[Seasax]

i am looking at 2 altos as a buy/restore/sell on or keep
the first is a Conn alto, 1924, seems to have the large bore bell, most lacquer gone, only needs a minor service, it also has silver plate keys.

for the same price i could get a Buescher, 1970 by the serial, long after the Selmer buyout, LH bell keys,

my gut says go with the Conn, and i think i will,
but if anyone thinks otherwise, let me know!

 

[Seasax]

oh, forgot to add, the Conn has a microtuner and still 100% silver plate neck,
both in cases.

 

[Seasax]

the conn serial is: M132944
View attachment 2183
pics (sorry, best ones the seller had)
the Buescher serial is:633335

 

[Seasax]

and the Buescher pic:
sorry bout this, SOTW wont let me attach 2 images?!?
View attachment 2184
again, awful photo but the best he has.

 

[Birdman]

I'd say the conn, they have great tone, so go for it!

-Birdman

 

[Seasax]

my only concern is the M prefix, i know it doesnt look like a mexiconn but the M serial prefix, i thought, indicated a mexiconn, so im just a tad confused.

oh well,
its a series 1 new wonder, and its got a large bore bell and the last one of them i play, even though it was a horrible relacquer and in real poor condition played great and sounded good,

and it's only £90 including postage, it hasn't been played since December, but otherwise was professionally played by a teacher/band leader,

 

[Dave Dolson]

The Conn was made long before they went to Mexico. I'd go with the Conn with a couple of caveats . . . 1) that the horn is marked LOW PITCH, and 2) that it has a decent scale (Conns I've owned didn't have terrific scales). Better set aside some funds to have it overhauled, just in case. When you finish with this horn, it should play just fine. DAVE

 

[Seasax]

the original owned died in December last year and it was their main horn up until then, i can service it, it is low pitch, the M prefix was my only concern.
the guy how owned it played it in a big band so if the intonation was poor i don't think he would've used it.

 

[Guest]

Another reason to go with the Conn is resale. The Conn will hold it's value and continue to increase. The Buescher is too ordinary, it will never command a big price.

 

[Seasax]

what resale could i expect for the Conn in good playing order?

if it turned out to be in good playing order but i didn't want to keep it, would any of you be interested, and what price would you pay,
(i will still do whatever necessary to make it play well)

 

[Guest]

Condition is everything. But from what little I see in the pics, a minimum of $400 in working order. Who knows, could go for twice as much or more. Better pics and more of them would make pricing easier.