so i guess i got screwed huh?

If you wanted an alto yes but the c mel are becoming valuable especially the conns Dave

I was wondering, I just got a pre-chu off of Ebay, and read that they are New Wonders just with the "chu" nickname. Are they? cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7378611023&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEAFB%3AIT&rd=1

I was wondering, I just got a pre-chu off of Ebay, and read that they are New Wonders just with the "chu" nickname. Are they? cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7378611023&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEAFB%3AIT&rd=1

Let us know for sure if it is a C, looks like an alto to me (in the picutres). I thought the C had the bent neck like the tenor.

No , the conn new wonders have a straight neck and micro tuner also the new wonder series 2 around 148k serial number and up are called a CHU after Chu Berry and this is also wrong as Chu actually played the later transitional model Dave

Yeah, it's an alto.

Here's a C that is on Ebay right now..... cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Silver-Buescher-C-Melody-Sax-with-Gold-Bell_W0QQitemZ7386902782QQcategoryZ10184QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem It has the bent neck on it.

Although it's not a Conn.

Hi saxdawg, the horn that you bought is a New Wonder Series I. It looks to be in pretty good shape from the pictures, and I think you did pretty good on the price. It will most likely need a repad and some adjustments, but it should be a pretty good sounding horn. The old New Wonders play really easy. Conn made some changes to the keywork in 1922 which improved the intonation and cleared up a few stuffy notes. They also added the microtuner neck. Therefore, the intonation on your horn should be pretty good. Remember though when choosing mouthpieces; go with a fairly open chamber. A little info about the C melodies; most C mel's had the curved necks like a tenor. Very few of them were curved actually. Conn came up with the idea for the straight neck C melody around 1922. The straight C melody necks are considerably longer than an alto neck. One of the problems with them is that the top-mounted octave key is fairly long and not well protected, so they often crack and break. I had one that broke. Usually a decent repair tech can solder them back together and make them work, but just a word to the wise when buying a straight neck Conn; something to look out for. The intonation on the straight neck Conns is probably the best of any of the C Mels. The Buescher True Tones are also very good. Aside from the letter C which is usually stamped on the back of the horn near the thumbrest, C Melodies are a smalled bore, with a taller, more narrow bell. C mel's measure about 24 inches from the bottom of the bow to the top of the tenon where the neck attaches. Tenors are closer to 30 inches. Also, before 1922, most Conns had straight tone holes, except for the alto, which was the first to have rolled tone holes as early as 1918. Jim

Sorry; correction. I said very few of them were curved, referring to the C melody necks. Actually, very few of them were NOT curved. To the best of my knowledge, only Conn and Conn stencil C melodies had the straight necks. I had thought that Buescher also made a few straight neck C melodies, but apparently not.

When I got the horn it needed to get alot of adjustments, so I was recomended to a place in Ohio to a place called Borodi's music, who specializes in the older instruments. But it is in beauitful condition, and I was very happy to get it. And for the mouthpiece.. right now I am using an old Otto Link Res-O-Chamber 4 *,which is a totally smooth chamber. So (theoretically) I figure that will be the best one to use. I didnt get the chance to try it out yet.

So how much you need to pay for the adjustments? I am thinking what is the usual cost for a vintage sax.