Saxon, I don't know of ANY school band who will let you play a C Melody saxophone! Probably for several reasons. Lack of sheet music for saxophone in the key of C. Sure, I suppose you could transpose a tenor or an alto part, but most instructors wouldn't accept that. The haven't made C Melody saxophones for 75 years. By most director's standards they are antiques and obsolete. They're considered in the same catagory as a metal clarinet. There are very few mouthpieces currently made for the C Melody saxophone. Tenor and alto mouthpieces don't exactly "work". Some may accomodate the horn better than others, but put a tenor or an alto mouthpiece on a C Melody and you will most definately have intonation problems! Trust me! I know! Band directors are so anal! Everything has to be THEIR way! They want you to use a Selmer S 80 C* on a Selmer or Yamaha horn preferably. Good luck finding an S 80 C* for a C Melody! They don't exist! I own a couple C melodies. They are fun to play from time to time. They do have their purpose and have proven to be useful even in today's music, but they are too old and too obsolete for high school band; be it concert band, marching band, or jazz band. If you like the C Mel, stick with tenor in band. Play the school's tenor if you must, but save you C Melody to practice with at home.

Well you may be right about the average band leader but Weren't C mels produced specifically because music wouldn't be a problem? That is, they can use piano or cello or clarinette or flute or etc music! Are you saying that an old C mel can't play well but an old Bb tenor can? There are a couple of companies making new mouthpieces for C mels these days using Tenor reeds. But like you said, they're not s 80 C*'s

C Melodies were designed to play in tune with a piano or an organ, so that the player could read piano music in the key of C and play along in tune. If you were to try to play along with the piano music on a Bb tenor, you would be playing in the key of Bb. Most high school saxophone music is written in either Bb or Eb to accomodate alto, tenor, and baritone mostly. You might find a few pieces for soprano and bass. Most soprano saxophones read clarinet music. Both are in the key of Bb. I would not recommend using ANY horn made prior to 1930 for school band use; tenor, alto, baritone, or C melody. They're just too old, and too fussy. They often need more frequent adjustments and care. Think of them as old people! They just can't handle the every day demands of a high school student, and they're going to get tired and protest! Yes, there are a few modern C melody mouthpieces. I have a LeBlanc Woodwind piece. I actually prefer the Meyer and I have been trying to locate one. They're very hard to find. Nobody stocks them. I use a tenor Rovner ligature on my Woodwind piece and bass clarinet reeds. The intonation is pretty good with my current set up. Although tenor reeds may work ok, I think bass clarinet reeds work better. They are the same size as the C melody reeds, and I believe that most modern C mel mouthpieces are designed to use them.

I have been following this thread and have taken the advice offered and am using bass clarinet reeds on a 1923 Conn with a Holton metal MP it seems to work well but I was wondering if you have the specs to make reeds from raw cane it may be an interesting project and may be the way to get my old horn to sound the way it was originally intended to.

Bass clarinet reeds and C Melody reeds are the same size. I had some C Melody reeds in the case of an old horn that I purchased. I compared them to the bass clarinet reeds and they are exactly the same size. I wouldn't bother trying to cut reads from cane. It's a bigger pain in the ass than it's worth. Jim

thanks for the reed tip! When my C mel arrives I'll probably have to try that until I can get a manufacturer to make some.

I heard a rumour that you may have a few mpc's yourself!