'28 Vintage CG Conn New Wonder II 'Chu Berry' Tenor Sax - Serial # 223268

1928 Vintage C.G. Conn New Wonder II “Chu Berry” series tenor sax, serial number 223268. This tenor is quite the beauty and is the next-best thing for players wanting a top-shelf vintage Conn but can't spring for the expense of a 10M. It will ship with a full restoration from the Saxquest repair shop and be ready to bring years of enjoyment.

This tenor shows excellent lacquer coverage with only mild wear from normal use, most notably around a couple little dings here and there, as seen in the photos. If I had to guess, I'd say this horn was originally sold as a factory bare brass horn (finish option # 4 in Conn's brochure at the time, “highly polished brass”) and later sent back to the factory for lacquering, once that became an option. It shows no signs of “relacquering” as the factory original stamping/engraving remains perfect and the tone holes have obviously never been buffed on. Everything looks great on this tenor, everywhere you look. The lacquer coverage is in the 85% range or so. The neck has mild lacquer flaking off on the sides, but still is solid.

This tenor came to us on very old pads, so to do it right, the sax will get our full preferential treatment. Cleaning, all dent work, all new pads (matched with seamless, oversized metal resonators) and new key adjustment corks/felts throughout. We'll set the key heights to medium-open and the spring tensions on the lighter side, just as you want from a Conn of this era.

This Chu tenor isn't playing well enough to get a video as it currently sits, but you can still get an idea for its presence and tonal color. I can't wait to see this one done up right and give it a whirl! Ships in its original hard case which remains in great overall shape despite its age.