Advice on Purchase of a C Mel Sax

[Donaldson]

I've been playing sax now for almost 19 years and did not pick one up for about 8 until a few months ago. I had forgotten how much I loved to play until I started again.

Anyway, I was going to treat myself to a C Mel sax for my birthday and found one in a local shop for a relatively good price... I think...

Any advice before I plunk down my hard earned cash on it... It is a 1928 Conn according to the serial number. I have not had a chance to play it yet but I will be going to the shop on Saturday to give it a whirl. The pads look to be in ok shape but also appear to be the original pads (I assume this due to the fact they look white in the picture and my digging online tells me that white pads are usually the original pad for a horn of that era).

I was told by the shop owner that the mouth piece she has does not fit the horn so I will be taking a few of my own... Any suggestions on which may work the best? I work in a school so the band program can "loan" me what I need...

I know that all of this seems disjointed, and it is... It is late as I write and I tend to get kind of goofy at night...

Thanks from a C Mel newbie...

-Kurt

[Blackwolf42]

What is the price? In terms of mouthpieces, I have heard Morgan makes a great C-Melody piece.

[Dave Dolson]

Kurt: I have two C-Mel mouthpieces, yet a Kessler OL7 tenor piece works the best on my Buescher C-mel. If this Conn you are considering has a micro-tuner neck, then a shorter-shanked mouthpiece would probably be a good bet, but as to the exact mouthpiece for a '28 Conn, only YOU can decide that. DAVE

[Carl H.]

Biggest alto piece you can get or a small tenor piece.

Bring some teflon tape to wrap around the cork so whatever you bring doesnt wobble or fall off.

[Dave dix]

1928 should be a chu berry model and a fine horn (straight neck and microtuner) . Carl is correct about mpc's but i would prefer the tenor piece or the most used to mpc you have so your are not fighting a strange mpc and a leaky horn (as it will be !!) dont forget the tape.
Dave

[Donaldson]

Ok... A tenor w/tape it is...

The Horn is a Conn circa 1928... The shop is asking $175, which seems to be an ok price to me...

[Carl H.]

Push the obsolete angle and the idea that it is not possible to get a proper mouthpiece for it and you might get some $$ knocked off the price.

[Donaldson]

Yeah... I thought of that but it seems kind of dishonest...

[Carl H.]

The mouthpiece might not be impossible to get, but you cannot walk in and try several out anyplace I've heard of, like you can for the other saxes.
But the obsolete angle is valid. I don't know of any music specifically written for a C sax in the current rep. You can mess around with it and use it in less formal groups, but it is very rare to find anything specifically for a C sax. I've got a few and have yet to need them for anything.

I sold one here last summer, but the others are not for sale.

[Dave dix]

C horns don't command a lot of $'s , 2 years ago they wouldn't fetch as much as $100 but the price is rising quite fast for some reason and $175 for a chu is pretty cheap and if you dont like it you will easily get your cash back + on ebay
Dave

[saxfreak]

Morgan makes a great C-Melody piece.

I bought a Morgan C-melody mouthpiece, and it's excellent. The problem is it costs about what you are paying for the sax, and there is a delay in ordering it. It's a tremendous mouthpiece, however. That might be a good investment down the road - the tenor mouthpiece idea might work well for trying out the sax.

[saxmong]

There are going to be some standard mouthpieces available on Aquilasax.com but not for a few months apparently.
They are advertised to cost $35.

Apart from the old pads, it sounds like a good deal!

[bruce bailey]

For me, the only drawback to the Conn is the straight neck. Although they are claimed to be better in tune, I find the position of the body to be too far away and the balance off. Those old pads may be OK for a while, but you should factor in the cost of a repad. I find a Selmer S-90 mouthpiece on a 190 facing to work the best.

[Ari]

I have a Buescher C-mel and I find the position way to close in to the body - very uncomfortable: I love the sound but for ergonomics I would likely prefer the Conn.
BTW I have found that many modern small chamber tenor mpc work very well without a lot of intonation issues.

Also that seems a fair price for a decent condition horn that you can actually try out - the best bargain you would get for that on ebay would be maybe at $125-150 and you couldn't try before you buy.

[Dave dix]

conn c-mels have been going for a lot more lately
Dave

[saxmong]

I guess the neck length should be determined by the relative arm length.

[Donaldson]

I didn't get it...

It had some real rough keys and several were sticking... Also one key was bent out at almost a right angle... It would have taken me too much work to fix it after i purchased it to make to a good buy...

Oh well, I guess I'll keep looking...

[saxfreak]

Good luck with your continued search. Hopefully, you can find one in better condition. C-melody saxes are interesting - they have their own unique sound, sort of a cross between a tenor and alto.

[Donaldson]

Yeah... I did play it a little... It had a nice sound.... Just too much work to fix for me...