Thanks sax_maniac. I've gotten nervous about reso's because I play-tested a 1951 10M that had plastic domes. I didn't feel that it had the big sound that I had been hearing about (I'm comparing it to my Buescher 400). I thought it might be due to the plastic domes but Mark Sepunick suggested to me that the key heights were to low. I think I should conclude that I should dismiss the resos in my decision and just make sure that the horn is setup right. THanks again!

I have dome plastic resonators on my 10M and it sounds great. I really don't notice any difference whatsoever. When I had my 10M overhauled, this is what they recommended. If I had to do over again, I probably would have insisted on metal resonators. I overhauled my Chu Berry alto and tenor myself, and bought the white metal resonator pads for them.

Low key heights or a pad leak can easily rob the sound on any horn. It's my observation that 10M's ergonomics are set up for larger hands. It is possible that someone closed things up to make it more comfortable or faster or they possibly didn't know what they were doing to the overall sound. Pad heights are a balancing act. The person who set it up that way might have been pleased with it. Mark is a great guy to talk with - a solid resource.

I'll add that I think that Conn Reso pads, with their metal ring around the outside thus flatter and "tighter" leather surface are very suitable for rolled tone holes. RTH make much less of an impression on the pads, so Conn Reso pads are nice to work with so long as the tone hole is level. If the RTH's aren't level, it's a tricky fix.

I wouldn't have thought that there is any inconsistency in the height of the RTH with this era/model horn, based on what I've heard. Has anyone heard of there being any inconsistencies with the 10M with RTH's?

SFS - To clarify my comments about RTH possibly not being level, I've never heard of Conns being out of whack factory mint (though I have heard this about Keilwerth's modern soldered on rings). What can happen, though, is body damage that changes the profile of nearby tone holes such that they no longer are level. Even after fixing a dent, the tone hole may not be true. This is not specific to RTH, but repairing the profile of a RTH is more difficult than fixing drawn holes as you can't (or shouldn't) level the tonehole by grinding like you can with drawn holes. In an ideal world, drawn holes don't get ground either, but corrosion damage can sometimes make it mandatory. A person looking to buy a RTH horn (Conn, Keilwerth/Couf, etc.) should take a look at how level the tone holes are before committing to it. It could become frustrating to address tonehole issues and not all techs are astute to how to properly address it.

Great insight Sax Maniac, To check the levels, shall I just take a straight edge and lay it under the pads? Or is this something that needs to be done when all the keys/rods are removed? Thanks

I suppose to have the keys off would allow the most complete and accurate view, but for practicality, it can be checked by using something flat and thin and somewhat rigid (think credit card without the embossment on it) and lay it across the tone hole. Cutaways from a fiberboard clipboard or plexiglass would work nicely. From there, you could use a thin feeler gauge (0.005") around the profile of the hole to see if there are any spots where the gauge can get through. I recommend using a leak light if possible, but if not, this mechanical method will suffice. The mere placing of your flat, thin object on the tonehole may tell you something. If it rocks on the tone hole, for example, it would mean that your pad would not be able to seal properly with out an unusual amount of deformation of the pad or a high amount of finger pressure. The bigger the horn, the more forgiving pad leaks are. While pad leaks always "get in the way" of a horn playing it's best, you can get away with slight leaks on tenors and moreso on bari's to a certain extent. Altos and sopranos are much more fickle when it comes to having a good pad seal. Good Luck.