This is tied for the cleanest example of a Conn 14M bass that I have seen. It’s an early 14M before the ‘naked lady’ engraving, but it has the ‘plumber neck’ (neck that goes under and up into the neck receiver and is keyed to high Eb. These are the best bass saxophones ever made, and this one is shockingly nice. It still has original pads from the factory, and unbelievably, it has only a little wear in the original silver by the thumb hook, nothing resoldered as far as I can tell, and no discernible past repairs. Possibly a small dent removed from the back of the bow but I don’t think so. There’s a mild shallow dent just above the strap hook that will disappear pre-sale. The original neck is perfect and undamaged. If you searched for 10 years (like I have) you might not find a nicer Conn bass than this. It’s priced to sell. You WILL need to get this completely overhauled as the pads are from the late 1920’s, and it currently has a musty smell from storage, that will wash off in the overhaul process. If you need help and advice on overhaul options, I can help point you in the right direction. Bass saxophones are intrinsically expensive to overhaul, but this one is at least super clean and undamaged, so it’s the easiest possible bass overhaul pretty much. It is SO fun to play one of these when it is overhauled and blasting away. It will make you sweat a bit if you push it, and it’s absolutely worth it. It’s exhilarating and even a bit euphoria-inducing in a the best possible way. Plus it’s just so fun, These are the best sounding bass and the most beautiful tonally. If you haven’t checked out Scott Robinson making magic on his (earlier version) Conn bass you should stop everything and watch this. It’s kind of the apotheosis of what a Conn bass can do (though also check Colin Stetson and James Carter out for more unbelievable bass sax playing), but this thing rocks even if you just honk around like the bass sax player on the iconic Steve Martin King Tut Saturday Night Live musical number.
