Conn Pan American - Early?

[Gaijin-san]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16234&item=2521965 858&rd=1

I just received the above sax, this thing is a beauty! Despite old pads, it plays wonderfully, though there are some minor leaks down low. There are some missing corks that I'll have to replace.

Does anybody know anything about these horns? This horn has a tight neck, good action, and a VERY consistent sound all the way up and down the horn. I couldn't believe it! So different than my Taiwanese Buffet Evette alto that distinctly changes "flavors" with each octave.

The pads on this horn are a creamy-tan color pop-riveted in, no resonators. Would these be original? What type of leather are they? They're very thin pads (the felt or material under the leather).

Thanks in advance. I can give details on serial number if it'll help date this thing. I don't yet know how the intonation stacks up, I've got a tuner on order.

[Doc Frazier]

Email me at docfraz@juno.com and I can answer your questions about any of the Pan Americans

[alain]

The pan american sax are the student line of Conn not a stencil.Conn bought the Pan American instrument company in 1915. It have the same body as the M series. but not the little extra of the pro model like rolled tone hole, stronger brace, etc...

[Gaijin-san]

Alain, thank you so much. What would you guess is the age of this sax? I think I've determined it is not Early but rather late Pan American... even 1950s perhaps, due to the nickel keywork. My tech thought it was mid 1950s. What M series would this resemble most? The Director/Shooting Stars/16M?

[Helen]

Email me at docfraz@juno.com and I can answer your questions about any of the Pan Americans

Doc, could you post some info here? I too have a Pan American, but a curved soprano. I'm sure there are many other owners who would like to find a bit more out about this brand of horn. :roll:

[Gaijin-san]

I am a little concerned about Doc... I sent some pics, many, to him, as well as a serial number (complete) in an attempt to date this. Once I sent the pics and serial, all communication ceased... :?:

[Doc Frazier]

I haven't run away yet. Wife has been very sick and I'm in the process of changing jobs, just haven't had a chance to respond.

David, I'm working on your info for your horn. I should have it ready in a couple of hours.

Helen, I need a some info on your sop.

[Gaijin-san]

Doc, very sorry. I hope and pray that all is well with your wife and with your job situation. I know how hard it can be with job transitions, I can only imagine what having a wife ill at the same time must be like.

My apologies again.

[alain]

sorry for the delay. I never find information about the serial number/year for my pan american bari, so wait for doc frazier info. In the fifty my guess is you have a 10M model. In the vintage sax gallery site they put the other model you ask for in the sixty or seventy

[Doc Frazier]

Alain, email me with info on your bari such as serial number and some pics and I can help you.
Docfraz@juno.com

[Jack W.]

I am test-driving a silverplated Pan American straight soprano, P31xxx. I will defer to Doc, but it sure appears to be a New Wonder stencil. Pete "saxpics" says on his very helpful web page that the serial numbers are (probably roughly) 50000 lower than the corresponding Conn serial numbers, which would date this horn to about 1921. I can believe it as I have owned a 1921 Conn alto and a 1922 Conn tenor, and this horn is clearly a sibling, judging from the keywork. Apart from the "P" in front of the serial number, the "Pan American" engraving rather than "CG Conn", and the straight tone holes rather than the rolled tone holes, this looks like every New Wonder straight soprano that I've seen a picture of. It even has the thumb ring and the gold wash bell.

I will know more after trying out this horn at my pit orchestra gig tonight, but using a Lawton 6*B, either I am completely deaf or it is dead in tune and has the sound in spades. :)

[Jack W.]

I'm back, the horn did very well considering it still needs a few tweaks. I will sleep on it before deciding whether to buy it. One other thing that confuses me -- I notice that it has a *1915* patent date, not the 1914 one that I expected. Why might this be? The serial number stamp otherwise resembles the standard Conn serial, that is S/P31xxx/L.

[tubaron]

I am researching a similar vintage sax. Engraving shows patent date Sept 14, 1915, with patent number 1153488. This does agree with US Patent Office records. The serial number is shown A/41114/L. Note no "P".The engraving is crude--looks like someone manually applied the numbers and letters. I hope Doc can shed some light on the age.