C Melody Saxophone Forum

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C Melody Saxophone Forum / C-Tenor (C-Melody) Saxophones / I want one

Next 20 Messages

Adam
User ID: 9983153 Oct 11th 2:11 PM
I would like a C melody sax, and I hear they can be found for even under ten dollars. Is this only at things like pawn shops?

Jim B Oct 11th 3:53 PM
The ones I have found in pawn shops were really beat up. Also some I saw had missing parts; parts that cannot be replaced.Any cheap C melody is usually 80 years old and will need new pads which run $400 or so.

You can check with Antique stores for the C melody. I found one once for $140---a Conn straight neck model. Another place to check is with a music store repair person--- they may have a C melody around the shop. Exactly why do you want a C melody. Do you already have the more used Tenor,alto, Baritone and soprano???

Cheapest C melody I ever found was a mint shape Conn with a tenor sax type of neck made in 1916...Silver body with gold plated keys for $100. It did need new pads---old pads were rotted. Total cost was $100 plus $400.

What type of sax do you play now? Alto?

Captain Muggles
User ID: 9454293 Oct 11th 5:46 PM
Adam.....You are Way, Way, Way off base on that under $10.00 price tag. There are no such C melody saxes for that price unless they have been rub over by a truck! Who told you that anyway?

Captain Muggles
User ID: 9454293 Oct 11th 5:48 PM
Adam....That should have read "Run over by a truck"!

Adam
User ID: 7378223 Oct 12th 5:26 AM
How bad do Saxes that were run over by trucks play?

Jim B
User ID: 1913054 Oct 12th 7:52 AM
The have a rather compressed tone; the overtones are turned into undertones. The instrument plays flat, the mouthpiece facing is facing east,north and south.After playing you will say "Reed my lips, no new saxs."

Captain Muggles
User ID: 9454293 Oct 12th 11:50 AM
Adam & Jim B....I stand by my original reply. There are no under $10.00 C melody saxes!

Jim B
User ID: 9454293 Oct 12th 4:32 PM
Never say never, at least as in the USA. I recently bought a Yamaha-23 tenor sax which played as is for $100 with two 4C yamaha mouthpieces. Woodwind Brasswind sells them for $2090. I will keep my eyes open for a $10 sax keeping in mind it will need new $400 pads. The local bar had a C melody sax hanging on the wall; I will approach them and ask how much they want. Will check if it is a high pitch instrument or low.

Alan (UK)
User ID: 8200143 Oct 13th 5:03 AM
You can sometimes get a 'relatively' good C-Mel for under $100 on ebay, but, unless you do the repad etc. yourself, you still face a lot more expense. And it's a gamble, 'flat' jokes aside.

Look on ebay for C-Mels mis-described as "old sax", "antique" or as an alto etc. with poor pictures. Obviously won't then show up in any searches for C-Melody, so you have to do the hard work trawling thro' the listings ! Frequently when those are sold by a US seller (I'm assuming that's where you are) who flatly refuses bids from outside the US, then the final price stays painfully (for them) low.

Under $100 yes, distinct possibility. A lot of pawnshops now sell on ebay. Much less than that is probably yard-sale territory, or word of mouth........ Good Luck, but as Jim says, avoid saxes marked High Pitch, HP or H !

Captain Muggles
User ID: 9454293 Oct 13th 12:36 PM
Everyone.....Mostly all pawnshops nowadays know the value of the things they are selling! You will rarely if ever find a knockout bargain from a pawnshop anymore! They sometimes charge more than fair market value!

WW2
User ID: 1585334 Oct 13th 12:57 PM
Watch your local pawnshop. I got an excellent deal on a flut and piccolo combo. It had been in the shop for over nine months and was getting very dusty. It was a nice set so I offered them half of what they were asking. got the entire setup for only $125. The two played for two seasons before needing an overhaul. Not too bad.

WW2
User ID: 1585334 Oct 13th 1:02 PM
For an interesting story of how someone got on a saxophone, read the Nuclear Whales story of how they got their EEEb Contrabass Saxophone! Their home page is at http://www.nuclearwhales.com/ and the page about the big sax is at http://www.nuclearwhales.com/info.htm#mother

I did hear of someone who got a Contrabass Saxophone for free! Basically, a school was being torn down and the saxophone was in a storage room. The demolition man called a guy he know that played saxophones as asked if he wanted it FOR FREE! Of course, the neck was missing and it needed a complete overhaul, but geeze, it was FREE (initially)!

WW2
User ID: 1585334 Oct 13th 1:04 PM
Man, I gotta proof read what I type. Sorry about the typos!

Alan (UK)
User ID: 8200143 Oct 14th 5:50 AM
As in my "word of mouth" comment above, there must still be a raft of very elderly widows out there with a long-forgotten C-Mel (or similar) in the loft or garage.

Instruments like those are often given away, on the basis that the former player would have been "happy to know that someone else is making music with it". A little frienship is often all that is expected in return, although you can obviously include cash......... Put the word out.

Jim B
User ID: 1913054 Oct 14th 9:00 AM
One of the local pawn shops now sells on ebay so they see prices people are willing to pay for a C melody sax. Before ebay they didn't know the value. I got two yamaha flugelhorns, one Conn 10M for $300 each all in excellent condition, one yamaha silver plated pro trumpet for $100. I wish in retrospect there was no ebay and people willing to pay more than $100 for an instrument. Pawn shops would be a better deal without ebay. Fortunately that one pawn shop only ships in the USA so those outside the country do not inflate the price; the shop does not trust the mails nor certain payment systems.

Alan (UK)
User ID: 8200143 Oct 14th 12:41 PM
It's a global economy these days JIm ! How many things are actually manufactured in the US now ? (as opposed to assembled in the US from Asian components).

Only fair that we should help reverse the balance of payments deficit.......

Ken
User ID: 0171704 Oct 14th 8:23 PM
Jim B
A 10M in a porn shop? What is the world coming to?

steve
User ID: 9774843 Oct 15th 11:35 PM
Yes I imagine there are still some old folks (whether alive or dead) whose closet contains an old unused one still!
That's where my Conn came from!
Probably where half of the ebay deals come from!

I too heard the $10.00 rumour but I assume it is perpetrated by ignorant music shop sales staff.

If you want to do a repad yourself, I recomend Music medic. @$30 for a set!

Alan (UK)
User ID: 8200143 Oct 16th 10:46 AM
Yes steve, a lot of US C-Mel listings are from estate sales or some sort of house clearance - just a matter of getting in first to beat the dealers.

Some older internet articles 'knocking' C-Mels refer to them having a value as cheap as $10. Things have moved on a tad since then........

HT
User ID: 9328513 Oct 16th 1:09 PM
I found a King C-Mel at an estate sale while visiting my brother in Little Rock last month. Price tag was $250, but the instrument was nearly black with tarnish and no one was interested. I offered $50 and was countered with $75. They wound up taking the $70 I had in my pocket at the time.

The story on the horn was that it belonged to the father of the person whose estate was up for sale. He was a physician who had apparently bought the horn in his youth, when the C-Melody craze was in full swing.

Mechanically, the horn is in fine shape. The action is smooth. I am (foolishly, perhaps) trying to re-pad it myself. Having a ball, though.

I realize this deal was a fluke, but it's proof that there are undiscovered C-Mels out there. I recently saw this same horn on e-bay listed as an "alto", and I think it went in the $150 (plus shipping) range.

Next 20 Messages

Adam User ID: 9983153	Oct 11th 2:11 PM I would like a C melody sax, and I hear they can be found for even under ten dollars. Is this only at things like pawn shops?
Jim B	Oct 11th 3:53 PM The ones I have found in pawn shops were really beat up. Also some I saw had missing parts; parts that cannot be replaced.Any cheap C melody is usually 80 years old and will need new pads which run $400 or so. You can check with Antique stores for the C melody. I found one once for $140---a Conn straight neck model. Another place to check is with a music store repair person--- they may have a C melody around the shop. Exactly why do you want a C melody. Do you already have the more used Tenor,alto, Baritone and soprano??? Cheapest C melody I ever found was a mint shape Conn with a tenor sax type of neck made in 1916...Silver body with gold plated keys for $100. It did need new pads---old pads were rotted. Total cost was $100 plus $400. What type of sax do you play now? Alto?
Captain Muggles User ID: 9454293	Oct 11th 5:46 PM Adam.....You are Way, Way, Way off base on that under $10.00 price tag. There are no such C melody saxes for that price unless they have been rub over by a truck! Who told you that anyway?
Captain Muggles User ID: 9454293	Oct 11th 5:48 PM Adam....That should have read "Run over by a truck"!
Adam User ID: 7378223	Oct 12th 5:26 AM How bad do Saxes that were run over by trucks play?
Jim B User ID: 1913054	Oct 12th 7:52 AM The have a rather compressed tone; the overtones are turned into undertones. The instrument plays flat, the mouthpiece facing is facing east,north and south.After playing you will say "Reed my lips, no new saxs."
Captain Muggles User ID: 9454293	Oct 12th 11:50 AM Adam & Jim B....I stand by my original reply. There are no under $10.00 C melody saxes!
Jim B User ID: 9454293	Oct 12th 4:32 PM Never say never, at least as in the USA. I recently bought a Yamaha-23 tenor sax which played as is for $100 with two 4C yamaha mouthpieces. Woodwind Brasswind sells them for $2090. I will keep my eyes open for a $10 sax keeping in mind it will need new $400 pads. The local bar had a C melody sax hanging on the wall; I will approach them and ask how much they want. Will check if it is a high pitch instrument or low.
Alan (UK) User ID: 8200143	Oct 13th 5:03 AM You can sometimes get a 'relatively' good C-Mel for under $100 on ebay, but, unless you do the repad etc. yourself, you still face a lot more expense. And it's a gamble, 'flat' jokes aside. Look on ebay for C-Mels mis-described as "old sax", "antique" or as an alto etc. with poor pictures. Obviously won't then show up in any searches for C-Melody, so you have to do the hard work trawling thro' the listings ! Frequently when those are sold by a US seller (I'm assuming that's where you are) who flatly refuses bids from outside the US, then the final price stays painfully (for them) low. Under $100 yes, distinct possibility. A lot of pawnshops now sell on ebay. Much less than that is probably yard-sale territory, or word of mouth........ Good Luck, but as Jim says, avoid saxes marked High Pitch, HP or H !
Captain Muggles User ID: 9454293	Oct 13th 12:36 PM Everyone.....Mostly all pawnshops nowadays know the value of the things they are selling! You will rarely if ever find a knockout bargain from a pawnshop anymore! They sometimes charge more than fair market value!
WW2 User ID: 1585334	Oct 13th 12:57 PM Watch your local pawnshop. I got an excellent deal on a flut and piccolo combo. It had been in the shop for over nine months and was getting very dusty. It was a nice set so I offered them half of what they were asking. got the entire setup for only $125. The two played for two seasons before needing an overhaul. Not too bad.
WW2 User ID: 1585334	Oct 13th 1:02 PM For an interesting story of how someone got on a saxophone, read the Nuclear Whales story of how they got their EEEb Contrabass Saxophone! Their home page is at http://www.nuclearwhales.com/ and the page about the big sax is at http://www.nuclearwhales.com/info.htm#mother I did hear of someone who got a Contrabass Saxophone for free! Basically, a school was being torn down and the saxophone was in a storage room. The demolition man called a guy he know that played saxophones as asked if he wanted it FOR FREE! Of course, the neck was missing and it needed a complete overhaul, but geeze, it was FREE (initially)!
WW2 User ID: 1585334	Oct 13th 1:04 PM Man, I gotta proof read what I type. Sorry about the typos!
Alan (UK) User ID: 8200143	Oct 14th 5:50 AM As in my "word of mouth" comment above, there must still be a raft of very elderly widows out there with a long-forgotten C-Mel (or similar) in the loft or garage. Instruments like those are often given away, on the basis that the former player would have been "happy to know that someone else is making music with it". A little frienship is often all that is expected in return, although you can obviously include cash......... Put the word out.
Jim B User ID: 1913054	Oct 14th 9:00 AM One of the local pawn shops now sells on ebay so they see prices people are willing to pay for a C melody sax. Before ebay they didn't know the value. I got two yamaha flugelhorns, one Conn 10M for $300 each all in excellent condition, one yamaha silver plated pro trumpet for $100. I wish in retrospect there was no ebay and people willing to pay more than $100 for an instrument. Pawn shops would be a better deal without ebay. Fortunately that one pawn shop only ships in the USA so those outside the country do not inflate the price; the shop does not trust the mails nor certain payment systems.
Alan (UK) User ID: 8200143	Oct 14th 12:41 PM It's a global economy these days JIm ! How many things are actually manufactured in the US now ? (as opposed to assembled in the US from Asian components). Only fair that we should help reverse the balance of payments deficit.......
Ken User ID: 0171704	Oct 14th 8:23 PM Jim B A 10M in a porn shop? What is the world coming to?
steve User ID: 9774843	Oct 15th 11:35 PM Yes I imagine there are still some old folks (whether alive or dead) whose closet contains an old unused one still! That's where my Conn came from! Probably where half of the ebay deals come from! I too heard the $10.00 rumour but I assume it is perpetrated by ignorant music shop sales staff. If you want to do a repad yourself, I recomend Music medic. @$30 for a set!
Alan (UK) User ID: 8200143	Oct 16th 10:46 AM Yes steve, a lot of US C-Mel listings are from estate sales or some sort of house clearance - just a matter of getting in first to beat the dealers. Some older internet articles 'knocking' C-Mels refer to them having a value as cheap as $10. Things have moved on a tad since then........
HT User ID: 9328513	Oct 16th 1:09 PM I found a King C-Mel at an estate sale while visiting my brother in Little Rock last month. Price tag was $250, but the instrument was nearly black with tarnish and no one was interested. I offered $50 and was countered with $75. They wound up taking the $70 I had in my pocket at the time. The story on the horn was that it belonged to the father of the person whose estate was up for sale. He was a physician who had apparently bought the horn in his youth, when the C-Melody craze was in full swing. Mechanically, the horn is in fine shape. The action is smooth. I am (foolishly, perhaps) trying to re-pad it myself. Having a ball, though. I realize this deal was a fluke, but it's proof that there are undiscovered C-Mels out there. I recently saw this same horn on e-bay listed as an "alto", and I think it went in the $150 (plus shipping) range.