Conn 10M Tenor Saxophone 285xxx Original Lacquer

Description

The Conn 10M tenor is easily one of the best vintage tenors made. It combines excellent intonation and comfortable keywork with a big, warm tone that remains focused and powerful. The earlier ones with rolled tone holes like this come from the time when Conn’s manufacturing prowess was the best in the world, making these some of the best-constructed saxophones ever. Again and again I am amazed at the quality that this factory’s skilled craftsmen achieved from the mid 1920’s through the mid 1940’s.

This particular horn falls in that range of most desirable Conn 10M’s and sports all the features, including rolled tone holes, original neck, beautiful original lacquer, and all the bits and bobs intact. It has had a few shallow dents removed from the back of the bow (like most horns) and the octave key on the neck popped off and has been resoldered. Besides that, it’s nice and clean, retaining most of its original lacquer. The pads are currently a mix of old and new. You could certainly get by playing it as is, but if you want the full experience, consider getting it overhauled. I would be happy to help you get this done to my picky standards.

Lots of players all over the world seem to be moving from modern horns to vintage Conn tenors specifically, because they are looking for a bigger, more complex and rich tone. This horn easily blows away any modern horn tonally. (That includes even my favorite modern horns.) The only drawback is that you have to spend a couple of weeks getting used to the non-Selmer-style keywork. It is quite fast keywork once you’re used to it, and it’s well worth the adjustment period. This ships in a Protec XL tenor case, which could be upgraded to a BAM or Hiscox if you want to discuss that.