Fank Holton C melody 1910?

[mossite]

hi,

i purchased a Frank holton c melody. it has the serial number 10170. can anybody tell me something about this company and the saxophone? i can hardly find any information :( .
i´m gratefull for anything you can tell me about these sax. maby someone is playing such a modle to.

so long
mo

[Pete]

You may notice that there isn't a forum topic here for Holton or on my own website, www.saxpics.com. There is a reason for this: Holton was never regarded as a "premier" maker of saxophones and they have very few current "fans" (StevenW knows quite a bit about 'em and he might eventually see this post :) )

A good deal of Holton saxophones are plagued with three "killer" problems: poor intonation, a "tinny" sound from thin construction and odd keywork.

The most famous Holton model is the "Rudy Wiedoeft" model (there's a beautiful one (http://www.vintagesax.com/images/holt38rwalto.jpg) that's been for sale at www.vintagesax.com for about 3 years now), a model that Rudy Wiedoeft never played nor had any real input in creating (this is based both on articles from Dr. Paul Cohen and from the fact that pre and post Wiedoeft horns had similar keywork).

All is not lost! There are quite a few folks that do say that Holton gold-plated sopranos are quite servicable. They also had a few interesting models, like a straight-neck C melody (a la the Conns) and a model with alternate low C/B/Bb keys.

[Media Lint]

If you need parts for it, I have one for that use.

[Media Lint]

For the record: I have a much sabotaged Holton Alto that is clunky and sounds like a percussion instrument, but with a little relaxation sounds out a good ballad. The intonation is not a problem on it, it's probably among the best intonation wise of all my horns.

[Media Lint]

I also have a c-mel for parts, or fitting of lamp fixture

[Roger Aldridge]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Frankie Trumbauer play a custom made Holton c-melody? Trumbauer also played alto. But, I don't know what brand he had.

[David Spiegelthal]

I had a Frank Holton Bb tenor, 1917-vintage standard (non-Wiedoeft) model last year for about three months, fixed it up to good playing condition but then sold it because it was, well, very average --- nothing really bad about it, sound and intonation were OK (but no better), keywork was somewhat awkward but could be adjusted to, horn looked nice but just wasn't anything to write home about, playing-wise. I wouldn't dismiss the old Holton saxes outright, but I'd go in with fairly low expectations.

[MusicMedic]

Oddly enough, I'm doing one of these right now. This Holton C-Melody is for a client who has had the instrument in his family. I didn't get a chance to really play it much when it came in because it was in poor shape but I'm hoping it will scream when it goes out. I'm putting RooPads in it with Gold Plated Noyeks. Might not find too many Holton C-Melodies set up like that....

This particular horn does not have a huge problem with the Soldered tone Holes but, that's something that you will want to have checked.

I took some pictures of this horn for my Client. This Holton C-Melody has no lacquer.

http://www.MusicMedic.com/seth42403/

[Perfect Pitch]

it's probably among the best intonation wise of all my horns.

Sounds like a scary comparison :shock:

[cmelodysax]

I have a Holton C-Mel s/no 21xxx which is sadly in need of a good restoration - but even in it's current condition is a surprisingly easy blower. I may just have to quickly restore it just enough to see what it's capable of, build quality is very good.

I say this as a man who normally favours Martin & Buescher C-Mels, but I will admit this horn seems to have potential. It also has an extra large key - just in front of the side Bb/C/E keys and in line with the high E key - which seems to be some sort of alternate/trill high B-D (?). Mind you, Holton did go in for 'special' keywork.

Even has an extra tonehole to facilitate this, filling up the space normally left on older horns by the missing aux-front-F key mechanism - first time I've seen this arrangement. Anyone interested, or can give any info, I'll post a photo or two.

Regards, Alan.

[cmelodysax]

Well, I seem to have answered my own question. Quoting from a Cybersax Q&A page,
http://www.cybersax.com/QA/Q&A_Holton%20Saxophones.html
-which may be of interest, mossite, as well as the excellent C-Melody site at -
http://boards.eesite.com/board.cgi?boardset=cmelody&boardid=cmelodyt

(quote)
"In the early days (post W.W.I thru the 1920's), Holton saxes often tried to make up for low acceptance with exotic (and esoteric) special keywork. One such item sden on early Holtons is a high C/D trill key. Not just (almost) useless, the high C/D trill key also complicates the mechanism to where these instruments are more difficult to service."
(unquote)

So I may just plug the redundant hole and use the extra, but convenient, pillars etc. to add an aux-front-F mechanism from an old donor alto. Every potential problem becomes an opportunity.....

Regards, Alan.

[spiderjames]

What makes the Holtons such dogs? I saw a silver plated 1930-40ish holton tenor recently, and although it needed a pad job and so was unplayable, the general construction seemed good and looked essentially the same as my Conn tenor. The keywork definitely didn't look crude or cheap and the body seemed real heavily made. I was tempted to buy it just to see if it plays as bad as its reputation.

[cmelodysax]

Holtons saxes got a lot of (mostly) undeserved bad press. Whilst Holton were a household name with their brass instruments, I think they produced (or had someone else make them) saxes and clarinets so they could offer the complete range of band instruments.

They were never really tonally as good as Martin or Buescher, but if you get a good one ( and thankfully mostly only the good ones have survived ) they really are OK. What spoilt them was extra keys and quirky mechanisms, especially on 20's and 30's horns. Made them more difficult to fix, and from then on it was all downhill. Pity, because a lot of design work went into them.

I've played a few at odd times, over the years, including a nice bari, nothing bad about them - although not earth-shaking either.

Regards, Alan.

[spiderjames]

So A 40's tenor without the extra keywork (looks like a Conn 16m) for around $100.00 might be worth a repad as a spare?

[cmelodysax]

I'd reckon so - what can you get for $100 ? The only caveat is the cost of the repad - you may not be able to recoup the total cost if you don't like the end result..... (Just being devils advocate)

[ferrari]

My brother, who I jam with occasionally, has an old Holton alto# 317xxx. I brought it home to oil the pivots, and make it playable. So far, it seems like a decent horn and I now I've got a usable horn to play when I visit him. Any suggestions on mouthpieces, or should I just bring my Meyer that I use on my SA 80? I'll be trying the Meyer as soon as the alto is playable, but I thought someone might have some reccomendations.

[paulwl]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Frankie Trumbauer play a custom made Holton c-melody? Trumbauer also played alto. But, I don't know what brand he had.
Roger, I'm gonna answer you question a year late! :) Trumbauer played not only a Holton alto, but also a bass (which he never recorded with). The extensive timeline in the book Tram: The Frank Trumbauer Story has him sending them both back to the Elkhorn plant to be overhauled as late as 1932, and even trying out a new model alto that year.

By 1934, he had switched to a Selmer Super alto - very probably because he had some freelance gigs in NYC before rejoining Paul Whiteman late in '33. (He'd spent most of 1932-'33 leading a fine territory band out of Chicago, which did as well as could be expected for a new band at the time, i.e., not very.) Selmer had already won the day among NY lead men. But the Holton C stayed with Tram for the rest of his playing career.

[ferrari]

I tried my Meyer mouthpiece on that old beater Holton, and guess what. It sounds better than my SA 80. The keywork is kind of funky, but it blows a lot easier than my Selmer, and it has that rich, warm tone typical of vintage American horns. I think I might have to sell the Selmer, and pick up a 6M or Buescher. I've just about had it with the thin top end on my SA 80.