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by Fred12
(11 posts)
20 years ago

C Melody

Was given a 1909 Holton C Melody to make a lamp of, since it was bought as "junk". I couldn't bear to do it, cleaned it up & put in new pads, added an alto mouthpiece (Morgan Protone, tried others but htis was better). Anyway, it plays erratically, hard to get lower 6 tones. I realize this horn isn't worth much and am reluctant to buy a mail order mouthpiece since the horn is VERY sensitive to reeds and mpc's, I would spend a few bucks if I knew a particular mouthpiece would work really well. Any advice about making this horn play better, or a reliable and inexpensive mouthpiece?

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  2. by connsaxman_jim
    (2336 posts)
    20 years ago

    Re: C Melody

    I found a Woodwind mouthpiece for C Melody. There are some new pieces out there. I use bass clarinet reeds. They are the same size as the original C Melody reeds. If you can't find a C Melody piece, certain tenor pieces work ok. I tried a Brilhart Ebolin tenor mouthpiece and it played pretty good. The c Melody is closer in pitch to the tenor than the alto. you want a smaller tenor piece though.

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    1. by definition
      (963 posts)
      20 years ago

      Re: C Melody

      Runyon makes a great C-mel piece, that has been used by me and a few freinds of mine with good sucess, even on a Holton; which my freind plays

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      1. by saxismyaxe
        (575 posts)
        20 years ago

        Re: C Melody

        If you are looking for a cheapie mouthpiece that will work on a number of C-Melody models, the Rico Graphtonite Tenor pieces will work "O.K.". Although, having owned and played a number of Morgan Mouthpieces (including his C-Melody pieces), I doubt that this will work better than the Excellent Morgan. His "student" Pro Tone" models are often better than many of the "Pro" models by other makers.

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        1. by connsaxman_jim
          (2336 posts)
          20 years ago

          Re: C Melody

          Sax, I've tried the graftonite tenor pieces on my C melody. For tenor, I LOVE them! They are one of my favorite mouthpieces, even though they are incredibly cheap! They're a bigger mouthpiece though, and I think the size of the piece throws the intonation off more. The Brilhart Ebolin is a smaller tenor piece and seemed to work better. I'd like to try a morgan. I lucked out and found a new Leblanc woodwind piece. I use a tenor rovner ligature with it and bass clarinet reeds and it plays pretty good.

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        2. by TheChristianSax
          (6 posts)
          20 years ago

          Re: C Melody

          I actually had good luck with an Otto Link Super Tone Master. It gave the horn good edge and was fairly easy to play. I have since sold the old c-melody, but there seems to be growing curiosity about them.

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        3. by connsaxman_jim
          (2336 posts)
          20 years ago

          Re: C Melody

          I've tried my Otto Link Super tone Master on my conn C Melody before. The intonation is workable with the Otto Link, but seemed better with my Meyer piece. I think a smaller tenor piece with a shorter shank would work best. The Otto Link has a fairly long shank.

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