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Forum » General Discussions » c.g. conn Saxophone.. by postal1dee (4 posts) 11 years ago c.g. conn Saxophone.. My husband has his grandfathers C.G. Conn Saxophone, and the little bit of research that I have done on it it looks to be , I hope a 1898 model... I would like to know a little bit more about this if any one can help me out... Of course I would like to know the value.... But reading the story behind Conn was very very interesting... Here is the engravings on the saxophone... A P3262 L It does not look like the newer ones with the newer engravings done by machines , this one looks as it was hand engraved maybe its just not as fancy as others I have seen... I would like to know if and how I should clean it up...It is in a case, I dont know if that is orginal, would also like to know that ... I have a few pics and they are not very good, and it is very musty and my allergys really dont like to mess with it much... But here are some pics and would love to hear from someone and give me more infomation please.. Thank you in advance... Reply To Post [Report Abuse] Report Abuse Web Address * Your Name Your Email Address Comment
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by saxgourmet (127 posts) 11 years ago Re: c.g. conn Saxophone.. I don't think there is much interest in horns of that vintage.....old does not necessarily mean valuable, particularly if the horn needs a great deal of work to make it playable STEVE GOODSON New Orleans www.nationofmusic.com Reply To Post by postal1dee (4 posts) 11 years ago Re: c.g. conn Saxophone.. I am not necessarily wanting to sell, I was more curious if I was right on the age... and if It would be worth fixing it up or would it be better left the way it is... buying that saxophone cleaning kit, and doing a little to it myself? if that is the orginal cases that they came in at that time. I am looking for information... I know that old dosent mean value... I was really interested more in a story... and on that case how would I clean it, it was in an old barn, for years...and is musty. how can I get that cleaned? Or how do I clean it? and why dosent this one have all the fancy engravings that the others have? If I am right on the age, the ones made before this one have some nice engravings on them, Why does this one not have any? I would love to work on it and make it look good as well as playable.. But would like to have more information on it... Reply To Post by Saxquest (420 posts) 11 years ago Re: c.g. conn Saxophone.. Hi Deena- I don't think your sax actually dates to 1898. I've seen several 19th century Conn saxophones and this one seems to have different mechanisms. But it’s difficult to tell from your photos. Can you show the back side of the sax (side with serial number) up towards the top of the instrument. I'm looking to see if it has a double octave mechanism or not. Conn didn't switch over to the single octave mechanism until about 1906 so if this is an 1898 Conn saxophone, it would definitely have the double octave mechanism. I know it says "C.G. Conn" on the bell. However, the engraving looks completely different than anything I've ever seen on any Conn instrument (trumpet, cornet, trombone, saxophone, baritone,, etc.....). Also, the P in front of the serial number usually designated a sax that was destined to become a stencil. A stencil is a sax that was manufactured by one of the main instrument manufacturing companies and then distributed to another company with the other companies name on the bell. This was common practice fairly early on, but really became a huge source of income with saxophones starting around WWI in into the 1920's-1940's. My best guess is that your sax dates closer to 1915-1920 and that it was a sax that was intended to be a stencil. It may have had a bald bell and someone engraved CG Conn in an aftermarket attempt to add value to the instrument. But I could be wrong. Let's see if it has the double octave mechanism. If it does, then it probably does date to 1898 and its just a really crummy engraving. I like these that are a little weird and require some postulating to figure out. Looking forward to seeing the additional photos……… Cheers, Mark Overton www.saxquest.com Reply To Post by postal1dee (4 posts) 11 years ago Re: c.g. conn Saxophone.. I took a few more pics, I hope this helps... I want to thank you so much for trying to help me...I really appreciate it.. Really looking forward to hearing from you... Reply To Post by GFC (842 posts) 11 years ago Re: c.g. conn Saxophone.. That's a single octave mechanism, so it's definitely a later horn. Beyond that the clues are vague. The lack of a 1914 patent stamp suggests that the body type is one produced by Conn until about 1917. The keytouches look like ones without pearls (they could just be pearls cruddy after years in the barn), which would make them a type produced before 1917. However, Conn could have used odds and ends of leftover stock to produce stencil horns, as was common industry practice. The bogus engraving was definitely done after 1917, as "LTD" was added to the "C. G. Conn" engraving in 1917. Interesting historical curiosity, but don't expect it to generate much interest outside of your family and a few folks willing to play saxophone detective. Odds are against it being made to play well with any reasonable expense. Reply To Post by postal1dee (4 posts) 11 years ago Re: c.g. conn Saxophone.. Thank you so much!!! That was more of what I was wanting to know... Info on the Sax... and I really appreciate it... Reply To Post