Last summer I had the chance to see first hand, the Conn-O-Sax that Matt, AKA quinntheeskimo Vintage Horns, has for sale. This absolutely beautiful sax is arguably the rarest of birds in the saxophone world. Conn only made about 200 Conn-O-Saxes, and of those, modern estimates are that only between 20 to 40 of them remain.
The Conn-O-Sax that Matt has for sale, is in beautiful condition. If you have the necessary cash, this lovely saxophone can be yours.
NB: all photos from eBay.com
The Conn-O-Sax F Alto, model 22M, is a close relative of the 24M, F Mezzo Soprano. Both saxes were born out of the sax-happy, roaring 20s, and both saxes suffered the same sad fate: lack of wide spread interest and sales, leading to a halt in production. (For a detailed description of the historical context of the times, you should check out Dr. Paul Cohen’s article, The Saga of the F Alto Saxophone.)
Both the 22M & the 24M were produced for approximately 2 years: from 1928 to 1930. In a 1990 article in the Saxophone Journal, Dr. Paul Cohen stated that of the few F Mezzos that were made, many were relegated to the Conn repair school, and used as practice repair instruments.
The Conn-O-Sax and the F Mezzo Soprano used the same mouthpiece, but while the F Mezzo had the range of a regular saxophone (from low Bb to high F), the Conn-O-Sax’s range went from low A to high G (AKA altissimo G, or G3). The Conn-O-Sax’s sound has been described as being close to that of an English Horn or Heckelphone.
The following is the ad that Conn used to introduce and promote its new product, in its own Musical Truth trade magazine in 1928.
Source: saxpics.com
For more information on the F pitched saxophones, make sure you check out saxpics’ New Wonder: F Horns page. There is a lot of information there, and also links to pictures, as well as some audio files.
