Conn F Mezzo New Wonder II Saxophone Silver Fresh Overhaul!

Description

In the heyday of saxophone manufacturing in the USA, CG Conn planned to offer a full family of saxophones in Bb and Eb (as we have today) and also in C and F. This is one of the rare F alto saxophones made by Conn in those days. It is smaller than an alto, and larger than a curved soprano. It is its own full design– carefully thought-out and not simply an ad hoc creation out of spare parts. It looks like a New Wonder II, but it already features same side bell keys like the later Artist series horns like the 6M’s.

Cosmetically, this horn has no dents or dings. Past repairs consisted of some cleanup work from a recent, less-good overhaul, removal of some minor dings, as well as lots of detailed setup work to make the horn feel good as new again.

This horn was just overhauled by Aaron Barnard of Barnard Instrument Repair. Aaron is one of the best techs in the United States at present, and he did top quality work on this horn. It feels great, with Pisoni premium pads and TenorMadness screw in domed brass resonators. The pad work feels nice and snappy under the fingers, like it should. (I find that only the best techs can make vintage horns with rolled tone holes feel like this.)

It is a strong player with a sound that is really difficult to describe – it’s like if you managed to take the distill down the essence of a Conn tenor and squeeze it into a horn that sounds more like a curved soprano. Big and wide like any other late 20’s Conn, but it definitely sounds nothing like an alto, even though it is only one whole step higher. Much reedier and more exotic sounding. This is a must-have for any serious saxophone collector, and it is also a horn that deserves to be recorded and played more widely.

This should be an easy, turn-key purchase for a great vintage Conn.