Saxophone Forum


by connsaxman_jim
(2336 posts)
19 years ago

My 83 year old C Melody sounds AWESOME!

There's just something about the tone of this sax that sends chills down your spine. I'm not quite sure what it is! This has NOT been an easy project to say the least. I bought a 1922 Conn straight-neck New Wonder Series I C Melody off Ebay for $300. The old girl was in pretty good shape when I got her I took it out of the case and it played, but the intonation was off. Some of the pads were original! YES!!! Original from 1922! So, they had to go! I replaced all the pads with new metal resonators. Setting the pad height was a bit tricky, but all the tone holes were perfect. I lucked out and found a Leblanc Woodwind C Melody mouthpiece for $70 It's a great piece and sounds very good with a Rovner tenor sax lig and a # 2 1/2 bass clarinet reed. Tthe thing that really surprised me is that this sax plays so easy that it practically plays itself, and the intonation is so perfect! I mean, it's about as good as it gets on ANY saxophone, and C Melodys were never known for having the greatest intonation. This one is dead on, and even the altissimo notes play very easily. I'm sure the mouthpiece has made a HUGE difference. Those of you with C Melodys, try to find one of these mouthpieces! Well I was just playing along with some Albert Collins, and I think I'll get back to it! I wish you could hear just how good this old sax sounds! Maybe I'll get my recorder out later. Jim

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  1. by mosplace
    (26 posts)

    19 years ago

    Re: My 83 year old C Melody sounds AWESOME!

    I know exactly what you are talking about.I love my Conn Chu Berry C-Melody. You cannot get this sound with any other old vintage of that time. These c-melodys have their very own special charme! It is not true, that the intonation of all c-melody saxophones is bad. The intonation of these instruments is as good or bad as any other saxophone of this time. They have been manufactured exactlay by the same people that have build the altos, tenors and baris, with the same great material and with the same love. Only truth is, that they have been played most of the time my amateures. So they became that name, that the intonation is bad, and that they are second class isntruments. Sorry, but that is bull!!! These old beautiful babes are as good as any other vintage of this time. Give them a good overhaul and a good mouthpiece and you will be suprised. Give them cheap pads and wrong adjusting and they sound like crap. That will happen to every saxophone. So keep in mind: Only an overhaul with 1.st class material an adjusting is a good overhaul. Anything else isnĀ“t worth the money and time! Lots of players start to recognize that. You can see, how the prices are rising. Right now, you sometimes pay for a good c-melody more than for an alto of this time. I love to play mine with Zinner mouthpieces. Awsome pieces, great sound and projection. Zinner has two different c-melody models. 1 classic, is based on the old models of the 40ies and one special gives your sax a completly different sound. I love them both.

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