Joined
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25 Posts
Hi,
Been reading around on the forums for a while, but this is my first post. Been playing saxophone at a kind of intermediate level for a few years now, and made the switch to tenor as my main instrument about 7 years ago when I was still at school. Had an amazing old saxophone that was battered to hell, but I could get a great sound out of it when I played it loud and overcame all the leaks at the bottom end. Anyway, it was on loan from the school, so when I finished, I had to give it back. Broke my heart.
Fast forward to September 25th, 2007. Final year of medical school (in Nottingham, UK). Saxophone teacher from school rings up, offers a direct swap of this now unplayable saxophone for my cheap but decent condition Pennsylvania sax (a cheap Czech knock-off from the 60s apparently with some distant connection to Selmer). I jumped at the chance, and consequently I now have my ancient and very tatty-looking tenor back - reunited at last!
Well it looks pretty much identical to a Conn Series I New Wonder - non cross-hatched Gsharp key, Mercedes Benz C key etc. But it says Cavalier on it, no mention of Conn anywhere on it. On the back it says
PAT'D SEPT 14. 1915
1153489 - Patent no?
T - Tenor?
02103 - Serial no? Anyone know of a chart to date this?
L - Low pitch (phew!)
But that's all the info I have about it. Does anyone know of the quality of Cavalier horns, and their value? All I can find is that they were a Conn stencil, which seems borne out by the fact that it's got a lot of Conn features but not the rolled tone holes or elaborate engraving.
As regards what I'm going to do with it, I'm thinking of taking it to Stuart at the Woodwind Exchange in Bradford - any reviews of his work would be very welcome! He quoted me £300+VAT to get it back in "as new" condition mechanically - or less if not everything needed replacing. He said they can be worth well over £1000, purely as it's made by Conn. I'm not sure about that, but if I'm keeping it the value isn't actually that important.
Anyway, it plays beautifully, except for the leaks down the bottom end, and the lack of a couple of springs! Maybe I should rephrase that. It plays terribly. But when you get the notes out of it, it sounds beautiful. So much more toneful and well-rounded compared to the other sax.
I know that was a long first post, but any comments very welcome, specifically:
Opinions on whether I was right to swap from a decent condition cheapo sax to a knackered stencil that sounds beautiful but is very hard to play at present
Whether Stuart at Woodwind Exchange is the right guy to trust
Whether I'm better sticking with a sax I know, rather than trying to find a real Conn - should I go off in search of a brand name?
And does anyone have any idea of the age from the info I gave? I'm thinking early 20s.
Thanks a lot, look forward to hearing from you!
Ian
:wave:
Been reading around on the forums for a while, but this is my first post. Been playing saxophone at a kind of intermediate level for a few years now, and made the switch to tenor as my main instrument about 7 years ago when I was still at school. Had an amazing old saxophone that was battered to hell, but I could get a great sound out of it when I played it loud and overcame all the leaks at the bottom end. Anyway, it was on loan from the school, so when I finished, I had to give it back. Broke my heart.
Fast forward to September 25th, 2007. Final year of medical school (in Nottingham, UK). Saxophone teacher from school rings up, offers a direct swap of this now unplayable saxophone for my cheap but decent condition Pennsylvania sax (a cheap Czech knock-off from the 60s apparently with some distant connection to Selmer). I jumped at the chance, and consequently I now have my ancient and very tatty-looking tenor back - reunited at last!
Well it looks pretty much identical to a Conn Series I New Wonder - non cross-hatched Gsharp key, Mercedes Benz C key etc. But it says Cavalier on it, no mention of Conn anywhere on it. On the back it says
PAT'D SEPT 14. 1915
1153489 - Patent no?
T - Tenor?
02103 - Serial no? Anyone know of a chart to date this?
L - Low pitch (phew!)
But that's all the info I have about it. Does anyone know of the quality of Cavalier horns, and their value? All I can find is that they were a Conn stencil, which seems borne out by the fact that it's got a lot of Conn features but not the rolled tone holes or elaborate engraving.
As regards what I'm going to do with it, I'm thinking of taking it to Stuart at the Woodwind Exchange in Bradford - any reviews of his work would be very welcome! He quoted me £300+VAT to get it back in "as new" condition mechanically - or less if not everything needed replacing. He said they can be worth well over £1000, purely as it's made by Conn. I'm not sure about that, but if I'm keeping it the value isn't actually that important.
Anyway, it plays beautifully, except for the leaks down the bottom end, and the lack of a couple of springs! Maybe I should rephrase that. It plays terribly. But when you get the notes out of it, it sounds beautiful. So much more toneful and well-rounded compared to the other sax.
I know that was a long first post, but any comments very welcome, specifically:
Opinions on whether I was right to swap from a decent condition cheapo sax to a knackered stencil that sounds beautiful but is very hard to play at present
Whether Stuart at Woodwind Exchange is the right guy to trust
Whether I'm better sticking with a sax I know, rather than trying to find a real Conn - should I go off in search of a brand name?
And does anyone have any idea of the age from the info I gave? I'm thinking early 20s.
Thanks a lot, look forward to hearing from you!
Ian
:wave:
