[brickboo]

Many of the happy Conn players post are pretty old, So I wanted more up to date info, as I'm looking for another tenor sax. Thank you folks for commenting please!

What is with an underslung octave key on a Conn 10? Is that good or bad?

Are you guys still crazy about your Conn 10M's? You may have read about my disappointment with the Series III that I have on a 30 day trial basis.

I played an old 30's 40's Martin in High School in the middle 50's. I rented it from the School. I shortly thereafter bought a 1958 Mark VI which I played until it was stolen in 1964. I replaced it with a Buescher 400 in 1964 that I bought new. It's played better than several Yamy's, Yana's, P Murite, Series II and III in the past 8 years that I've played on a trial basis.

There are Conn's on eBay that are below $1500! Can they be a really good horn? Maybe someone might check out ebay if you have time and send me a link of something that you would recommend to try, at [email protected] dot com thanks a million!

Any input will be very much appreciated by this old Honker. Can a Conn play altissimos, sub-tone and honk all at the same time playing easier then my Buescher 400? With all due respect I' m thinking you vintage horn lovers may have played come Bueschers too, and prefer the Conn horns.

I am very disappointed with the Series III Selmer that I have at the house now. Boo Hargis

 

[musekatcher]

Tone? Intonation? Volume? Stiff action? Unless there's something wrong with your Series III, you might look at your mouthpiece/reed setup. Nobody should be *disappointed* in a good series III. While we all compare and contrast the complexity, depth, character, and piquant of saxes as if they were fine wine, the truth is, they all sound like a good ole' tenor when working properly, and played with skill and conviction. My educated opinion of course.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Boo: Regarding underslung upper-octave mechanisms, I doubt that it matters - much. The ones that have a POTENTIAL for trouble are the ones that vent on the underneath side of the neck (like many older Conns I've seen). The POTENTIAL is that moisture MAY clog the vent. There are upper-octave mechanisms that appear to be underslung but the pad is actually on the upper side of the neck.

True, most sopranos have their upper-octave vents on the bottom side of the tube and that usually is not a problem. But I once had a Yanagisawa S901 (the straight soprano, fixed-neck version) that suffered from a clogging upper-octave vent. From what i could see, the pip inside the neck wasn't sufficiently high enough to route the moisture around the vent. Instead, the vent filled with moisture and that wasn't good. I fixed it by putting a pile of vaseline infront of the pip, creating a dam for the moisture to go around the pip rather than into it.

SO, with that thought in mind, I can see where the upper-octave vent on the bottom side of ANY saxophone's neck has the potential to clog with water. Whether or not it actually does clog is another question - an individual-horn issue. DAVE

 

[brickboo]

Boo: Regarding underslung upper-octave mechanisms, I doubt that it matters - much. The ones that have a POTENTIAL for trouble are the ones that vent on the underneath side of the neck (like many older Conns I've seen). The POTENTIAL is that moisture MAY clog the vent. There are upper-octave mechanisms that appear to be underslung but the pad is actually on the upper side of the neck.

True, most sopranos have their upper-octave vents on the bottom side of the tube and that usually is not a problem. But I once had a Yanagisawa S901 (the straight soprano, fixed-neck version) that suffered from a clogging upper-octave vent. From what i could see, the pip inside the neck wasn't sufficiently high enough to route the moisture around the vent. Instead, the vent filled with moisture and that wasn't good. I fixed it by putting a pile of vaseline infront of the pip, creating a dam for the moisture to go around the pip rather than into it.

SO, with that thought in mind, I can see where the upper-octave vent on the bottom side of ANY saxophone's neck has the potential to clog with water. Whether or not it actually does clog is another question - an individual-horn issue. DAVE

Dave that is extremely sound advice as far as I'm concerned. I'll look at the horn again and see if the vent is on the underside of this horn's neck. If so, I'll avoid it unless some experienced player here will verify that that is not an issue. Dave thanks. I remember you that you were helpful before maybe 6,7,8 years ago when I first came to this forum for some info. Glad to see you've hung around friend.

 

[Dave Dolson]

You're welcome. I recall that the Conns did have the vent underneath the tube, but I could be mistaken. It usually isn't a problem, but the potential is there. I suspect that if the inside pip is high enough, it can avoid clogging. DAVE

 

[warp x]

I had a 10M with underslung octave key and the vent at the underside of the neck. Not once did that configuration give any trouble. Fast and reliable.

 

[milandro]

A true underslung key, with an octave pip positioned upside down on the neck, as the one made by Conn (as opposed to the other brands like King which made a hybrid of underslung lever and a pip positioned above) delivers the quickest octave key action of them all.

Also it is very difficult (or almost impossible) to bend by accident. This arrangement has never produced any problem and was used by many players.

In the words of Stephen Howard, technician extraordinaire

" It might seem like a particularly bad idea to place the octave key hole on the underside of the crook, given that there'll be a lot of moisture running around at this end of the horn. Conn thought about that and made the tube tapered to prevent any bubbles of water from forming in the tube. Seems to work, I've never encountered any moisture problems when playing these horns.
The underslung mechanism also has a slightly different feel to an ordinary octave key mechanism insomuch as the pin which actuates the crook key does so by forcing the key down (rather than up). It gives the mech a very precise and fast feel...."

The underslung neck, of the three available for many Conn top models such as the 30M Conqueror ( a 10M on steroids) , is one of the MOST desirable one, although I personally prefer the New York neck but for aesthetic reasons only.

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?122468-Underslung-versus-traditional