Repairman's Overview: 1924 Conn New Wonder (Series I) Tenor Saxophone 

I am so glad you've made this video.. I have played cornet for over a decade and have always wanted to learn sax. A very generous women gifted me a NW 1 Conn and it seems to not have been used in years, needs to be polished! Now, from what you mention above... what would you tell someone that doesn't have any expectations on what the keys should feels like? Should i still consider getting them adjusted or should I dive right in and enjoy the tone! (Once i'm good of course..) Thanks!

It probably needs a full overhaul. The polishing is the least of your worries if the pads dont seal up.

So Glad i watched this video. got a guy offering me a conn tenor NW1. Nearly brought it

Stohrer Music thanks for being honest. There’s too many saxophone channels that I had to unsubscribe to because they were full of it. Whether it was blatantly lying about an old horn to endorsing products without telling me that they were given the product for free. Currently there is one of these horns on Craigslist in Brooklyn for $400 and I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. It needs a re-pad job and had a drop that affects the C key. Now I realize why so many of these New Wonder series one are being made into lamps by that guy in Pennsylvania. These horns are simply a bad omen..... F@*% them if they can’t accept the truth from you. Keep up the great work. Every video you make gets my thumbs ups...

Matt, I was glad to come across this video...just starting a re-pad on one and its good to know what I am up against!

Wow what a great story!

Billy Kahkonen thanks Billy 👍👍🎷

I got it onnnnnnne piece at a time, and it didn't cost me a diiiiiiime.

Hi Anders, would this octave pip fix work with a 16m as well?

@@jjpbm I havent tried it, but changing the main cone pip can solve a lot of octave issues in my experience. You do need to know which pip design to use, but not that hard to experiment a bit since they are easily changed without wrecking the horn

@@acephali6533 thanks will give it a go

It seems like the bigger horns would be more uncomfortable, is that true?

How would you describe the difference between the sound of a new wonder series I and II?

@@Steezologist i would say that the new wonder 1 are more responsive than the new wonder 2 but the new wonder 2 more powerfull if pushed

That's a valid point. Jazz is America's music, and this era of instruments can truly be classified as Americana (which gives them value, separate from their value as instruments).

I do love the sound. I think perhaps the point of view of a someone taking a screwdriver to it and someone playing it could be completely different. I also think I probably should have waited until I wasn't in such a foul mood about the overhaul to make this video. As I said in a comment from 4 years ago: "You are probably right- if I had waited a little longer after working on this horn to make a video, I probably would have been a little gentler with my adjectives, but I try to do it within a day or two of finishing the horn so its all fresh in my head. I have worked on some that were not nearly as bad, but usually they seem to be a bit worse built than the Conns of the next decade (which IMHO are the most finely crafted Conns out of all of them anyways)."

agreed

I think you have to be careful saying stuff like that about horns like this. I know you, and therefore know that your level of expertise as a player and especially as a collector and player of unusual vintage horns is very high. Without the caveats mentioned in the video, reviews like that (which are accurate from your point of view as an expert with a ton of experience with unusual and finicky vintage horns) can help create the situation that was arising when I first made this video: people were selling these horns on eBay to parents and students as a viable step-up from their Yamaha 23. Which it is not, in the same way a vintage Fiat is not a good replacement for your Corolla. A wonderful car for the right person yes, but when you get into 100 year old horns you have to be- in my opinion- careful to remember your audience does not necessarily have the experience necessary or the backup horn available to make owning one of these a positive experience.

@@StohrerMusic Matt, sorry if I left out the caveat IMO. I in no way recommend vintage horns to my students, or to anyone other than players who are intermediate players at least. And in no way was I trying to suggest that this--or any horn of this vintage for that matter--should be a step-up horn for anyone other than a well-informed and experienced player. My point here was simply that these horns have their place, and can be very good for the right person, and in the right setting. You are of course very correct, I have a whole collection of weird and wonderful vintage saxophones, many of which are very quirky. A great many players would find--and have found actually--many of the horns frustrating to say the least, yet I use them regularly with different groups with success.

@@bassicsax176 I agree wholeheartedly. I actually nearly acquired one for myself recently, lol. I am a sucker for the gold keys and silver body finish on these, and when I take the time to get one running well, they have such an amazing sound.

I play-tested a 10M and also thought the key pearls hurt my hands. But I tried a NW First Version and the keys were fine...

I transitioned from a 10M to a NW I tenor because the keywork was more comfortable for my relatively large hands. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. I LOVE the tone I get out of the NW I, it’s just so big and lush. Since the switch, I’ve gotten more compliments on my sound than ever!

Yeah, I love them! I got use to the keywork within 30mins, with smallish hands! Superb horns.

It might be an Eb - E trill mechanism (finger a normal Eb then use your middle finger of your right hand to trill to E). Probably corked because they're pretty useless and add weight to the action

(F) - (lift to open Ab) -(E/Eb trill)-(D)

Nope. I've seen several versions of that though, and the results always seemed a bit lackluster to me. I think its possible to do, but very very difficult to do well. The geometry is different enough that the modifications are extensive, and the leverages change, and the end result feels a bit spongy and highly variable in tension and travel. I think you could design all that out, but to do it really right seems like its a bigger job than its worth.

the Conn for sure, no question

@@StohrerMusic Thanks! I bought the Conn. I also today tried a Martin Committee, a Selmer La Voix and an Armstrong stencil of a Couf. The Martin was freshly overhauled and a LOT more money. Regardless, I just couldn't resist the lush, sensuous, silky tone the Conn allowed me to achieve (and it screamed when I pushed it, too). The tech where I bought it did some needed repairs (and put on a new neck cork). It will need a repad when the 95 year old pads (that still seal and subtone to Bb) give out. I'm taking this gizmo to Europe in a month (first trip). Hopefully nothing falls off! Thanks for the nod to the Conn. The Bundy played well - for what it is.

@@StohrerMusic So, mine has the microtuner (but no nail file G#). It's 10-21-24 - could be be a 2nd version and not a first?

Saying "check out Bert Brandsma playing my bass" is like saying "check out a formula 1 driver shredding on my tractor". Of course he can play it well. It is a double non sequitur, since in the video I am talking about build quality- the *fact* that these horns can SOUND good is completely separate from the fact that they are not as well-realized as the horns that came after them, and most newcomers to the vintage world should look elsewhere for their first vintage sax. And as I said in the description AND the main pinned comment, that was the purpose of this video when it was made- to give people looking at the ebay ads of the time (this is over a decade ago and a LOT of vintage horn sales happened on ebay) that said the NWI was basically like a NWII that was basically like a 10M a bit of a heads up that wasn't the case. People were getting ripped off, and to be honest that bothered me and was a big impetus for putting out this video (along with finishing an overhaul on the horn in the video, which was a somewhat frustrating challenge to me at the time). I also say that I would likely go easier on these horns now, if I were to make a video, since they have since been put in the proper context among other vintage horns. And context DOES matter here, and I try to forefront it by putting it as a pinned comment and in the description, but you seem to overlook it, possibly because you feel personally attacked as an owner of one of them. You shouldn't, though. This video is not aimed at you. You have a New Wonder I bass and you straightened it out with your own giant hands that resemble gnarled tree roots. You are not wondering what a NWI is about, and I don't need to tell you, and I wouldn't do so if we met in person. These horns can and do play well, but they are not a horn that a newcomer to the vintage horn world would likely be best served by puchasing- you want them to enjoy the journey, right? Maybe down the road, when the quirks are not so bothersome and they already have secured a reliable and competent source of repair. That is who this video is for. Not you. And handmade- all of them were. NWII was also, in fact by the same people, and is a *much* better built horn. The 6M/10M series is another huge leap, where I would say the early 6Ms are among the most finely crafted saxophones ever made. The keys are definitely far apart on the right hand on a NWI bass. Like, the farthest. You must have huge hands- after all, you straightened out a bent bass.

I completely understand your reply. Thanks! Still disagreeing on one detail: the keys on the right hand on my bass are suited even for smaller hands. (I can sent a picture if you like.) I did read your pinned comment prior to writing my comment earlier today. The main reason I play a vintage bass is the fact I could not afford to buy a new(er) one at that time (in 2008) with the same quality. I just wanted to play a decent bass-sax (vintage or new) :) And yes, the New Wonder 1 design does seem to have errors!, Like on my bass the B2 pad cup that hits the high eb shaft after I straigthened that shaft. And the bis key on my bass seems to be modified with an extention piece that looks not be original (but it has been installed for a reason). The shafts on the left side were hitting my clothes which caused problems. I had a new part (brass strip) installed to solve that issue. (but some newer saxes have that same issue) You have seen far more saxophones than me so I leave it to you to decide which ones are generally better. I never had New Wonder 2 model in my hands, nor a 6m or 10m. Thanks Matt for all the great content you put on You Tube.@@StohrerMusic​

Glad you enjoy my content and I am glad you love your horn! I have worked on a few older Conn basses and I find them to feel large in the hands (my hands are probably average size, not huge but not small either), but perhaps I am thinking more of the overall feel vs. the spacing. I have not worked on any modern basses, just Conns and Bueschers. The bis modification you have is likely because the spacing on those was sometimes so wide a finger could fit between the B and bis, and it was not super easy to operate. On the tenors, it is typically modified and I believe Oleg offered a doohickey for it a while back. @@WillieWunderbar

Large in the hands: the right hand thumb - in the normal position - is quit far to the back. That is some stretch indeed. That's why I often put my right thumb to the side of the tube instead of the back were the thumb rest" is. I do this typically when we are on the road with a small marching band and playing all day long. @@StohrerMusic