the Elkhart is a stencil of both Conn and Buescher, depending on age. If it is a Conn stencil, one of features it will have is a Low C gaurd that looks like the Mercedes Benz logo. If not, it is most likely a Buescher stencil. A stencil horn is a orn produced by one company with another company's name on it. Conn, King, Selmer, Martin and Buescher are the companies that are known mostly for making stencils CONN MADE: Continental Jenkins Sears & Roebuck Selmer US Selmer New York Wurlitzer Pan American Elkhart Lefleur Perfacktone Kalashen's Kleartone Bruno Gretsch Bundy Olympian SELMER MADE: Deville Adolphe Signet Bundy KING MADE: Cleveland Gladiator H. N. White American Standard MARTIN MADE: Lyon & Healy Manhattan Wurlitzer Vega BUESCHER MADE: Elkhart Wurlitzer American Artist Artist Carl Fischer Lyon & Healy Selmer US Selmer New York Silvertone Bundy Pete hales has an excellent article on 'stencil horns' and 'second line horns'. It can be veiwed at www.saxontheweb.net/Resources/Stencils.html He is also a sax historian and lots of information can also be found at is website on stencils and other major models. the site is www.saxpics.com

I just checked out the website you mentioned, definition, and it mentioned that bevelled tone holes were a sign of a Martin make. How hard and fast are these rules? My sax has bevelled toneholes. Thanks!

they arent rules so much as guidelines. The one person that could know definitively is Pete Hales, the guy that runs www.saxpics.com see if you can get his attention and send him som pics, hes usually pretty good about that stuff.

They don't look like Martin tone holes to me. I looked at the pictures carefully. I saw one other Elkhart sax that was definately a Conn. I originally thought they were all made by Conn, but as definition posted, they were also made by Buescher. As I said both the Buescher True Tone and the Conn New Wonder are very similar. Gus Buescher worked for Conn before starting his own company in 1895. He designed the original Wonder series saxophone for Conn (1895-1917) The New Wonder had a few newer features, such as rolled tone holes and better keywork. Your sax looks identical to a Buescher True Tone and I am 99.99% sure that it is made by Buescher. I would change the pads. Even if the pads still seal, and I'd be surprised if they all do, the newer resonator pads are MUCH better. As for the plating, I would just clean it up real good. Replating is quite costly. It's a vintage horn. It's bound to have a few battle scars and wear marks. That's what gives it character. After you have it restored, you'll want to keep it in a warm dry play. Don't put it in a garage or a damp environment. After playing it, be sure to swab it out a couple times. You'll want to get a case for it if you don't already have one. I would buy a couple reed holders; the type that flatten out the reed, a silk swab , cork grease, a small bottle of valve oil, and a nice Neotech strap for it. You're probably going to want a better mouthpiece too. I use a Selmer Brillhart Ebolin mouthpiece on my New Wonder and t sounds pretty good.

I'm not a big fan of Sax On The Web. I took a look at the link that you posted on stencils. This site offers a lot of general information, must of which is either inaccurate or misleading to say the least. www.saxpics.com is a much better source of information.