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Doc Frazier's work on my 1947 Conn 6m

11K views 23 replies 13 participants last post by  Oric Muso 
#1 ·
Just thought folks might like to see some work that Doc Frazier has recently finished on my Conn 6m alto. I purchased the horn here on SotW a couple of years ago, and this very late (1947) rolled tone hole example was promising, but the finish was in bad shape and the pads were shot. There was mild red corrosion on the neck,

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and severe red rot on the low Eb tone hole

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Well, I had Doc work his "magic", and a few results of the full gold plated restoration are shown here. I would assume that this will soon become one of Doc's projects shown on his website:

http://www.jandjwoodwinds.com/

in the near future, where likely many more shots will be shown, but it is not there yet. Clearly, he was very careful with the nice engraving. And the matte body, with "bright" keys and engraving are very striking.
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What can't be shown on a posting like this is the fantastic job Doc did in setting up the horn. It now plays really well top to bottom, with kangaroo pads, flat riveted resonators, and new springs. It is set up very light and fast, just like I asked, and I've been playing it for a few weeks and find it set up perfectly for me, although it is a little more responsive than I am used to with the new slick action. But that's how I wanted it, and I am adjusting quickly.

In any case, I really appreciate SotW, since I bought the horn and became aware of Doc through this site, and thought I'd let folks know about the outcome of this project.
 
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#5 ·
Indeed, saxismyaxe, it really is first rate all the way. And ratracer, if anything it plays better than it looks. I wanted to resurrect this horn, and make it look good in the process, but the most important thing to me is the playing. I can't put it down without wanting to pick it up again. It is just so smooth and fluid under my fingers. The setup is really superb. Huge kudos to Doc for all the effort on this!
 
#9 ·
It depends what I have to do and what I have to start with. Bentaxle was great to work with. One thing people forget about our shop is that unless a gun is held to my head we HAND polish our restorations. It takes longer of course but the horns we have done have already been nearly buffed to death. I'll have before and after pics on the website later this week.

The delay issues here was/is from the car wreck and resulting major surgery that I had to have. We are getting everything caught up (no thanks to the people we hired and didn't bother to show up!) If anyone needs to deal with Bentaxle he has my 2 thumbs up!

Have a blessed day!
 
#8 ·
In looking at my original post, after the fact, I realized that my "after" shots don't include views of where the problems were shown in the "before" pictures. So here are views of the neck and the region near the low Eb tone hole (but the keys are on here, so it's a different view, but you can tell things look totally different!). Also, I hope that everyone realizes that you can click on the photos and get more detailed, enlarged photos which are much clearer!

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Obviously, there are too many nice angles and shots to include here, so maybe when Doc gets his server filled with more photos one can look at more of these.

Also ratracer asked how long the restoration took. I wasn't in a rush, and my time is probably not typical due to some other scheduling issues that were happening at JandJWoodwinds while my horn was being done. I'd strongly encourage you to discuss with Doc, if you're interested (and he may weigh in here as well, since he replied above). My horn was over a year, but Doc and I were in touch during that time and I wasn't in a rush and had no problem with all of that, but I am pretty sure that he would quote you a number more in the range of several months. Obviously, his estimate is more important that what I would be guessing.
 
#12 ·
Nice work. It's a Swan! The key work on the 6 and 10M's is slick as all can be. I shrug my shoulders when I hear people talking about ergos on modern horns and how these old girls hold them back. Listen to the old recording when these horns ruled and no one is being held back.

Doc... FANTASTIC WORK

Bentaxle.... enjoy that sax.

HUTMO
 
#14 ·
Yes! ... to all the comments about the beautiful work that Doc has done. It really looks fantastic. Makes me want to pick up the horn. But once I pick it up, the playing is fantastic. The action is so quick and light. And, per Hutmo, I truly am enjoying it, and there isn't enough time in the day to play it as much as I want to. Doc really knows how to make a vintage horn beautiful, both to look at and to play.
 
#19 ·
Hey Doc,

Can't fully and completely thank you for the wonderful work you did on my 10M (http://thisoldhorn.com/Horns/conn.10m.html) so I'll do it publicly.

Superb work Doctor! Due to his unfortunate accident and my unfortunate neurological condition Doc understood fully why and what I needed to make the 10M work for me. This man is a Godsend. If you can, you gotta take advantage of his talent. And if you're around Cincinnati you gotta come by and play this thing.

Thanks again Doc,
Rob
 
#20 ·
Doc:

Thanks for posting the whole project (Conn 6m satin/bright 24k Gold) on your site. It's cool to see where this all started, given how great it looks now. And it really does "sing" after all your work! Thanks again. (Rob Dorsey's job sounds like a lot of interesting modifications!)
 
#23 ·
Beautiful work yet again Doc! I got to see the "Katrina Bari" before and after restoration and have played it. I can state for the record that the continued life of that horn is nothing short of a miracle! The young man who owns it is still in awe of his good fortune.
 
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