Although this has worn off in places, it hasn’t got the nasty reddish-brown rust that appears on some of the Conn horns of the 1950s.
It is made of good quality brass and is finished in gold lacquer.
PAN AMERICAN ALTO SAXOPHONE 48M PROFESSIONAL
It doesn’t have the microtuner neck: nor does it have the rolled tone holes of the professional Conn branded saxes of the day (although interestingly it does have the ‘Patd 1119954’ patent stamp which refers to them according to saxpics). The company continued supplying to the military after the Colonel lost all financial interest in the company in 1915. In fact Colonel Conn entered the US Senate and passed a bill ensuring that every unit of the American military had its own band (to which of course his company provided many of the instruments). Therefore, although referred to as a ‘stencil’ this is really just a different (cheaper) brand, as Squire is to Fender in the current guitar market.Ĭonn had very big vested interest in marching band instruments and used the three marching men as a logo. In this case the ‘Pan-American Band Instrument and Case Company’ etched on the bell of this alto was, I believe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Conn itself. I’ve always been confused by descriptions such as OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in the computer industry and ‘stencil’ in the musical instrument industry, because they ought to describe instruments made for one company by another and yet often are used to refer to something else. It was a truly great find – a classic horn, made by Conn in 1920. He bought it and brought it back from the States and into work on the following Monday. He mentioned the Pan-American alto, so I asked him about the condition. He was in one of my favourite ‘savings and loan’ shops and ran through the saxophones they had. My friend Chris Ingle was travelling on business in San José and gave me a call on a Saturday afternoon.
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