C Melody Saxophone Forum

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C Melody Saxophone Forum / C-Tenor (C-Melody) Saxophones / Conn C Melody

Next 20 Messages

Mike Gillam
User ID: 0763414 Jun 16th 5:27 PM
Do you think that $1200 Iis a good price to pay for a Conn 1925
[Chu Berry]C Melody [silver plate] in mint condition,hardly played,no movement with the rods?
-Mike Gillam

Jim B
User ID: 0631424 Jun 16th 6:26 PM
I hope it was looked over by a repair person and you are not just excepting an ebay seller's word.I believe at the site wichitaband.com they sell rebuilt C melodies at about $800. You should be able to get a good raw Conn C melody for $100 To $400 and then a repad at at under $500. Therefore I would call $1200 on the too high side.

Castaway
User ID: 9182423 Jun 17th 10:18 AM
Mike Gillam - Mike. No movement with the rods. Does that mean you can't play it? If it does. Then don't even think about buying it. Conn's are the most common C melodies on the market . You can buy 3 of them in great shape at that price. ($1200.00).

Captain Beeflat
User ID: 1738604 Jun 17th 10:41 AM
I understood "no movement" to mean no lateral or vertical slack; ie. as new. However, I would expect to buy three pristine c melodys and a vintage motorcycle for that price.

alan (uk)
User ID: 0651814 Jun 17th 11:18 AM
Mike, the price is a bit 'over the top', even if it had been completely overhauled and polished by a reputable 'vintage sax dealer'.

Just consider that 'mint and hardly played' may well mean eighty year old pads and cork that will soon need attention unless you're just going to just look at it ......

jazzbug1
User ID: 7531403 Jun 17th 12:37 PM
I just sold a Chu model Conn C Melody in pristine shape with new pads for $610 on Ebay. Absolutely np wear.

Castaway
User ID: 9182423 Jun 17th 2:36 PM
I have a like new Conn straight neck C melody in Satin silver with gold keywork and gold ingraving on the OUTSIDE of the bell. I got it from Captain Muggles on a trade and he says he only paid $350.00 US dollars from it off of Ebay. It looks and plays "Like New". The case even looks new. So $1200.00 is out of the question as far as I'm concerned.

ukebert
User ID: 1035294 Jun 18th 8:00 AM
Ah, but its fairly rare to get such a pristine specamin. From memory I believe it was inaccurately described, and he found it after trawling through the 1000 odd saxes in the "other saxophones" page.

I would expect 2 pristine C Melodies for 1200.

alan (uk)
User ID: 0651814 Jun 18th 8:07 AM
Yes, don't forget that on ebay, some easily missed early 1900's saxes turn up in the "antiques" section - they sometimes don't even get listed under saxophones....

Captain Beeflat
User ID: 1738604 Jun 18th 10:24 AM
Not forgetting, of course, to look under saxAphone.

ukebert
User ID: 1035294 Jun 18th 11:19 AM
Ah yes, that old chestnut...

Castaway
User ID: 9182423 Jun 18th 11:32 AM
Ukebert - You are correct. Muggles said it took him hours to find it, and it was described as "old saxophone" in the "other saxes" section of Ebay. But that shows that they are out there for the taking if you search hard enough.

alan (uk)
User ID: 0651814 Jun 18th 5:10 PM
A lot of my best 'C' buys were described as 'old saxophone', or even 'old saxAphone'....

All the ones with 'melody' in are fair game for high payers with little time, to get the bargains you also need to look for mis-described 'alto' or 'tenor'. But it does all take time.

Saxes (of any kind) selling to "USA only" often go cheaper, I consider it a personal challenge to get the seller to accept a bid from the UK, but then when he says "NO Paypal" that opens another can of worms !

What is this, a guided tour of backstreet ebay ? I notice we scared Mike off.........

Ken Uk
User ID: 1689844 Jun 18th 5:50 PM
Sounds to me like a financial limbo dancing competition for cheapest C Mel buy. "I bought one in perfect condition for $10!"
"Well mine was forced upon me along with a cheque for $100!"
$1200 sounds like a shop price in the UK.
Mike if you want it enough, bloody well buy it! But first, try it.

bruce bailey
User ID: 9670323 Jun 19th 12:37 AM
Today there was a Conn SN on ebay US for $600 BiN overhauled. Looks nice, probably gone by now.

alan (uk)
User ID: 0651814 Jun 19th 5:03 AM
"....if you want it enough, bloody well buy it! But first, try it."

Absolutely agree Ken, you could easily buy $1100 worth of cheap ebay 'duffers' before you finally hit a $100 miracle - so the emphasis is on "see it and try it", because at $1200 I'd expect a genuine sax specialist with the option to 'try and return' at no risk.

Captain Beeflat
User ID: 1738604 Jun 19th 5:43 AM
Or you could buy one of Steve's modern Aquilasax C Melodys with good intonation and modern keywork...and trouser the considerable change.
Perhaps, however you have a penchant for clonky keywork and less than perfect intonation. :-)

alan (uk)
User ID: 0651814 Jun 19th 6:34 AM
Hmmm - I wouldn't necessarily say that 'clunky keywork' is a problem if a sax player already plays any of the Rb/Bb saxes from the first half of the 20th century.

Plenty of clunky keywork amongst those if we're being honest - not just the domain of C-mnels. Some of us just love to clunk..... However - I've just gone back to my '31 Martin C Mel after playing the 60's Martin Magna alto for a few weeks, and I (honestly !) don't notice a lot of 'clunk'- just warmth.

Remember, that '31 Martin C-mel was only a couple of hundred dollars, and is irreplaceable - but I'm also sharing the house with a load of other cheap C-corpses waiting for the kiss of life !

I know we all say "$1200 !!!" - but what's that in the big scheme of things ? Not a lot......

Captain Beeflat
User ID: 1738604 Jun 19th 6:55 AM
Must confess that my 1925 Conn alto has slicker and faster keywork than my 1925 Buescher C Mel; nothing to do with the fact that it is a C mel, the Buescher and alto and tenor of the period were the same.
Keywork, for me however, was born with the BA Selmer of 1933.
On the subject of relative values....how I wish that I had stayed in my first house, it cost what can now be considered back pocket change. Just imagine the collection of saxophones, cars and motorcycles which could have accumulated over the years...snag is, where would I have kept them? No man can have everything...where would he keep it all? :-)

alan (uk)
User ID: 0651814 Jun 19th 7:23 AM
".where would he keep it all?"

As you can personally attest, I'm trying......

It's not so much keeping them, we all move around, my last move was a major logistics exercise, and I'm still buying more than I sell or give away..... I don't plan to move again (except ultimately vertically, not sure whether it'll be up or down...? Maybe I'll just hang around and haunt !).

Next 20 Messages

Mike Gillam User ID: 0763414	Jun 16th 5:27 PM Do you think that $1200 Iis a good price to pay for a Conn 1925 [Chu Berry]C Melody [silver plate] in mint condition,hardly played,no movement with the rods? -Mike Gillam
Jim B User ID: 0631424	Jun 16th 6:26 PM I hope it was looked over by a repair person and you are not just excepting an ebay seller's word.I believe at the site wichitaband.com they sell rebuilt C melodies at about $800. You should be able to get a good raw Conn C melody for $100 To $400 and then a repad at at under $500. Therefore I would call $1200 on the too high side.
Castaway User ID: 9182423	Jun 17th 10:18 AM Mike Gillam - Mike. No movement with the rods. Does that mean you can't play it? If it does. Then don't even think about buying it. Conn's are the most common C melodies on the market . You can buy 3 of them in great shape at that price. ($1200.00).
Captain Beeflat User ID: 1738604	Jun 17th 10:41 AM I understood "no movement" to mean no lateral or vertical slack; ie. as new. However, I would expect to buy three pristine c melodys and a vintage motorcycle for that price.
alan (uk) User ID: 0651814	Jun 17th 11:18 AM Mike, the price is a bit 'over the top', even if it had been completely overhauled and polished by a reputable 'vintage sax dealer'. Just consider that 'mint and hardly played' may well mean eighty year old pads and cork that will soon need attention unless you're just going to just look at it ......
jazzbug1 User ID: 7531403	Jun 17th 12:37 PM I just sold a Chu model Conn C Melody in pristine shape with new pads for $610 on Ebay. Absolutely np wear.
Castaway User ID: 9182423	Jun 17th 2:36 PM I have a like new Conn straight neck C melody in Satin silver with gold keywork and gold ingraving on the OUTSIDE of the bell. I got it from Captain Muggles on a trade and he says he only paid $350.00 US dollars from it off of Ebay. It looks and plays "Like New". The case even looks new. So $1200.00 is out of the question as far as I'm concerned.
ukebert User ID: 1035294	Jun 18th 8:00 AM Ah, but its fairly rare to get such a pristine specamin. From memory I believe it was inaccurately described, and he found it after trawling through the 1000 odd saxes in the "other saxophones" page. I would expect 2 pristine C Melodies for 1200.
alan (uk) User ID: 0651814	Jun 18th 8:07 AM Yes, don't forget that on ebay, some easily missed early 1900's saxes turn up in the "antiques" section - they sometimes don't even get listed under saxophones....
Captain Beeflat User ID: 1738604	Jun 18th 10:24 AM Not forgetting, of course, to look under saxAphone.
ukebert User ID: 1035294	Jun 18th 11:19 AM Ah yes, that old chestnut...
Castaway User ID: 9182423	Jun 18th 11:32 AM Ukebert - You are correct. Muggles said it took him hours to find it, and it was described as "old saxophone" in the "other saxes" section of Ebay. But that shows that they are out there for the taking if you search hard enough.
alan (uk) User ID: 0651814	Jun 18th 5:10 PM A lot of my best 'C' buys were described as 'old saxophone', or even 'old saxAphone'.... All the ones with 'melody' in are fair game for high payers with little time, to get the bargains you also need to look for mis-described 'alto' or 'tenor'. But it does all take time. Saxes (of any kind) selling to "USA only" often go cheaper, I consider it a personal challenge to get the seller to accept a bid from the UK, but then when he says "NO Paypal" that opens another can of worms ! What is this, a guided tour of backstreet ebay ? I notice we scared Mike off.........
Ken Uk User ID: 1689844	Jun 18th 5:50 PM Sounds to me like a financial limbo dancing competition for cheapest C Mel buy. "I bought one in perfect condition for $10!" "Well mine was forced upon me along with a cheque for $100!" $1200 sounds like a shop price in the UK. Mike if you want it enough, bloody well buy it! But first, try it.
bruce bailey User ID: 9670323	Jun 19th 12:37 AM Today there was a Conn SN on ebay US for $600 BiN overhauled. Looks nice, probably gone by now.
alan (uk) User ID: 0651814	Jun 19th 5:03 AM "....if you want it enough, bloody well buy it! But first, try it." Absolutely agree Ken, you could easily buy $1100 worth of cheap ebay 'duffers' before you finally hit a $100 miracle - so the emphasis is on "see it and try it", because at $1200 I'd expect a genuine sax specialist with the option to 'try and return' at no risk.
Captain Beeflat User ID: 1738604	Jun 19th 5:43 AM Or you could buy one of Steve's modern Aquilasax C Melodys with good intonation and modern keywork...and trouser the considerable change. Perhaps, however you have a penchant for clonky keywork and less than perfect intonation. :-)
alan (uk) User ID: 0651814	Jun 19th 6:34 AM Hmmm - I wouldn't necessarily say that 'clunky keywork' is a problem if a sax player already plays any of the Rb/Bb saxes from the first half of the 20th century. Plenty of clunky keywork amongst those if we're being honest - not just the domain of C-mnels. Some of us just love to clunk..... However - I've just gone back to my '31 Martin C Mel after playing the 60's Martin Magna alto for a few weeks, and I (honestly !) don't notice a lot of 'clunk'- just warmth. Remember, that '31 Martin C-mel was only a couple of hundred dollars, and is irreplaceable - but I'm also sharing the house with a load of other cheap C-corpses waiting for the kiss of life ! I know we all say "$1200 !!!" - but what's that in the big scheme of things ? Not a lot......
Captain Beeflat User ID: 1738604	Jun 19th 6:55 AM Must confess that my 1925 Conn alto has slicker and faster keywork than my 1925 Buescher C Mel; nothing to do with the fact that it is a C mel, the Buescher and alto and tenor of the period were the same. Keywork, for me however, was born with the BA Selmer of 1933. On the subject of relative values....how I wish that I had stayed in my first house, it cost what can now be considered back pocket change. Just imagine the collection of saxophones, cars and motorcycles which could have accumulated over the years...snag is, where would I have kept them? No man can have everything...where would he keep it all? :-)
alan (uk) User ID: 0651814	Jun 19th 7:23 AM ".where would he keep it all?" As you can personally attest, I'm trying...... It's not so much keeping them, we all move around, my last move was a major logistics exercise, and I'm still buying more than I sell or give away..... I don't plan to move again (except ultimately vertically, not sure whether it'll be up or down...? Maybe I'll just hang around and haunt !).