am i a fool??

[saxophone_volume1]

hi, not sure where to post this but anyway

i got a Pan America Elkhart from 1914
it is serial number 11954 im pretty sure that was it
it is a silver alto and in need of some work
pretty cheap!!

do i have pure stupidity written all over my face???

[Grumps]

Sounds like you've got a Conn stencil. It reads 1914 above the serial number, right? That's just the year of the patent. What you want to look for is whether or not there is a letter 'H' or a letter 'L' under the serial number. If it's an 'L', you may have a fine horn (Low Pitch). If it's an 'H', then it's a high pitch horn and I wouldn't waste the money getting it into playing shape as it won't tune to modern standards. Here's some sites to figure out the particular horn you may have:

http://www.saxpics.com/conn/index.htm Conns

http://drrick.com/stencil.html Stencils

[morgan]

11954 isn't the serial number - - it's the patent number.


We are all fools. You are human. Therefore you are a fool. Glad to solve that mystery for you. Now back to the subject of Pan Am saxes . . .

[Joseph Boucher]

saxophone_volume 1, I think you could do better if you're looking for a vintage sax to play or invest in. I would have bought it and I'm no fool. Although my reasons for buying it are different from yours. Back in 1956, when I was eight years old, I started to play the sax. My first sax was used and it was a silver Pan. Am. alto made in Elkhart Indiana. I believe that these saxes where made by Conn for school use. They were not pro type horns, but they were built like 'tanks'. I had mine for six years before I received my first new sax. I never really took good care of it. I didn't need cork grease because I never removed the mouthpiece from the neck. I never swabbed the moisture out either. I'm not sure if swabs were around then. I would simply remove the neck with the mouthpiece attached and put it in the case along with the neck strap. I did put the plug in the body though. I know I dropped it a couple times. After six years it did need some major work done to it like new pads and corks etc. If I saw one for sale at a flea market or estate sale today I would buy it. That sax will always have speacial meaning for me. Some guys buy old toys to remined them of their childhood. To me that old Pan. Am. would be my remembrance of the really good old days as a kid. Joe.