But some horns just have that something special- something that when looked at in a particular way becomes not just a piece of the saxophone but a piece of art. Its hard to pick favorites, but when I look at these three particular parts, the seratonin flows.Īs a repairman, I get to see lots of different horns, and my appreciation for them all is borne out of a love of the saxophone in general, its capabilities, its sound, the story behind its creation and unbelievable eventual success. Some instruments, mostly from the 1920's, have either a star ('') or the letter 'B. High, Low and Military pitch instruments. My research has uncovered that there were three types of vintage horns. The factory seems to have had a French orientation. In 1888 the factory started to produce Saxophones and other horns. See Conn Reed Instrument List at Bottom of Page, or Click Return To Link Page, with additional Page on This Web Site. This factory was owned by Isaac Fiske prior to its sale to Mr.
I just finished an overhaul on one of mine (1940 10M- pre-war and rolled toneholes) to go up for sale on my site, and I realized that in particular, there are three parts of the M-series sax that I think are beautiful. This list is not correct for Conn saxophones (see Conn Woodwind Serial Numbers) or Conn bugles (see Pan American Brass Serial Numbers). In my opinion, one of the most beautiful saxophones ever made, and an example of American design and craftsmanship at its finest. Conn in Elkhart Indiana from 1935 to 1959. Since they're darn close anyway and both have that essential Conn character, I'd not worry about what some collectors have decided to call it 90 years after the fact.The Conn M-series saxophone, manufactured by C.G.
The 7 digit serial number is the first hurdle, I don't find any 7 digits in the Conn history, PLUS there is a V after the 7 digits, which I THINK I have come to learn means it was a factory 2nd. I bought it on Ebay as an 11M, advertiesed as a 1969.
Unless you measure the tube you can't say whether what you've got is acoustically a New Wonder or a 10M Artist. Hi, Wonder if someone can help in my quest to figure out the age of my Conn Low A bari. When Kenton was 15 years old, If I had had to start on a Conn New Wonder, Martin Handcraft, or Buescher True Toneall horns I own and love to use nowI’m not sure I would have kept playing. Engraving isn't a real good guide either. Based on published serial charts this New Wonder is from 1922-23, since its serial is 89XXX. I've seen horns with all kinds of variants of left hand tables. I have seen horns with fork Eb long after you'd think it was gone. I have seen horns with the basic late mechanism (you can tell the stack mechanism especially around the high F and bis key) but with bell keys on opposite sides. Thirdly, the introduction of the later features occurred intermittently and it wasn't always a straight progression. Bobby Dukoff made two different BD Hollywood tenor sax mouthpiece models during this time: a medium chamber and a large chamber. Dexter Gordon played on a Conn 10m and a Dukoff BD Hollywood tenor saxophone mouthpiece during the Blue Note era until the mid-sixties. Recently a guy on Sax on the Web named Kurt has been collecting information to compile a Pan American saxophone list. The Dexter Gordon Dukoff Mystery Solved by Theo Wanne.
Although these saxes were made in a part of the Conn factory, the Pan Am serial numbers were different.
Secondly, collectors, not the Conn company, have decided to call the second series New Wonder the "Chu" because it superficially resembles the horn Chu was holding in his famous portrait. For years it has been hard to determine exactly when a Pan American saxophone was made. I don't think anyone really knows whether that's the horn he really played all the time it probably is, but he could well have borrowed a better-looking horn from a buddy for the picture, or he might have just bought the new one but all his playing and recording was on an older one no one knows.
That's the horn chu was photographed with in the very famous portrait. Keep in mind that all these designations are made up after the fact by collectors, not by Conn.įirst of all the "Chu" tenor is a very late New Wonder or very early Artist - curved high E, but bell keys on opposite sides.