Saxophone Forum


by dleewo
(8 posts)
18 years ago

Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

I'm 38 and I want to start learning to play the sax. To get started, I bought a Conn "Shooting Star" on Ebay and I'm trying to figure out how old it is and what model I actually have (and to find out if I actually bought one of the "bad" Conns). The serial number is C268xx and it says "Conn USA" on the bell, in the middle of the shooting stars engraving. From the thread, it seems that this was made in 1963. Can someone confirm that and if this is a 10M? Derek

Reply To Post [Report Abuse]

Report Abuse

Replies

  1. by Sax Mom
    (964 posts)

    18 years ago

    Re: Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

    This would NOT be one of the "bad" Conns (unless of course it's been beat up). I also have a Tenor from 1963, and it's been great. If your saxophone is a 10M, it will likely have a 10M stamped about an inch above the serial number. Mine is the student line, and has a 16M stamped there. 10M and 16M are Tenor numbers, is what you have a tenor?

    Reply To Post


    1. by dleewo
      (8 posts)

      18 years ago

      Re: Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

      It's an alto sax. There is nothing stamped above the serial number. Is there any way to tell if it is/was a student model?

      Reply To Post


      1. by definition
        (963 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

        the "Director's Model" aka the "Shooting Star" or 14M alto sax is a vintage student sax. IMO one of the best student saxes you can get, along with the Yamaha 23s and 32s, and the King Clevelands.

        Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM


        1. by definition
          (963 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

          for the record that is not my preference saying that those are the only good student horns, but my favorite ones

          Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM


        2. by dleewo
          (8 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

          I'm actually glad to hear this. I was actually considering picking up one of the cheap Chinese saxes on Ebay, but it seems that I made a wise decion in buying this one instead especially since it looks almost new. Now I just need to learn how to play it :-) Can you, or anyone else venture a guess as to what it is worth?

          Reply To Post


        3. by definition
          (963 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

          around 500 bucks tops usually

          Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM


      2. by dleewo
        (8 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

        Something that has be a bit confused is the pad guards. From what I've read, the Conns made in Mexico had sheet metal and the ones from the USA had wire guards. Mine has sheet metal guards. Is it that this is just a distinguisng feature used to tell the USA vs Mexico Conns for ones at or around the cutover, but older Conns (like mine supposedly from 1963) also had sheet metal guards?

        Reply To Post


      3. by connsaxman_jim
        (2336 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Which Conn do I have, serial C268xx

        1963 was the first year for the sheet metal key guards. The sheet metal guards was one of many ways that Conn started cutting cost and increasing productivity while still producing a quality saxophone. The stamped sheet metal guards were cheaper and easier to make than the wire guards. The Conn Directors model saxophones are some of the best student-intermediate saxophones made. I played a 1963 Conn Directors model alto for many years before I got my Selmer SBA and my 6M.

        Reply To Post Yahoo!


      4. by dleewo
        (8 posts)

        18 years ago

        Pictures of my Conn....please confirm it is a 14M from 1963

        I've taken some pictures as I'm more confused after doing more research. E.g, I looked at saxpics.com for the 14M Conns and I definitely have different pad guards. www.photosbyderek.com/photos/72977376-O.jpg www.photosbyderek.com/photos/72977383-O.jpg The sax is also in such great condition, I'm wondering if I was scammed in any way. I looked at the serial number and it certainly doesn't look as though it was altered or tampered with.

        Reply To Post


      5. by Radjammin
        (255 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Pictures of my Conn....please confirm it is a 14M from 1963

        Looks pretty nice to me, From Jims Timeline and cgconn's serial number list is shows as a prefixes C-L (1963-1968) 1963 Director. I don't know how much Mexican built hurt the Director, I have allways been told they are good horns. Don't be too concerned on it not being very vaulable. The 6M, which is a better horn, isn't worth much more but most sax players consider it one of the best horns ever made. For some reason the Conns just don't have the hype value of Selmers. I am sure Conns current brand name quality severly hurts it's image. Ya the Shooting star models are not bad at all. It looks like you have a really nice condition one there. I dont think you wouldn't do better under $1000. To get a 6M in that condition would up the value over $1000, the same for any similar vintage horn. New horns of that quality would run you closer to $1500. So again, don't get put of by the Directors value, it's just isn't a valuable horn, but that doesn't change the fact that sax players respect it. Concerning Resale, as long as you paid under 600 for it you should get your money back. I think it will hold it's value just might not go up in value as much as you like. Not until the 6M starts getting more respect will the 14M go up in value, but it will still hold the catagory of Student horn holding it's price down.

        Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM


      6. by dleewo
        (8 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Pictures of my Conn....please confirm it is a 14M from 1963

        I wasn't concerned about the resale value of the 14M....after all, I didn't pay that much for it. I guess I'm trying to figure out if what I have is in fact a 14M from 1963, and from what I've read, the sheet-metal guards are casting some doubt. I just haven't found anywhere in my research that indicate that the Conns from 1963 had sheet metal guards. I mean...are there (or have there been in the past) cases of people making "fake" saxes and passing them off as older or different models. E.g making a Chinese sax, but with stenciling and serial numbers to make it look like a vintage sax? Maybe I'm being paranoid as I guess if someone were going to make a 'fake" sax, they would make it look like a more valuable sax rather than a student model.

        Reply To Post


      7. by Radjammin
        (255 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Pictures of my Conn....please confirm it is a 14M from 1963

        Heh, I think they would pick a better sax then the 14M to make a copy of. But they might be just that stupid. Maybe the guy on the grassy knowel did it! just kidding. What's more likely is that alot of companies don't keep pin point acuracy on what they are doing in the shop. I think you can trust it's a 63 but weather they might have had some left over parts from an older run, or they were tring out something new on an existing run that they later mainstreamed is much more common. Fraud is much more common on name recognizable horns and more popular modern manufacuter. Don't forget horns do get relauqered. It's a common practice for small repair shops to pick up older horns and refinish them to sell. A horn like a 14M in bad condition could be gotten by a repair man on the real cheap. He could refinish it on his spare time and take his under $100 investment and get a 3 or 4 hundred dollar return. By the look of that 14M I would say it's is really good condition so relaquering is a real possiblity. And it could have been a while since it was re-laquered. Even back in 1970 they might have been riding around on horse drawn carriages but they knew how to re-laquarer a horn. Don't forget Saxophone Making was mastered 50 years ago. Were not talking Blackberry and IPods here.

        Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM


      8. by Sax Mom
        (964 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Pictures of my Conn....please confirm it is a 14M from 1963

        Your post made me run and check my 1963 Tenor to see if it had wire guards, which it does. I checked with Jim's Conn Timeline, and am able to gather from that posting that production in 1963 was both in Elkhart, IN, and Nogales, AZ, but not in Mexico. It was not until 1968 that Conn moved all production to Nogales, when it acquired an additional plant in that location. That seems to be when the quality began to deteriorate. It could be that your saxophone was made in Nogales, AZ, but that doesn't automatically make it a bad horn. Have a technician check it out.

        Reply To Post


      9. by dleewo
        (8 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Pictures of my Conn....please confirm it is a 14M from 1963

        Ok...I think it's starting to make sense. Anyway, I'm having a technician take a look at it on Monday to ensure there are no leaks and that everything is in playing condition.

        Reply To Post


      10. by definition
        (963 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Pictures of my Conn....please confirm it is a 14M from 1963

        Your horn is identical to the one that is in use by one of my students. Just because they made an "official" switch in design at one time, does not mean that you wont find horns that dont follow the time line from time to time. It is actually a very common thing among all horns over time

        Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM