Conn “Transitional” Tenor Saxophone – Stohrer Overhaul

Description

If you read around on this site you will see that I have a very high opinion of vintage Conn saxophones. Conn made AMAZING saxophones during its prime years of 1925-1945, during which time the Conn factory was the largest (and arguably best) musical instrument factory in the world. The professional models of these “prewar” Conns are extremely well-made, and they are simply a joy to play. This horn is a “transitional” Conn 10M tenor, meaning that it has features of both the previous “New Wonder II” model, and the subsequent “Artist” 10M tenor. These “transitional” Conns are my personal favorites as players, because they have a HUUUGE sound, lots of resonance, and they also benefit from some improvements in keywork that are shared with the later horns. This one has beautiful hand engraving on the bell, featuring the famous “naked-lady” portrait. This is very unusual to see on a split bell keys Conn, and it only happens in a narrow serial range of horns. Even more unusually, this horn came to me with its original factory pads and factory setup, even the Conn warranty card. It is in the still-functional, original case, and the price here also INCLUDES a protective, modern case for safe shipping.

It’s a gorgeous horn in the prime serial range for a Conn transitional. There is no past damage, and there are no past repairs of any kind. It is near mint condition, even though it is 75 years old! When they are this clean, you know that you are getting the experience of what one of these really should be like.

This horn has a fresh, full overhaul/restoration by Matt Stohrer, who is one of the best, most reputable vintage saxophone restorer there is. Everything about this horn is just as it should be now. I had Matt use some hand made TenorMadness brass resonators that are $100 a set. They bring out the tone of the horn really well, and they are also permanently reusable.

The sound of a good Conn tenor is different from any modern saxophone. It can be smooth and velvety like Lester Young, but also focused and straight-ahead like Dexter Gordon on Go. The keywork is fast, and the intonation is very good. When properly setup, these horns are ALIVE with a big, resonant voice and a body tube that vibrates in your hands. The transitional tenors really really vibrate. This free vibration is a consequence of the excellent build quality that leaves these horns free from tension and binding in the keywork, and free to resonate. I recommend these horns very highly to anyone looking for a great tenor sound who is willing to work with the Conn style keywork (very comfortable and “modern” but not “Selmer-modern”, so you have to learn!). You do not often see these 75+ year-old horns in this kind of condition, so get one now before they disappear!