Conn 16M (1963)

The Story

I was originally just an alto player, but always been interested in tenors. Once I had enough money I bought a Conn 16M – but not this one. Eventually I traded it in for the Keilwerth SX90R reviewed on this site. Suffering from a long-term buyer regret, I saw this in a pawn broker shop in San Jose in 2001. I was escaped from a Sun analyst conference for an hour with my friend Peter. This was on a high shelf behind the counter, long forgotten I would imagine. Having asked the store-keeper to wash the dirty reed under water I played the instrument, which had a loud, clear tone. Having bought it, I got a real compliment, ‘I’ve often heard buyers play the saxophone, you’re the first one who proved it’. Continue reading

Weltklang Commodore Tenor (1962)

The Story

We often go to the open market in Bridport, Dorset on a Saturday morning. In September 2011 we discovered a seller who had this instrument for sale. The lady was selling it for her son, who was not a player himself. There was no workable reed in the case, but it looked in good condition. It had no maker’s name on the horn, but looked playable and was relatively cheap for a tenor. Continue reading