Totally Original 1935 Conn Ladyface 10m Tenor, All New Pads & Corks

A rare Conn Lady Face tenor from 1935, Serial #266,248. Acquired by us earlier this year, together with half a dozen vintage saxes previously owned by a repair shop in France.

Cigar-Cutter Selmer, a good pre-war Balanced Action Selmer tenor, a sixties M6 alto and a few other pieces. All are now in the process of being brought back to life, slowly, a pad at a time. We acquired it from a shop in Bordeaux.

When I play tenor, I use a Conn LF from early 1946. I like Conn tenors, have owned many, prefer the rolled tone-hole models, though. Our 1935 Lady Face is silver. Bright silver plate to the keys, satin-silver to the body and neck. Several of the stack keys showed bubbling to the silver, so we had Anderson re-plate them. By 1935, silver was not considered the most stylish finish for saxophones. The serial number and patent number, the key posts and the area around the thumb-rest show no signs of heavy buffing.

Key pearl cups show some moderate wear to the metal, but not much. G# key-touch shows no wear at all. The satin-silver finish to the body is smooth, not uneven anywhere. The neck's very clean, no dents, no re-solders, no damage. Does have RH forked E-flat key.

Note the "birdcage" low B / Bb key guard. We see some signs of light feathering (only) to the bell engraving on this beauty.

But with no other evidence of buffing, we do believe the silver plate is original. Except for the half-dozen stack keys that we've re-plated. Perhaps, since the sax was a special order military? From a shop in Bogota, the boys at Elkhart took a body off the line after the engraving had been done, then had it plated.

It came to us pretty dirty, also. We've saved the pads, some of which appear to be the originals.

We burnished out a couple of small bell-dings, and then soaked the body in soapy water for two days. Amazing what soup and water can do! The case is definitely the original, but it's beat to death. Price includes the original plus a new modern case. It's my opinion that a post 1930 / pre-1947 Conn 10M is the best tenor ever made.

NOT a modern sax by any stretch of the imagination. Play scales for three days, get accustomed to the "fat" feel of the keywork and you'll never go back to a modern French instrument.

We have no hesitation in recommending it to the most particular musician. 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. In the event of cracked or damaged wood sections, we will repair at no cost to the customer or replace the section and charge the customer only for our net costs for the replacement section. WICHITA BAND INSTRUMENT COMPANY / WICHITA, KANSAS / USA.

Wichita Band Instrument Company is a small musical instrument emporium located in the center of the USA. The owners are Kansas natives Gary L. Ray and his two sons. Founded by a woodwind repair technician in 1953, we soon will commence our seventy-first year in business.

We're not a "back bedroom" operation but can report that we are the owners of a proper "brick and mortar" workshop. This item is in the category "Musical Instruments & Gear\Wind & Woodwind\Band & Orchestral\Saxophones". The seller is "wichitaband" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped worldwide.

Brand: Conn
Type: Tenor Saxophone
Body Material: Brass
Color: Silver
Instrument: Saxophone
Set Includes: Case
Experience Level: Professional
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Finish: Satin