[A Greene]

A teacher dropped a late Conn (Full Naked Lady at least her Top) Tranny Alto by my wife's band room and asked if anyone would be interested in the horn. Of course, I'd be interested but wasn't really sure what type of horn I'm dealing with.

So I drive by her school today - picked up the horn and played it for a 1/2 hour or so. Then I did a back to back with my Mark VI. The VI has it's thing but I always get that Sanborn thing that I can't get away from. The Tranny has a smooth fluid sound. Not as loud but I'm not into loud these days.

SO I went upstairs and did an A/B with my wife listening and NOT knowing which horn she was hearing. She immediately like the Conn without question.

Is this insanity that I would prefer a 1936 Conn to a more modern Mark VI?

 

[Reedsplinter]

Certainly not! Those are great horns, and a very different beastie from a VI. Many prefer them. Why not you?

 

[A Greene]

By the way - anyone know a fair market value for a Original Laquer 27x,xxxA Conn Tranny. I going to try to make a deal but I'm not sure what the market is for these horns.

 

[jacobeid]

Weird! You're talking about a 27x,xxx tranny. Mine's a 262xxx and I always thought it was just a 6m, but I just checked and 6m wasn't stamped on the horn anywhere!

Edit: For the record, mine was $1150 from junkdude. Also, it was believed to have been a bare brass horn lacquered later, so the price was a bit low. Not to mention the horn only has about 50 or 60% lacquer left. The one below this is in much better cosmetic condition.

 

[saxmanglen]

I love the tone of my Conn Tranny but the ergos on my Ref 54 are just more comfortable for me.

Junkdude has an 6m ser. 266XXX for sale at his site. Here's a link for comparison:

https://www.junkdude.com/ProductDetail.aspx?id_product=831

 

[A Greene]

I read the the "A" at the end of the Serial Number indicated transitional. This may not be true. 6M is nowhere on the horn. So it may just be a 6M - but it sure has a SWEET sound.

 

[bfoster64]

I played a nice silver-plated art-deco engraved Conn Tranny alto with a fresh overhaul and the seller was asking $1300. I checked the market on Ebay and SOTW and that seemed about right for that particular horn.

 

[A Greene]

This one still has the RESO-Pads. It was played by one owner who was VERY good about keeping everything REALLY nice. It needs to be set up but it still has the original registration card. And to boot there's a Great Neck Ebolin in the case.

 

[Sigmund451]

I think Mr Greene's wallet just got thinner

 

[Saxland]

I played a 1970 Mark VI alto for 18 years and then bought a 1935 Conn alto for kicks. I started playing it half of the time and the Mark Vi the other half. After 6 months I was playing just the Conn and sold the Mark VI, which was my dream horn when I bought it.

I have owned the Conn for three years and I am still amazed and very happy with it.

 

[LowWoodwindMan]

The sound of the old conn is hard to beat. I was having a love affair with a 12M for about a year, but because the keywork was so jacked I went back to my VI. The sound may not be as huge on the VI, but the tone seems more beautiful to me. I got a bad wrist problem after playing to conn for a year, it may have been a coincidence, but I do know that it was killin me when I played it. The selmer seems like a better made horn to me. I love the Conn, but don't tell Selmer, she thinks thats all over.

 

[saxmanglen]

It's the Selmer offset keys. More ERGO friendly for sure.

 

[Grumps]

I sold my SBA alto in favor of a True Tone and quit searching for a VI tenor once I found a 10M. So no, I'm not surprised at all by this.

 

[bruce bailey]

I played a Mark VI for 38 years and switched to a 1923 Conn. I have 18 altos right now and the Conns are my first choice.

 

[blackfrancis]

Not insanity at all! I sold my VI and got a tranny, and I'm much happier with every aspect of the Conn. Interestingly enough, my wife also chose the Conn in a blind A-B test.

 

[A Greene]

Two more questions before I make my Deal.

#1) Reso PADS -- GOOD or Bad. If I have to get a re-pad I need to consider that in my offer. My tech - Whose a very knowledgeble guy - seems to thing the resos deteriorate from the inside. The felt backing basically disolves over YEARS. The horn is sealing good now.

#2) Apparently over the years the corks have compressed and the action is REALLY high. How low can I get before the tone starts to get FUNKY (in a bad way)

 

[Bootman]

A Greene,
I recently switched from my Comm II, Buescher Aristocrat alto (kept in preference to a mk vi alto) to a Conn Tranny alto because it has the sound. Keywork can be adapted too, I fond the tranny keywork better than the later keywork. I have had the horn fuly rebuilt with Reso pads because non reso pads don't give the horn the full spectrum of tonal colour that you can get with reso pads.

The key action should feel higher than on a mk vi alto so as to play in tune on the horn. Make certain that the tuning roller on the neck is operational and not leaking. A Conn tranny alto has the most zing of any alto I have played, the most flexible tone for jazz work and will be able to sing across a bigband in full flight without a mic.

Reso pad sets are available new from Musicmedic. Remeber to measure your keycups first.

Send me some pics if you can.

 

[BIG B Convert]

I can't stop playing my tenor tranny. Back and forth between my 2 altos (mkVI and Big B) but that tenor....

aint sweet.

It's ALIVE!

 

[crescent]

Reso pads are cool, but you will have to find a tech who likes them. Many a fine sax tech will not work with the reso pad. Don't make an enemy of your favorite tech!

About the reso: obviously your guy does not like them, but I think they are the most long lived of any original pad. But they can a real pain to find every size as needed. Feree's claims to have them in all sizes. But many will still hesitate to use the reso.

If you are trying to keep the resale value high, go for the reso pad. You may need to send your horn to a Conn specialist. That also means that you may incur some bumps in return shipping and need a trip to your local guy. I don't know if it's worth it to you.

A compromise is to use a modern style pad that looks like a reso. It'll function pretty much the same. I may be in the minority but I really don't think the type of pad you choose will have that much bearing on the sound and response. Considering all the factors the difference in all the good pads and all the modern resonators are minor compared to good regulation, a good reed and mouthpiece combination and good breath support.

I sold my Mark VI alto and tenor and now play a Conn 10M tenor and an old King alto. I am very content. You will be fine with whatever you choose if you just dedicate yourself to the one horn. Switching back and forth will make you nuts. Piitch and response is unique to each horn. Be kind to yourself -- play one horn at a time!

 

[Frequency]

I played a 38 Buescher Aristocrat that totally blew a beautiful mark vi out of the water. Then I played a 33 Conn tranny that blew the Aristocrat and any other alto I have ever played out of the water. Go figure? Nope. Not surprised at all. There is something about them trannys.