CONN LADY FACE 10M TENOR, NEW PADS, ORIG. LACQUER! Clean and straight, superb player, not even expensive. Start Price USD 1,699.00 Current Price USD 1,699.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 1,999.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, September 06, 2008 End Time Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Location Wichita, Kansas See more about 'CONN LADY FACE 10M TENOR, NEW PADS, ORIG. LACQUER!' Description WICHITA BAND INSTRUMENT COMPANY 2525 East Douglas Avenue Wichita, KS 67211 Telephone (316) 684-0291 FAX (316) 684-6858 Email wbic@wichitaband.com CONN 10M “LADY FACE TENOR”, ORIGINAL LACQUER. C.G. Conn 10M “Lady Face” tenor #326,634 (1947). Back in the post-war years, when the Greenleaf family (nephews of Colonel Conn) owned the company and when Conn still had the reputation of making FINE saxophones, lots of superb players swore by Conn tenors and nothing else. Put a Link 6-star or a Brilhart on one and it’d work as well as any tenor ever built. But the boys in Elkhart made the decision, in early 1947, to make ‘em just a hair cheaper than they’d been before the war. That means they discontinued the rolled tone-holes. But the brass in them was still of high quality in 1947 and the saxes still had the same BIG Conn tenor sound. Well, here’s one that’s not very expensive, definitely has original lacquer finish, now with no dings or dents and wears all new pads and corks from our shop in Wichita. Not a “closet queen”, but an honest vintage Lady Face tenor that I’d not be ashamed to play anywhere. Looks better than the 10M I had when I was in high school, I’ve got to admit… Keywork is still very tight with still very sharp key pearls. Dents and dings to the end-bow have been burnished out, not invisible, but close. New pads & corks from our shop, of course. No “forked E-flat” on this one, which we think is a plus. There was, in the opinion of some, no finer tenor sax ever built, even though it’s a (just) post-war tenor. Remember the flick “New York” from about a decade ago? DeNiro and Liza Minelli, as I recall. Yeah, he was a tenor player in it. Did he use a Selmer Mark Six in the movie? Nah! He used a gorgeous Conn 10M Lady Face! More info… Conn almost always polished their saxes, then sprayed a coat of acrylic lacquer on ‘em and did the bell engraving AFTER the lacquer work had been done. That means you never see lacquer in the engraving lines, nor do you on this one. Quite a bit of the lacquer to the bell has worn off, but we are 100% positive the remaining 80% of the instruments finish is indeed original. G-sharp touch is typical “10M” type with triangle design. This one does have first finger trill key for G#, articulated with the G# touch for the little finger left hand. Octave mechanism on the body has the little square box that’s typical of Conn Lady Face 10M’s. If it no got the box, it’s not a Lady Face 10M. High E key touch is curved, like on all 10M Lady Face models. This one does not have “forked Eb key” for one & three fingers of the right hand. That’s a plus, we think. Conn’s tenors evolved gradually over the years and their 1935 catalog shows their 10M sax with low B and B-flat pad cups on OPPOSITE sides of the bell. By 1936, both pad cups were on the same side. But Conn continued to put the forked E-flat mechanism on their tenors until 1940 or 1941. Conn tenors made between 1942 (only a few…) and 1947 usually (not always…) were built without the forked E-flat key, but still WITH rolled tone-holes. And that’s exactly the same as our tenor. The best of the best, in our opinion. *** Nope, that's an error on my part. SOME 1947 saxes still had rolled t-holes, but this one DOES NOT. Key pearls are still sharp. Not perfect, but close. Hinge-tubes show no loose play at all. Pads and corks are new and from our shop in Wichita. We’ve used “Reso pads” from Ferree’s that are pretty much identical to the originals. Case is a French Selmer case that’s solid but scuffed. Add $100 and we’ll give you a new Pro-Tech case with it. Bottom line is that it’s a dead-honest Conn Lady Face 10M that plays VERY well, has dings burnished out, tight keywork and sharp pearls, wears new pads and doesn’t cost a bundle! ******************************************************************************************** Wichita Band Instrument Company is a small musical instrument emporium located in the center of the USA. We’ve been in business since 1953 and have had the same owner since 1963. Originally we were a repair shop that specialized in woodwind and sax restoration. Today we have 18 employees including eight of the finest repair technicians in the country. Virtually ALL the items we sell have been fully reconditioned in our own shop, although we do sell the occasional unrestored historical instruments each year. Due to the heavy demand for our services, we do no school repairs, and very few “walk-in” repairs. It’s sometimes possible to buy a good saxophone on Ebay for a lower price, but unless that instrument wears all new pads and corks from a reputable shop, you won’t know how it plays until you spend another five to seven hundred to have it mechanically overhauled. With a saxophone from OUR shop, you know it’s in the finest condition when it arrives at your home! Here’s what we do to all used saxes we sell: The instrument is taken apart and everything washed clean. We don’t believe in chemical dips, but do use plenty of soap and water! Dings are next burnished from body, bell, end-bow and neck. With a little effort, we can make things look “like new” again. After the body-shop work’s been completed, we swedge hinge-tubes tight again and re-fit to the sax body. Finally, pads and corks are replaced and the instrument play-tested. Most customers tell us that our saxes are then actually “mechanically better than new”. Wichita Band’s service warranty is the same as it’s been for more than thirty years: “ALL new and all used instruments sold by Wichita Band Instrument Company come with our 24 month service warranty. It’s in addition to any factory guarantees. For two full years, we will repair or replace,whichever in our estimation is the more advisable, pads, corks, springs or other parts required, at no charge to the customer. The customer is responsible for shipping and insurance charges. Cases and plating finishes are not covered by our service warranty but are sometimes covered by factory guarantees.” Wichita Band’s service warranty does cover dents and dings to your sax. If your instrument sustains damage to the body, end bow, neck or bell, we’ll burnish out the dents and make it look “like new” again. The cost you is absolutely nothing except shipping and insurance charges. Wichita Band Instrument Company maintains a repair department capable of restoration work of the highest quality. Even though repairs are essentially “free” for the first two years, after that period has expired, we remain at your service to maintain and repair your musical equipment forever. It’s our “service after the sale” promise and has been since 1953! In the event that a customer requires service under factory guarantees or Wichita Band’s service warranty, the item must be returned to us and not directly to the manufacturer. Anything we sell can be sent to you for a short approval period without obligation. We collect NO SALES TAX, unless you’re lucky enough to live in Kansas. The customer is responsible for shipping and insurance and must pre-pay back to us any freight charges on returned equipment. International shipping is available. Returned items will be refunded within 3 weeks of receiving the item. We’re happy to send any instrument “on approval” for ten days, but ask the prospective buyer to pay shipping both ways and to please reimburse us for posting, re-stock and clean-up charges (2.95%) on any returned instrument. VISA/MASTERCARD/DISCOVER/MONEY ORDER/CHECK/WIRE TRANSFER ACCEPTED. Credit cards not accepted from some countries. We must ship to the credit card billing address with exceptions made only at our discretion. We’re happy to correspond with musicians, players, parents and enthusiasts of all types. Written appraisals are always available, but please don’t write or telephone and ask “what’s granny’s baritone sax worth?” Do an Ebay search and you’ll be able to figure it out for yourself. Feel free to call or e-mail for any additional information. Wichita Band Instrument Co. 800-835-3006 order line (USA and Canada), 316-684-0291 outside the USA and Canada order line, and info line, e-mail: wbic@wichitaband.com. OUR STORE Place a Bid!