The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Rev. Avery
Date: 2003-11-18 20:55
Does anybody know anything about this model Conn?
PAN RICAN & DIV CGC CONN LTD
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Author: supernova_khr
Date: 2003-11-18 21:07
I'm sure it's a Pan American, which was made by Conn. There were a variety of Pan American Models...ranging from metal to plastic to wood. You could do a search on Pan American to find out more.
Kay
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-11-18 21:31
I agree with Kay, Pan Am was the "student line" of Conn back in the 20-50??'s. Possibly the best info re: Conn etc is at the Natl. Music Museum [Shrine earlier] at the U of SDakota, Vermillion, SD. P A's inst. of our greatest interest was the laminated-wood clar of the 40's+, beautiful ,but most played poorly! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-11-19 14:03
It was a laminated wood primarily used for airplane propellors. Made a very unusual looking horn but as has been reported variously here not thought of very highly
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-11-19 14:24
TKS, BobD, I was thinking of adding the same, the differing-colored laminated layers make beautiful patterns, but some cls "de-laminated" !. Re: airplane propellers of the 1890 - 1940 period [when did metal take over?] , I once read that the "Spruce-Tree ? Committee's" APPROPRIATION from Congress was still being made into the "Jet Age" [real PORK?]. Comments? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-11-19 14:56
BobD wrote:
> It was a laminated wood primarily used for airplane propellors.
No. It looked like the laminated wood used for propellers, but was not the laminated wood used for propellers. Laminated propellers from this era are still working just fine - if they would have delaminated as easily as those clarinets did then they would have been not just useless but fatal in many cases.
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Author: Rev. Avery
Date: 2003-11-19 20:29
You folks have saved me from making a bad purchase. I was considering it because of the Conn name. I know a person with an older Conn and I love the sound of it.
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-11-19 23:44
I use a 1925 Pan American C melody sax. It is definitely a student or intermediate grade horn. This is based on the unribbed body and key design, compared to a 1925 Conn wonder model soprano that I still own and a 1928 Chu Berry Conn baritone I owned for many years. Pan American were a Conn subsidiary that also made instrument cases. There are some similarities between Pan American and Conn inasmuch as the plating is similar with silver (frosted) on the outside and the gold washed inner bell. There are some similarities between Pan American instruments and Frank Holton's suggesting some component exchange or stencilling. Holton cases of this period and earlier appear to be identical to Pan American made cases. Pan American clarinets are generally also no better than intermediate grade so their worth is hard to gauge.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2003-11-23 00:03
I've had some Pan Americans. Yes they have a lovely sound but are really difficult to play in tune.
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2003-11-25 02:03
There is information on the Conn "rosewood finish" laminated clarinets somewhere on the BBS. Apparently the first batch delaminated, but later batches were fine. I believe that the actual wood was birch. I have one and it is georgous. I have not repadded it, but I have repadded an african blackwood Pan American as well as metal Pan American. Neither were particularly good.
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