Old Sax in need of serious help

I know nothing about Brass and Woodwinds, so I figured I'd ask your opinions. I will be taking it to a repair shop to see what they say... but I'd also like a little education before I go in there and have to take the repair tech's word for it.

Anywho... This is a family instrument that was my grandpa's. It hasn't really been played since the early 70's... at least. It was handed down to someone in my family after my grandpa passed away... and it sat in damp basements for the last 20-30 years.

Here it is. Any and all opinions are welcome. I wasn't aware that Saxes could rust... so I'm guessing it CAN be cleaned up (with a lot of work). I also don't know if there is anything I can do to lessen the repair cost, like getting all that mold/mildew off myself. I just wouldn't know what type of cleaner to use and what to know before taking a rag to it.

Thanks! And if you have any questions for me, let me know.

These are prices that I would expect in TN:

Repad- $200 All the pads that stop air from escaping and thereby elongating the horn. They are probably dry rotted and dont function anymore

Cleaning the mildew and making sure that all the moving parts are greased - $50

If any of the moving parts are bent and/or need replacement/repair this is where it gets expensive. I really cant tell what type of sax it is, but some saxes are discontinued and you cant get parts for them, especially if it was a student model or something. Good luck. I love saxes.

Thanks!

It is a C.G. Conn. From what I could tell from looking up the serial number, it was made in 1969. Which, really kinda surprised me since my grandpa was playing since the 30's, and he stopped playing in the early 70's.

I can't figure out why he would have left behind a single sax that was only a few years old. I'll have to do more research when I have more time.

If it can be repaired for under $400 total cost I would say go for it; if more than that I would pass. As stated above if all it need is a repad and a cleaning then it should be around $200-300 and good to go. It would also depend on the sentimental family value and you can't put a price on that. If you're just wanting a keepsake then maybe just have it cleaned and then hang it on the wall as a wonderful momento to your grandfather.

As far as you cleaning it yourself, since it's going to need a repad anyway I'd just go ahead and give it a good soak in lukewarm water using a mild dishsoap. Wipe/rub with a regular wash cloth/dish rag and see what you can get clean. Do not use anything abrasive or water that's too hot as that will remove more of the laquer unless you would like to go with the raw brass. Some people do prefer the nice patina that shows up on unlaquered brass. If you do this though make sure you get all of the laquer off.

Good luck with your grandfather's sax.

This is a late model Conn 6m with tuning neck, made in the late 40s. Great horn and worthy of a complete overhaul. It may have faired better in a dry closet after all those years since your grandfather played it. Hopefully there is no pitting and serious rot inside the bore, especially inside the bow, since it cannot be removed from the body without seriously altering the rest of the horn. What engraving do you see on the bell besides the floral/leaf pattern?

Hi - Just to follow on Lambros comments -

Do not try to clean this yourself. If you take if to the shop, they can dissassemble it, and dip it in a cleaning solution that will remove the corrosion and crude, without affecting the remaining lacquer. From what I can tell from the pics - that would be recommended.

DO NOT RELACQUER THIS HORN!

Gotta run -

ALAN

Alan1123, good call on keeping the lacquer on this vintage horn intact. I'm almost certain that this horn has a one of the famous 'Conn Ladies' engraved on the bell. If I get a Conn one of these days, it'll be a 6M.

Here's a couple more pics of the bell engraving. Can't really see a whole lot with all the damage.

In the bell engraving, it also says, "Made By - C.G. Conn - USA".

It does have the engraved lady you mentioned. Is that significant?

I also did more research on the serial number. It is prefixed by the letter 'M', which is why my original research determined it to be made in 1969. However, after some more digging around, I believe it was manufactured in 1936 (according to the serial number chart at SaxGourmet.com). Another chart placed in the late 30's also. But I can't remember where I saw that chart.

The only other thing is, the original case is badly damaged as well. What should I think about with that? Keep? Trash? Restore? (not sure if it can be restored)

Anyway, thanks again for all the input!! I'm really upset that someone allowed it to get into this condition. But there's nothing I can do about that. At least there are no dents or cracks in it that I can see.

probably looks worse than it is. take it to a tech to clean it up and like mentioned above DO NOT RELACQUER THIS HORN!!!!!

if it is a vintage conn then its probably a players horn. I can vouch for their trombones but im no sax player.

From what I've been reading, the C.G. Conn saxes from that era were excellent horns that pushed a lot of air (for the big bands from that time). Apparently, their monetary value isn't anything to write home about since there are still plenty of them in circulation. Regardless of that, it's a family instrument that I would never consider selling anyway.

I am curious as to the reasons why I should not have it re-lacquered. You guys seem really strict about that, so I'm sure I won't do it. But I'm not a horn player, so I'd like to know why. Also, why wouldn't I just have the remaining lacquer stripped? From what I can tell, only about 60% of the original lacquer remains.

Thanks again!

if you have it relacqured then it will never again sound as good as it did before. unlike a slab of wood the coating really does affect the sound of the horn if you look at the videos of coltrane or charlie parker or just about any other great sax player you will see them playing a well worn horn.

this video has too much cool in it and probably deserves its own thread but im posting it here:cool:

[YOUTUBE]U4FAKRpUCYY[/YOUTUBE]

I wouldn't use Bird as an example. He was the kind of guy who would pawn his sax to buy drugs the day of a gig. There's a reason he died young.

I see the lady...fantastic!!! Conns were and still are considered some of the finest saxophones ever made. They are superbly made, especially since most vintage Conns have rolled tone holes, a very difficult and time consuming process that doesn't work on modern saxophones post Selmer balanced action models. Only Keilwerth makes saxophones based on Conns presently.

Jonathon M might be right on this one, they're may only be minimal wear and all the external rot looks a lot worse than it really is. Keeping the remaining lacquer intact is the right thing to do because this is truly a great vintage horn. Silver plating is one thing and gold lacquering is a totally different issue.

BTW, JM5, I totally dug the Miles/Trane 'So What' clip...yer right, apparently too much cool fer some folks 'round here...

[YOUTUBE]U4FAKRpUCYY[/YOUTUBE]

Man lucky find, the 6m's are great, and with the micro tuner. You're a lucky man. Bring it to a respectable repairman, and as long as the corrosion hasn't gone to deep you should be fine. Your grandfather had good taste. As others have said, do not relaquer.