Dan Kinzelman Comparing Classic Selmer, King and Conn Tenor Saxophones 

Hi Daniel, Mate, I also play the Conn Transitional, mine is the 1932 , love it!!

Wow that's quite impressive that you have such clear ideas at this age. When I was looking for my first professional saxophone I don't think anything could have changed my mind about needing a Mark VI. There were just too many of my heroes who'd made their mark with that horn. Congratulations on trusting your instincts and best of luck for the future!

@@sequoyahcisneros8719 Such wisdom at a young age I bet you are a very good player I love Conns also I have a New Wonder that sounds amazing and a 10 M that needs some work but I'm sure it will sing also , all the best to you

Finally I have a 10m (1959), has a beast sound, dark and power... finally I'm so happy!!!

Thanks Rob. I definitely feel like in the long run this has worked out well for me.

Dexter switched to Selmer after his Conns were stolen in Paris

Yeah that would be cool!

Thanks PlainEd, I'm really glad you found it useful!

Yeah, I played a lot of 10Ms that year, but none of them was on the level of the one in this video. It belongs to a friend (whose main tenor is a Buescher THC 400), and I tried to talk him into selling it to me, but he refused (and rightly so). Pretty nice to have a backup horn of that level!

Good to know Nathan. I found it an interesting horn timbrally, but just didn't love it enough to pursue it. I ended up with a Conn Transitional, hope to post a video of that soon. Plesae consider subscribing if you'd like to stay up to date.

True, all true. I have a very late Zephy r. I repadded it and adjusted key heights for intonation. I play it with a Morgan Jazz ML (medium large) chamber mouthpiece. The neck is long, almost protruding into the mouthpiece chamber. That's why you can't skimp on chamber size. I am not in the Old Horn Cult. I just hit a bad spell and had to sell my expensive horns.

Thank you Peedrow, I'm glad you found it useful.

Thank you.

He switched to a Mark VI.

don't worry about that! possiamo dire che sia un modello si transizione tra il serie 1 e il serie 2, l'anno è a cavallo tra le due produzioni (1924), e non è da escludere l'eventuale presenza di caratteristiche ibride....non sarebbe una rarità, bellissimo video, grazie!

Grazie Francesco. Sono curiosissimo ora di provare un serie 2, o di provare un serie 1 in stato decente. Se hai altri suggerimenti scrivi pure, devo fare la lista perche' vado da un collezionista fra qualche settimana e ci sara' l'imbarazzo della scelta.

beh, io sono solo un meccanico, quindi sul suono posso parlare solo di gusto personale, a me il suono datato 1936 piace moltissimo: per i Conn la produzione era estremamente discontinua in termini di timbro, pertanto se un n.w. serie 2 o 1 che sia ha un sono davvero pazzesco può capitare che il fratello con matricola lievemente differente abbia una sonorità diversa, magari meno accattivante, quindi meglio cercare l'esemplare singolo e non il range di produzione; anche l'intonazione è un pò scostante e non è detto che quelli più recenti siano più intonati di quelli più vecchi... se realizzi un video anche con i super action e con il buescher sarebbe super; se non li hai mai provati, trovare un The Martin Committee serie3 (art pepper ne suonava la versione contralto) potrebbe essere molto interessante...

Grazie Francesco, mi sto facendo una lista di strumenti da provare. Il Buescher c'e' gia', aggiungero' il Martin e Super Action.

Check out Nubia Garcia, young British jazz tenor player, to see someone getting a fantastic tone on a New Wonder 1.

Thanks! I did end up with a Conn Transitional.

I haven't played many Mark VIIs, and have heard bad things about them, but I played one last summer and thought it was great! I think if you find a good one it can be a great alternative to a Mark VI. I did end up going with a Conn (1931 transitional model), and it's a very nice horn. The pinky cluster is definitely clunky compared to Mark VI and newer (or even super-balanced action), but you can find ways to make it work, and it's worth it to me for the response and SOUND...

@@danielkinzelman7093 I'm with you on that, Dan.

Thank you!

Thanks for your comment Cool Jazz. I think this particular Mark VI is not an amazing instrument. It's not bad, but it's a little dull compared to what I remember of my own. I really like the NW, I'm hoping to find one that actually seals so I can see what it really feels like in the low register. For the moment it's probably the most fun to play for me, despite the primitive ergonomics, but the music I make doesn't depend too heavily on speed and mechanical precision anyway so I may be able to live with it if the acoustics are as amazing as they seem. I also recently tried a new, very affordable Taiwanese instrument which plays amazingly, I was really shocked. In some ways I think it was more fun than my Mark VI! But I am waiting to lay my cards on the table until I've had another chance to spend some more time with one ;-).

Thanks for your comment Thomas. If you are interested in the Zephyr, I think you should try one before deciding against it. You may already know this, but maintenance (especially key heights) and mouthpiece choice can really alter the intonation of an instrument. Some commenters below have mentioned this as well. I think if I'd really loved the color or feeling of the Zephyr, I might have made the effort to work all the other factors out.

that's a very different horn though. 1940s were supposedly at lot better when many new designs.

Thanks! Yeah I really like the Conn 10M. I have had the chance to play 7 or 8 of these over the past few months, and this one is definitely the best out of all of them. I partially agree about the vintage instruments, definitely agree about the good tech. I guess I've found that you can get a lemon now and then, but I have to say that most of the Conns I've played from 1922-1939 (approximately) are at least very good. A good percentage is excellent and a handful are outstanding. I actually have found more variance in Mark VIs (some of which I thought were kind of crappy), but this is just my experience. I would add that many of the Conns I played were in various states of disrepair, so it was very hard to evaluate the low end of the instruments properly. I am currently trying out a Rampone & Cazzani. It's an Italian tenor from the 1940s which is absolutely unbelievable, a very special instrument. I will try to post a video soon. I also have appointments to try out a few Conn Transitional models and some New Wonder I and IIs. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and please subscribe to stay up to date!

It did indeed. Lucky to have a lot of nice people around me, and musicians in general were very, very supportive.

Martins are awesome horns! I ended up going for a transitional model, which I heavily modified. As soon as i have some time I'll make a video.

Not yet, unfortunately. I doubt I ever will, but would be very curious to know where it is now.

@@danielkinzelman7093 it’s only a matter of time… If you’ve got the serial number and you’ve alerted every online potential source/stolen goods register then who knows🤞?

Thanks a lot! I just bought a Conn Transitional. It needs an overhaul, but I think it's going to be good. I'll try to post a video of it soon. I feel like the Buescher Aristocrats are a little too primitive soundwise for what I need. I actually really like them, but feel they're less versatile, and that the NWIIs and Transitionals are a happy medium and a bit more elegant.

@@danielkinzelman7093, Interesting. I wound up feeling the exact opposite. I felt freed by the Buescher and limited by my Conn, like it was too primitive! Though if you get the right one, a transitional is near impossible to beat. I sold a 1930 Transitional last year that to me just wanted to be old, yet, my 1921 New Wonder seems to be able to do whatever I want. Anyway, so many great options! My Balanced Action is lovely too. Each one inspires me in a different way. Happy playing!

Yes, it's amazing how different each one is, and how subjective it all is. Take care :-)@@coilhead

@@danielkinzelman7093 I have a 1925 NW I changed the thumb rest and will try to move the bis key but other than that I can get around very quickly on it and the sound is amazing! I can get used to the pinky table it's worth the sound, I also have a Selmer made in Taiwan a Soloist I'm told it was some kind of promotional horn and for $600 it is amazing but you just can't beat that old Conn sound IMHO best to you

Thanks @@1dotele , I bought a Conn Transitional (late NW II) and am having it overhauled now. They are moving the thumbrest and the bis Bb plus a bunch of other little stuff. When it's done I'll try to make a video showing where I ended up.

Thanks Joel

Yeah you're probably right. But I really like my mouthpiece, and it's worked pretty well (IMHO) on all the other vintage saxophones I've tried. I think it might not have been a great example of a King, and also perhaps needed some TLC from a repairman.

@@danielkinzelman7093 Yeah, no worries though. Good playing BTW!

I'm not sure if this is an early or late Zephyr, but I had a pretty hard time playing it in tune. The other horns all felt much more comfortable in that regard, as did the Super 20s I played in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MePYKixWdHg.html

@@danielkinzelman7093 It's a very early one (1939?). By the time the Super 20 had come out (1947), both they and the Zephyrs made from that point had better intonation. You have to realize that the Zephyr continued to be produced concurrently with the Super 20 right up through the 1970s. Both models are essentially the same horn up to around 1958, except the Super 20 has better LH action. Otherwise, same horns. Same body tube. Same bell. Same neck dimensions. Everything. But around 1958 the Zephyr was cheapened to have nickel keys, and became more of a student horn. But I have played Zephyrs from the early to mid 50s that played and sounded better than Super 20s with full pearls from the same period.

I don't doubt it. I don't know Zephyrs well, but I will never forget the first time I played a Super 20, and they have the most amazing low notes I've ever encountered.

@JR Beckman I have a very late model Zephyr that I like a lot, except for the pinky table. The older ones are more expensive, I suppose because of a lot of mother of pearl and engraving.

Grazie Federica, io continuo a guardare il vecchio Conn con gli occhi a forme di cuore, ma per il momento non e' molto suonabile. Il mio Mark VI era meglio di questo qua, ma rimane un bel strumento.