1923 CONN C MELODY TENOR SAX, Closet Queen needs service & mouthpiece

  

Conn C Melody Sax Ser. Conn Ltd, Elkhart, Indiana in 1923 in low pitch. Stamped with a C above the serial number (for the key). And stamped with an L below the serial number (for the pitch).

These C melody saxophones were popular in the 1910s and 1920s. They are pretty much a Tenor Sax build a pitch higher, so that the player can play along with piano and vocal music.

Back in the day they were used largely for playing in gatherings in homes and were practical solutions for playing from the hymnal at church without having to transpose. They mostly went out of production sometime in the 1930s, but in the last 20 years or so have regained popularity. One reason is mouthpiece availability.

The original mouthpieces were usually a pretty poor design that caused the early C melodies to play quite stuffy. You can see by the photos that this sax does needs a mouthpiece to replace the broken one shown. You can find information online about these. They were designed in about 2004 to accept standard Bb Tenor reeds, and they are said to make these old horns play with sound and playability on par with a modern Bb Tenor.

I got this sax from my gardener who played clarinet about 12-13 years ago. It belonged to his dad, and it had been just sitting in the closet for years. I polished off enough of the tarnish to show the bell engraving and the gold wash inside the bell.

After sitting for years and years it will need new pads, the mouthpiece, ligature and reeds. Dont know why the piece of cork is holding a key closed. Probably has a broken spring.

Im a trumpet guy, so I cant really tell you any more about this. Im just sure the right person can make a very nice sax out of this. The item "1923 CONN C MELODY TENOR SAX, Closet Queen needs service & mouthpiece" is in sale since Tuesday, March 17, 2020. This item is in the category "Musical Instruments & Gear\Wind & Woodwind\Band & Orchestral\Saxophones". The seller is "relic_rescue" and is located in Fontana, California. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Dominican republic, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, El salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Antigua and barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Montserrat, Turks and caicos islands, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman islands, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Uruguay, Russian federation.

1. Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
2. Body Finish: silver plated with gold inside bell
3. Type: C Melody Tenor
4. MPN: Pat. 1119954
5. Body Material: Brass
6. Brand: Conn
7. Skill Level: professional