 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: charlene
Date: 2003-02-07 13:50
Hi, I find myself in possession of a '24 silver Conn C melody - like the one wichita band has on their site: not quite as pristine and definately not as shiny. This will be the first sax I've played so I'm wondering if anybody out there can recommend a mp/reed/lig setup that works well for this horn. I've read that C melodies are pretty notorious for poor response without the right combo. Thanks
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Author: Peter
Date: 2003-02-07 21:07
These people currently make/have C Melody sax mouthpieces:
Runyon: $60.00, someone I know has one and is happy with it
LeBlanc: $114.00, some people I know like it better than the Runyon
Beechler: No knowledge
Meyer: Some people I know say this is the best
Ralph Morgan: $175.00, tenor blank re-done to work on a C-Mel
Bob Ackerman: Has "some with good facings" at $75.00
Personally, I don't like the idea of a tenor blank reworked for the C-Mel, the tenor MP makes the C-Mel sound too much like a tenor sax, which defeats its purpose.
I would go with Bob Ackerman first. He has a nice vintage business and collection and he is most likely, out of all the bunch, to have the right MP. One originally made for the C-Mel sax. He is also very knowledgeable.
I happen to like the Optimum ligatures (I have about 18 of them, both for sax and clarinet,) but what you may have to do, depending on the MP you get, is to go try some out, whether they are originally for the sax or the clarinet. When you make your inquiries, you might want to ask if the MP comes with the lig, that may be easiest, at first, until you go out to try some out and find one better suited to your requirements.
Depending on the outside dimensions of the MP, you may need to play around with it a little bit. But don't get the first lig you find that physically fits it. Try all you can before settling on one. If you just want one, in a hurry, so that you can play around with your horn until the right one shows up, get the cheapest you can find that will fit.
They are not always bad because they are cheap. The Bonade and the Vandoren Masters are very cheap and not bad at all for the purpose.
In fact, Bonades are very good. I don't use them because they all come defective from the factory and I refuse to have to "adjust" the shape of a brand new ligature, fresh out of the box.
I use a 1920 metal Goldbeck, which, reputedly, was the first "American" style mouthpiece that all the others (including Vandoren) copied and do so to this day. This pup is nothing but an open piece of pipe with a place to put a reed, however, it plays extremely well (better than most of the modern ones I've tried) and in tune.
The biggest problem in acquiring a MP for the C-Mel today, is that most of the manufacturers are using either a long shanked, large chambered alto MP blank, or a short shanked, small chambered tenor MP blank to build their so called C-Mel MPs. Many of these will not play in good tune or give you a good sound. Some sound as if the sax had a sinus problem, sort of a nasal sound, as it were; others sound reedy, so you really have to try them.
I love my C-Mel sax. The greatest majority of all the music you can readily find out there is for piano, violin, voice, guitar, and you can play all of it on the C-Mel without having to transpose. If you play in church, the C-Mel is a definite plus. Leadsheets are a breeze with a C-Mel.
I use a #2 to #2.5 Glotin tenor or alto reed. The tenor is just a fraction too wide and the alto is just fraction too narrow, but they both work. If you are adept at re-working reeds, building yourself some C-Mel reeds using tenor reeds for "blanks" might be a good project for you. I just use them as they come out of the box. The tenors seem to work best.
But you can't go by what I use. The best (really the only) thing you can do is to experiment for yourself as far as to what will eventually work for you.
Mine has good response, nice tone and acceptable+ intonation. I've heard a few Conn C-Mels, and know people who have owned them (two I recently met still do) and the Conn C-Mels have an excellent reputation for quality and sound.
Although I don't like Rovner ligs *AT ALL* and don't agree with the use of tenor blanks, etc,. someone recently reported to have had good luck with this set-up:
Conn C-Mel with tunable neck (worked on by Steve Goodson.)
Morgan 6M (.090) mouthpiece
Rovner Light ligature
Is your Conn the one with the curved (tenor style) tunable neck, or the one with the straight (alto style) neck?
You can e-mail me privately if you want to discuss the C-Mel sax, and I'll be happy to pass on all the information my friends passed on to me when I first acquired my C-Mel (a 1920 silver Martin.)
Peter
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Author: tramette
Date: 2003-02-14 00:14
I acquired a 1922 silver plated Conn C-melody sax a while back at a bargain price. You have to really be careful about the mouthpiece setup, because a whole lot of mp's don't work, or they sound funny or out of tune.
I've been using a Selmer S80 C star alto sax mouthpiece with medium strength reeds and just your average ligature, and I've gotten results I'm very pleased with.
It's just a matter of trial and error, in many ways.
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