Crazy Sax Player Loves Conn C Melody Horns

I have many years of saxophone restoration history. During my “Tenure” at the repair table, I have fallen hard for the Conn Straight Neck C Melody. All the American manufacturers made the C melody, but it is Conn that pushed it forward and developed a world class instrument in C. These horns were produced between 1922ish through 1930. The later models were actually keyed like a 6m alto or a 10m tenor, with both bell keys on the right, so post tranny horns. They came in “the poor man’s finish” of raw brass and only a stenciled makers name up to a shiny gold plate with customized engraving and complete pearl touches.

As a collector myself of fine saxophones, I was drooling at the inventory Saxquest has of these RARE instruments. The prices of some of them are very high. NO surprise to me, but probably gets a “Yeah Right” from many players who would wander through their inventory pricing horns. These wonderful horns were only produced for 8 or so years prior to the great depression. Then never again, until lately by some maker overseas.

Comparing this info with the number of horns of all types produced from 1922 through 2014, they are very uncommon indeed. The Conn straight necks are wonderful players and are very colorful additions to any saxophonist in “control of their environment”, meaning they can transpose on the spot, write the music themselves, or just has the insight to be able to juggle the 12 keys freely. I love it when I hear you cannot play along with others and they don’t write music for them. I read this as they don’t write music FOR YOU, because you are not well versed enough on the 12 keys.

When I did restoration work for Cybersax, for a fully reconstructed horn in the most common finish of satin silver with a gold washed bell, silver wear touched up with fresh silver, completely playing better than new, actually being new, cause everything worked and was as originally new, with a refurbished original case was $1500.00. That was in 2006. Prices went higher for the upper end finishes. We never stopped selling them and always had someone in wait for one.

So the next time you have the chance of picking up one of these horns for a few hundred bucks and know you will need to put 500 into it to play it well, decide based on yourself if it is a good deal or if you are a “well versed” enough of a player to make it worthwile.

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