Re: Are Conn C-melody's the same as a Chu Berry?
I have both horns of the same time period, and they both play wonderfully well. The trick with the C is to find a good mouthpiece match. There are modern C-Melody mouthpieces available, but I'm doing fine using large chambered alto mouthpieces. I used to use a tenor Soloist on it, but alto worked better for me. (I'm primarily an alto player, so maybe that's why).
They are built very similarly, so I'd say that there's not much of a quality difference there.
Anyhow, the straight necked Conns are generally the most sought after in terms of their intonation and tone. The only thing is that the long straight neck puts the horn at a slightly more forward angle than other horns. Nothing you can't get used to - it just feels a little strange at first or when you switch between horns.
I don't have enough experience with the other makes of C horns to judge, but I love my Conn and others seem to prefer Conns as well.
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