metalfun said:
Hey guys I may have run across a Golden Sabre (is what the guy said it was} I have a Vaq but was wondering if you guys might know what one is worth.He has it listed as a vintage golden sabre.Thanks for any and all replies.HH
There were three different Golden Sabre models.
The 'original' Golden Sabre operated at 12 kHz and featured a variable Notch Discriminate control to accept or reject a defined range of targets. The Golden Sabre control housing was made of metal and was top-mounted on the rod ahead of the curved grip angle, and that felt a bit top-heavy to me. Also, it was an earlier Tesoro offering and had the more limited lower-end Discrimination level adjustment. In their era [size=small](2/'85 to 2/'92)[/size] they worked pretty well, typical of the Tesoro line.
The next offering was the Golden Sabre Plus [size=small](3/89 to 2/'82)[/size] which used the same-size metal control housing, but it was under-slung below the rod and just ahead of the hand-grip for better balance and one-handed control. It operated at 15 kHz, the only Tesoro model to use that frequency, and also had the more limited lower-end Disc. adjustment range. This model also had Notch Disc., plus it now incorporated the Two-Tone audio like the earlier Royal Sabre. I preferred the Golden Sabre Plus to the original Golden Sabre for both balance/comfort and performance features.
The last offering was the Golden Sabre II [size=small](7/'92 to 5/'99)[/size] which was essentially a "turn-on-and-go" [size=small](factory preset GB)[/size] version of the Pantera. It was just that as the Pantera had a short production life and was a manually Ground Balance model in the ABS housing, and had the newer ED-120 Discrimination with the enhanced lower-end of acceptance in the Disc. mode. It operated at 12 kHz and all they did was use the Pantera circuit board and change the control panel face to separate the Disc. and Notch Disc. control adjustments from the stacked tuner of the Pantera, to two individual controls.
By today's standards you could consider any of these three to be 'vintage' but most likely it was the original or the Plus version you refer to. Either of those, in decent physical appearance and proper functioning, should be going in the $100 and up range. But, if you have the newer version Vaquero, featuring manual GB, you have a more versatile and much lighter-weight model than any of the three Golden Sabre offerings.
Monte
