[jazzbug1]

Last Spring, I was selling Rudys for $800 and non-Rudies for $350-450.00. My horns are all re-padded and play nicely. This Fall, my Rudy did not get a bid at $500 and a nice Holton sat for $250.00. I surmise that most C melody buyers already have one and that the economy is bad enough that people aren't buying horns they will rarely use. The last time C melody commodities dropped was in the great crash of 1929. I remember selling them for $10 to school bands at that time. I think I will have to look in my attic for my "Will Play C Melody for Food" sign from 1929. I'm sending letters to President Hoover and King George blaming them again.

 

[Chunsoo]

May I ask how old you are?

 

[maddenma]

Last Spring, I was selling Rudys for $800 and non-Rudies for $350-450.00. My horns are all re-padded and play nicely. This Fall, my Rudy did not get a bid at $500 and a nice Holton sat for $250.00. I surmise that most C melody buyers already have one and that the economy is bad enough that people aren't buying horns they will rarely use. The last time C melody commodities dropped was in the great crash of 1929. I remember selling them for $10 to school bands at that time. I think I will have to look in my attic for my "Will Play C Melody for Food" sign from 1929. I'm sending letters to President Hoover and King George blaming them again.

IC. Last time you saw this was 1929? Nice.

 

[HUTMO]

King George? You mean Chairman Barry. It is October of 2011.

Sorry to hear sales are slow. prices on horns are down.

HUTMO

 

[saxmusicguy]

May I ask how old you are?

It's listed in his profile.

 

[maddenma]

Older than my youngest horn, far from as old as my oldest horn. I just love time travel myself.

Timothy Leary's dead.

 

[paulwl]

I got mine new in 1936 on special order from C.G. Conn, Ltd. The letter I got back told me they hadn't shipped a C melody since '32. Apparently the Sisters of the Very Sick over in Mishawaka were playing for the shut-ins out on the lawn when the sax was crushed by a florist's delivery van whose steering had gone out. Happily, Sister Walburga was doubling on zither just then and tragedy was averted. The Sisters paid full retail for a new horn, by the way, which necessitated working 20 hour days for a year selling their famous lemon frosted macaroons, door to door, often only one or two per household in that deep depression time. But the Mother Superior would never have her nuns be seen going into a hockshop to purchase a saxophone. Shut-ins be damned!

Never one to be bested in the tall tale stakes, I replied that I was in need of a new C horn for my upcoming engagement on the Time To Shine program sponsored by Ooo-Shin-Eee Shoe Polish, and that Frank Trumbauer had been rejected because he showed up to audition wearing brown suede brogues. I enclosed an autographed picture, Conn ran the whole yarn in the next issue of Musical Truth, the job offers came pouring in and the rest is history. Forgotten history, yes, but history all the same.

Years later I met Trumbauer when he was working for the FAA in Kansas City. Upon being told who I was, he said, "If you ever fly thru Kansas City, I will personally lose your luggage." It was a proud moment. For him. I went off and had several double bourbons.

 

[bruce bailey]

I think the market is down as people are digging up stuff to sell and that old thing in the closet (C melody, not Jazzbug) are just taking up space and may bring a few bucks.

 

[mascio]

I got mine new in 1936 on special order from C.G. Conn, Ltd. The letter I got back told me they hadn't shipped a C melody since '32. Apparently the Sisters of the Very Sick over in Mishawaka were playing for the shut-ins out on the lawn when the sax was crushed by a florist's delivery van whose steering had gone out. Happily, Sister Walburga was doubling on zither just then and tragedy was averted. The Sisters paid full retail for a new horn, by the way, which necessitated working 20 hour days for a year selling their famous lemon frosted macaroons, door to door, often only one or two per household in that deep depression time. But the Mother Superior would never have her nuns be seen going into a hockshop to purchase a saxophone. Shut-ins be damned!

Never one to be bested in the tall tale stakes, I replied that I was in need of a new C horn for my upcoming engagement on the Time To Shine program sponsored by Ooo-Shin-Eee Shoe Polish, and that Frank Trumbauer had been rejected because he showed up to audition wearing brown suede brogues. I enclosed an autographed picture, Conn ran the whole yarn in the next issue of Musical Truth, the job offers came pouring in and the rest is history. Forgotten history, yes, but history all the same.

Years later I met Trumbauer when he was working for the FAA in Kansas City. Upon being told who I was, he said, "If you ever fly thru Kansas City, I will personally lose your luggage." It was a proud moment. For him. I went off and had several double bourbons.

bucket of fish.:cheers: Thanks for the great post. :salute:

 

[csax]

Last Spring, I was selling Rudys for $800 and non-Rudies for $350-450.00. My horns are all re-padded and play nicely. This Fall, my Rudy did not get a bid at $500 and a nice Holton sat for $250.00. I surmise that most C melody buyers already have one and that the economy is bad enough that people aren't buying horns they will rarely use. The last time C melody commodities dropped was in the great crash of 1929. I remember selling them for $10 to school bands at that time. I think I will have to look in my attic for my "Will Play C Melody for Food" sign from 1929. I'm sending letters to President Hoover and King George blaming them again.

jb- What's the point of emailing King George ( [email protected] ), when you don't offer shipping outside that haven of in-bred ex-colonials that you inhabit ? He'll just say what I say - "Export !"

But yes, you're correct - sales are down, I don't bother any more. You're probably better off selling the case, neck, and mouthpiece/lig all separately - and then sell/use the body for spares/lamp use... ( Or sell the body to some ebay addict with a case/neck/mpc but no body :mrgreen: heehee ). However, this may be a good time to buy that dream horn for yourself...

Unless you have bare-bosomed or gold-plated Conn C's for sale, of course, they still seem to be moving at alarming prices...

 

[jazzbug1]

Paul- Loved your anecdote. Frankie was one of my students. We combined saxophone, clarinet, and aeroplane lessons. I was raised in a Catholic orphanage by a Mother Inferior who fed me on Re-Incarnation Condensed Milk. That explains (or as Frankie says) explanes it all.
Smelodysax- I used your Email reference and contacted George who typed, "D-D-D-don't B-B-Blame M-Me", which was also his last song.
I then reached Pres. Hoover on the Psychic Hotline and he tried to sell me a vacuum cleaner. Nobody wanted to face up to the International C Melody Crisis.

 

[DannyMetalC]

I would love to buy more C's. I would love to buy all the C's on the internet right now, but I am not rich.... yet

I saw your horns come up Jazzbug, they look really good. They deserve to be played, but the market is just down for everything.

I saw an unrestored Rudy sneak through ebay for about $200, I don't think the seller or the buyer were aware of what it was. (Bell keys on one side, and the crazy Rudy model extra venting mechanism on the low C) Too bad I didn't have $200 laying around.

The market will pick back up in time, until then we should just keep shedding, and promoting C horns at live shows!

 

[bruce bailey]

Yep, the market is low. I can't get $135 for the all original Holton I have with all the extra keys. Conns are still doing well.

 

[Little Sax]

The Selmer Paris CMels - particularly the BA models - usually fetch top dollar.

I just saw this listing on eBay. There are no details yet, but it would be nice if it ends up being desirable.

(It would also be nice to have some money...)

 

[maddenma]

Yep, the market is low. I can't get $135 for the all original Holton I have with all the extra keys. Conns are still doing well.

One of those Conns just went for $2500!?!?!?!?!?

I would call that "well", and you can put any inflection you want on it.

 

[maddenma]

The Selmer Paris CMels - particularly the BA models - usually fetch top dollar.

I just saw this listing on eBay. There are no details yet, but it would be nice if it ends up being desirable.

(It would also be nice to have some money...)

No pictures, no description. Just a place to send money to. Nice. Someone ought to hop right on that -- and someone will -- just not me.

 

[Little Sax]

No pictures, no description. Just a place to send money to. Nice. Someone ought to hop right on that -- and someone will -- just not me.

That's right. The listing said "details tomorrow", which is why I said that there are no details yet.

A few years ago I was interested in picking up a BA. Saxquest in St. Louis had a couple, but they wanted over $3k for them at the time, and they needed to be overhauled. I passed.

 

[maddenma]

Details or no details. I mean that someone will be foolish enough to bid on this as is.

 

[cvsimson]

For all we know it might be a US Selmer (stencil) horn.

I guess it is not selling time.

It would be buying time if I had $$$$.

 

[bruce bailey]

Probably a Conn or Buescher stencil. Waiting for the photos. The seller is probably dragging his feet on the photos waiting for some bloke to think it is a Paris horn and do a BIN.