[trumpetplayer]

Hey guys,

As you can see from my username i am a trumpet player by trade (dont kick me out!)
but I want to learn to play sax too. My friend is selling a conn shooting star and i was wondering if you guys
could give me your opinion. Hes selling it for $150. I think thats already a good price, but i think i can get it down to
$100 or $120 is that good? Here is the link: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/msg/1692783414.html

I Know that the shooting stars that have a "N" in the serial number are mexican made and not very good, i have not seen it in person yet so i dont know. If it does have a N, is that still a good price or should i avoid it? and if it doesnt is this a steal? Also i dont know anything about sax parts and repair so are loose pads easily fixed and inexpensive or costly?


Thanks for your time,
Aaron

 

[trumpetplayer]

well i bought it anyway. i got down to $100 and i think i got a really good deal.

The horn has 98% of the lacquer and looks excellent despite thin scratches throughout the horn.
the serial number is L75742

i know that it was made in 1968 by the "L" prefix but was this made in nogales arizona? and is it bad quality compared to conn shooting stars from before.

i think i know why nobody responded earlier probably because of the number of other posts about conn shooting stars. you guys must be tired of anwsering the same thing.

but if you have any info on the 1968 "L" prefix ,model i would be glad and relived if you could tell me.

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[super20dan]

you would have much better off with a bundy

 

[SuperMadHatter]

100 bucks for a good shooting stars is a pretty good deal. My daughter plays a 1965 one and it holds up with good intonation. Good sax to start on and keep.

 

[milandro]

100$ buys you very little sax anywhere these days and even though you've bought an infamous Mexi-Conn , if it is playing sufficiently well and need little or no work (and you like the way it plays)...........why not?
If you, on the other hand, need spending any money on this horn to make it playable..........it is probably money going to waste since you might be never able to sell it (as the person who sold it to you) for much more that you've bought it for. My advise would be to sell it and buy a Vito/Yamaha , they are cheap and consistent and hold their value (not much market value there anyway) a lot better than a Mexi-Conn which, realistically, one can only sell to a person who is totally unaware of the bad press which they have collected through the years.

 

[trumpetplayer]

100$ buys you very little sax anywhere these days and even though you've bought an infamous Mexi-Conn , if it is playing sufficiently well and need little or no work (and you like the way it plays)...........why not?
If you, on the other hand, need spending any money on this horn to make it playable..........it is probably money going to waste since you might be never able to sell it (as the person who sold it to you) for much more that you've bought it for. My advise would be to sell it and buy a Vito/Yamaha , they are cheap and consistent and hold their value (not much market value there anyway) a lot better than a Mexi-Conn which, realistically, one can only sell to a person who is totally unaware of the bad press which they have collected through the years.

I really didnt think it was a mexi-conn, all it says is conn usa with the shooting stars on the front and the serial number below the thumb guard. I thought mexiconns have mecico stamped on the horn and the serial number starts with a N . Also didnt they move after 1968? please correct me if im wrong

 

[milandro]

You are right , in 68 could have been made either places Elkhart or Nogales , at least according to this source, you are right not yet in Mexico

http://www.saxquest.com/forumThreadView.asp?ForumUID=7&ThreadUID=2900

whether it was made in Mexico or just across the border in Nogales with the same workforce and materials used later on, it is still what it is and its value is still not justifying any large amount of money spent to make it play

 

[trumpetplayer]

You are right , in 68 could have been made either places Elkhart or Nogales , at least according to this source, you are right not yet in Mexico

http://www.saxquest.com/forumThreadView.asp?ForumUID=7&ThreadUID=2900

whether it was made in Mexico or just across the border in Nogales with the same workforce and materials used later on, it is still what it is and its value is still not justifying any large amount of money spent to make it play

I expect to pay about $100 in repair, like a general cleaning and some of the pads are loose on the bottom. I hope loose pads or worn pads arent a big issue or costly to fix. So if it cost me a total of $200 is that not a good deal?

 

[milandro]

if you only pay 100$ in repair and you have a playable horn .......why not? If it has to cost you more I wouldn't do it.

 

[clarnibass]

I hope loose pads or worn pads arent a big issue or costly to fix. So if it cost me a total of $200 is that not a good deal?

If you pay $200 for a saxophone that actually works ok then great. Replacing pads can be inexpensive or expensive, depending on many things that are not the pads, like levelness of tone holes, loose keys or screws, bent or misaligned posts, leveness of the back of key cups, and how much adjustments and regulation is needed with the key connected to other keys. IME, unfortunately these are usually pretty lousy for cheap Conns like this. But depends on yours so see what your repairer says.

By the way if by "loose" you mean they are leaking, a lot of times if bottom notes are hard to play then pads are leaking no where near the bottom. Hard low notes doesn't necessarily suggests where the leaks are. Re the cleaning, if it is just some dirt then might not really be needed and you can save this way if you don't mind a sax that is a bit dusty. As long as the dirt doesn't somehow affects the saxophone (or you) then it's only cosmetics.