A complete Conn warranty booklet from 1931 from a early New Wonder II style transitional alto with art-deco engraving and raised side E key. All photos will enlarge when clicked. To see a Conn alto saxophone warranty booklet from 1935 (signed by the same guy!) click here.
This article includes (with permission) information from posts on the forum at Saxontheweb by saxophone historian/geek Paul Lindemeyer, author of Celebrating the Saxophone, and photos and information from Brian at Getasax.com. Both Paul and Brian are fellow Conn lovers, and this article would not have been possible without their help. Because I have left …
I am lucky enough to work with and see many beautiful and rare saxophones, and these days it takes something rather special to make my jaw truly drop. This past week, completely unexpectedly, a saxophone came through my shop which is about as rare and as beautiful as any saxophone out there, and I am …
This is a 1928 Conn F Mezzo-soprano saxophone, freshly overhauled by me. These saxophones in the unusual key of F were introduced months before the market crash of 1928, and only a few were sold- to those rare customers who were both saxophone crazy and had disposable income during the Great Depression. The unsold horns- …
I have always found the saxophone to be a beautiful physical object. I have often wondered as I work, what it is about the appearance of the saxophone that makes it so beautiful to me? Why, when its main purpose is to produce sound, does it look beautiful? The sound of the saxophone is …
I recently overhauled a 18xxx serial Selmer Super with the geared octave mechanism. It was totally thrashed- three times relacquered, all sorts of problems, resolders, broken keys, repair shortcuts layered over jerry-rig upon patch job. You get the picture. It took about twice as long as normal to rebuild the mechanics. It was the …
“Jazz simply needs to continue doing what made it great in the first place: engage with popular culture in an intelligent, nuanced and sophisticated manner, as some successful groups are doing today. If there is any hope of audience building, this is where it lies. It must be organic, visceral and culturally relevant, qualities …
This 2008 article has been reprinted in whole with the permission of its author, Dennis Gazarek. The opinions in this article are the author’s and I reprint it here without any edits. -Matt AMATI Saxophone A Short History by Dennis Gazarek The history of saxophones and other instruments produced by the predecessors of Amati-Denak is …