). I do understand your point about the solder joints on the Eb keyguard, but I find it more likely that they were damaged at some point in the past.

Also, it looks like the wear pattern is consistent across the bell and keyguards.

Of course this isn't conclusive and the idea of SML "swapping bells" has been posited on more than one occasion, but I doubt it, especially with another Super example with the sheet-metal keyguards, the serial number in the keyguard and the fact that the wire-bracket keyguards are VERY hard to rip completely off the horn.

I would, however, say that you're quite probably right about a replate job or a bad buffing job (or both) if there are tool marks and polishing residue left all over the horn.  The SML engraving hasn't been expressed to me as extremely deep, so I'd call it a good probability that it's been replated.  (Although, the picture you indicate as "tool marked" looks like left over solder from the horn's rib.)

The plating doesn't look to me as anything other than silver plate -- in other words, it looks like any other silver-plated SML that I've seen.  If it's much shinier than it appears in these pictures, I'd say nickel.  Chrome is such a terrible possibility on an SML, I'm not going to think about it.

I think it's possible that the Supers were only available in silver plate, so it could be that the horn needed additional "polishing" to get a worn area a bit flat for the electroplate.  It has been my impression, though, that this really isn't necessary for a replate, only a relacquer.  It is possible, however, that someone buffed out corroded parts -- or tried to polish the corrosion away.  A shame, because a chemical bath can do this much quicker, easier and without damage.

I really can't tell too much of a difference in the angles of the necks in the picture you sent.  I'd think that the difference -- if any -- would be a symptom of what instrument techs call "neck droop" (caused by yanking the mouthpiece off a horn with too thick a neck cork).

Anyhow, a summary of the 47:
* Probably original keyguards
* Definitely overly buffed
* Probably replated

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You don't tell me how the horns SOUND, though.  What're they like?

Again, thanks for the pics.  If you have more, please send to saxpics@x-mail.net.

Take care!
Pete