How to Make a Saxophone

The saxophone is a hybrid instrument.
Made of brass, its body is a conical metal tube
hammered, molded, and fused together
much like any trumpet, horn, or tuba.
But its sinuous shape is punctured with dozens of holes
that are fitted with an elaborate key mechanism
just as flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons have.

So is it a woodwind or a brass instrument?

In musical terms it is 
classified as a "woodwind"

primarily because of how the saxophone's sound
is produced by blowing on a single cane reed.
(Though technically a reed is not a wood but a grass.)

But saxophone construction is very different
from other woodwind instruments
as seen in this postcard photo of a workman
operating a specialized metal forming machine.
The caption on the back tells us what he is doing.

SAX SOCKET PULLING

   Making socket for saxophone at C. G. Conn Ltd., Elkhart, Ind., world's largest manufacturer of band and orchestra instruments. Metal in sax body is pulled up to form walls of tone hole. Wall is then part of sax body. Socket can't come loose, tilt or leak.

 

 

This postcard was sent by Larry from Chicago
 to his grandparents in New Castle, Indiana on 3 November 1958.
{Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires!}

Dear grand ma & pa

On our way to
Northwestern University
we stopped at the
Conn Music factory
for a tour. The gave
us a free lunch. This
week I am hound-dog
in the half time show
(We are playing elvis prestly
hound dog)
Larry

No doubt Larry's grandparents were very disappointed
to miss their grandson's performance on the football field.

1904 C. G. Conn's Wonder Improved System Saxophones

Thought we can never known if Larry played a saxophone in his high school band, whatever instrument it was it's very likely that it was made in the Elkhart factory for the C. G. Conn musical instrument company. Founded in 1876 by Charles Gerard Conn (1844 – 1931), this Indiana manufacturer developed into a major company that became a dominate cultural force in America with a factory of hundreds of skilled craftsmen producing thousands of band instruments every month. Cornets, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, clarinets, flutes, piccolos, and assorted drums of every size and type were made in Elkhart with each instrument individually identified with its own serial number. But in its early years Conn imported some instruments from Europe that were less commonly played in America. Most bands did not require many, it any, oboes or bassoons, and in the 1870s saxophones were an exotic foreign instrument that few American musicians had even seen or heard. For these instruments, Conn imported models made in France.

The saxophone was patented in Paris in 1846 by a Belgian instrument maker, Adolphe Sax (1814 – 1894). Like his other self-named instruments—the saxhorn, the saxotromba, and the saxtuba,  Sax designed the saxophone as a consort that came in several sizes from soprano to contrabass. He initially expected a saxophone could be played in both orchestras and bands, but the way its conical brass form easily amplified the saxophone's sound made it a great match for the dynamics of brass instruments. It soon became an important instrumental section in French military bands. 

In 1872 a talented Dutch musician, Edward Abraham Lefebre (1834 – 1911) immigrated to the United States. Lefebre was a skilled clarinetist and saxophonist who was hired by Patrick Gilmore for his Twenty-second Regiment National Guard Band, then considered the premier military band in America. Lefebre proved to be a virtuoso on the saxophone and soon became the leading soloist and proponent of this novel instrument in late 19th century America. In 

In 1888 one of C. G. Conn's talented foremen, Ferdinand August Buescher (1861 – 1937) produced a copy of one of Edward Lefebre's saxophones and persuaded Conn that his factory could make more using Lefebre, who became a member of John Philip Sousa's band, to promote the brand. So by 1892 the Conn company had a full line of "Wonder" Saxophones in six sizes, from soprano to bass, and in several levels of finish, from polished brass to gold plate with ornamental engraving. In 1904 the little B-flat soprano cost $85  if made with the top level silver-plated finish or $50 in basic polished brass. The price for a giant contrabass saxophone was $200 in silver or $105 in brass. Gold-plating was a special order and cases, velvet lined with nickel trim, cost extra.

 

This bird's eye view of the C. G. Conn Musical Instrument Factory in Elkhart gives a good perspective of this immense facility dedicated to turning wood, brass, cane, even rawhide into every kind of musical instrument imaginable. It's in stark contrast with how Charles G. Conn began  his music business in a very small way by making special cornet mouthpieces using a converted old sewing machine as a lathe. 

As a young man, Conn, a veteran of the Union Army, moved to Elkhart after the war where he tried his hand at different jobs, selling health care products, and working with rubber stamps and metal plating. He also played cornet in the town's band until one day he suffered a debilitating injury to his lip. In an effort to regain his embouchure he came up with an idea for a mouthpiece with a rubber rim that would reduce fatigue and prevent trauma to the lips. When other musicians expressed interest in it, Conn took out a patent and began making and selling his "elastic" cornet mouthpieces. This simple musical accessory led him to create an industrial factory that could mass produce any kind of musical instrument. 

This card was sent from Cincinnati on 11 October 1911 to Miss Clara Bayer of Ashton, Illinois. 

 

Dear Clara ! 
Don't get discouraged
As soon as I find out
where I am going
I will let you know.
Love and Kisses
from Rosie.

The postcard dealer added an annotation that mistakenly labels the picture it as the Conn factory before the May 22, 1910 fire. Actually this is an architect's rendering of C. G. Conn's new factory that would replace the one destroyed in May 1910. And this was Conn's second factory fire in Elkhart, too. 

On 29 January 1883, a fire broke out in the packing room of the C.G. Conn factory at the corner of Elkhart Avenue and East Jackson Street. Elkhart, like many small towns in this era, did not have a citywide water system so there were no fire hydrants. Instead firemen had to resort to pumping water from the nearby river, but tragically at this time of the year the river was frozen with 18 inches of ice. The fire destroyed the factory building valued at $55,000 but insurance only covered $22,000. The fire also consumed nearly everything inside the factory except for Conn's safe which contained all his business orders. He vowed to fulfill them within two weeks and his workers obliged by finding new tools to continue to make instruments.

Ruins of Conn Horn Factory,
May 22, 1910 Elkhart, Indiana
Source: Indiana Memory

Two months later Conn opened his second factory, hiring three times the number of employees that worked at the old factory. It was larger with four floors and was adjacent to another two-story building that Conn used for his music publishing department. The factory caught fire on the night of 22 May 1910 at 1:00 AM. Various causes for the fire were proposed: arson, faulty electrical wires, combustible wood dust or negligent watchmen, but nothing was proven. Once again the city's inferior water service did not have sufficient pressure for the firefighter's hoses and Conn's second factory was destroyed. Only a few instruments and business equipment were saved. The loss was estimated as between $100,000 and $500,000. Insurance adjustors paid just $80,000.

 

At the time Charles Conn was in California when the fire occurred. Of course he immediately returned to Elkhart but since travel then was by train he did not arrive in Elkhart until 26 May. He was met at the station by a huge crowd of well-wishers showing popular sympathy. There was a parade to take him to a hotel and 5,000 citizens lined the city's streets to welcome him back. After many years living and working in Elkhart, Conn had earned this respect by also serving as mayor of the city for a couple of years, and as a United States congressman from Indiana. 

Even though other cities like Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Terra Haute, and Joliet, Illinois offered free buildings and other incentives for Conn to relocate his music instrument company, instead Conn was determined to stay in Elkhart and rebuild his business. As in 1883, Conn's loyal workers sifted through the factory fire's debris to salvage sheet brass and  other material and soon were back making instruments again in temporary workshops. Construction on Conn's third factory began at a new site on 15 August 1910 and by the following 12 December it was nearly fully operational. 

This colorized photo postcard shows the factory's grand frontage with its twin towers that give it a Spanish Mission quality that may have been inspired, I think, by Conn's trip to California. The ground around the building is still roughly graded from construction work. Notice the horse and buggy at the front doors and the collection of worker's bicycles leaning on the walls.

The postcard was sent from Elkhart on 19 August 1911 to Mrs. Samuel Dunfee of Wabash, Indiana. 

Hello All
Mamma just got
here we met her
at the train
hope you will all
get better.  we
are going home
now.  write us
every day.
your daughter
verner
Three rivers
R R 2.

C. G. Conn "New Wonder" factory, 
Elkhart, Indiana 1911
Source: Wikimedia

In advertisements Conn promoted that at his new third factory he employed "303 wage earners, of whom 250 are men and 53 are women. No boys or girls are employed. The men work nine hours per day and the women eight hours per day. The output of this factory averages about 800 instruments per month, no counting Bugles, Drums and Musical Traps and Accessories.   The Conn instruments are used and recommended by all great musicians and they will improve the playing ability of any performer at least twenty-five percent."

Conn's musical instruments were marketed around the country and many community bands bought complete sets of instruments at attractive credit terms. Conn promoted his instruments in a self-published musical news journal for music dealers called Trumpet Notes. It included many photos of town bands and instrumentalists offering testimonial praise for Conn instruments. Some of those postcard photos are in my collection. In many ways, C. G. Conn was like the character of Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, except he really did bring a boys' band to River City and many other towns in America. 

C. G. Conn Band Instrument Co. postcard 
No. 17 Saxophone Department
Source: Wikipedia

Perhaps in honor of his dedicated workers, C. G. Conn had a souvenir brochure of the new factory  made in 1911 that included 44 photographs of the various departments. The photos were later released as separate postcards. Photo No. 17 was of the saxophone department. This large workroom, lit by large windows, is filled with dozens of work stations where workers are assembling saxophones. On tables and hanging from the ceiling are numerous components of unfinished saxophones. 

The full story of Charles G. Conn is a fascinating history of how one man could establish a business empire during America's industrial revolution. His success came from his relentless drive to make quality musical instruments at an affordable price. Conn certainly ranks with countless similar entrepreneurs of the 19th century who began with a simple invention or idea for an innovative appliance and then built factories to mass produce them. But sadly, like many of those tycoons, Conn's increasing debts forced him to sell his company in 1915 to a group of investors. Thereafter Conn retired to  Los Angeles, California where he died in 1931, though he is buried in Grace Lawn Cemetery in Elkhart. 

The new managers who took over his music instrument factory continued to operate it under the C. G. Conn brand name. Over the past 100 years, after many acquisitions, mergers, and restructuring, the Conn company continues in the 21st century to make musical instruments including saxophones. The headquarters are still in Elkhart, though much of the manufacturing is in other parts of the country or world. It is now owned by Steinway Musical Instruments which combined it with their subsidiary the Selmer Company to create the Conn-Selmer company.

Ironically Conn's foreman, August "Gus" Buescher, who helped introduce the saxophone to America, left the Conn company in 1893 to start the Buescher Band Instrument Company He didn't go very far either as he set up his factory in Elkhart, too, where over the following decades he became Conn's main competitor in saxophones, as well as other instruments. It was bought out by another music company in 1963 and closed in 1983.

 

 

This birds-eye-view postcard is an actual aerial photo of the Conn factory, taken several years after Conn left the company. The main entrance is still there but the facility has expanded with another smoke stack added. The worker's bicycles have been replaced with automobiles neatly parked in a center lot. There are also residential houses opposite the factory.

This card was sent from Davenport, Iowa on 18 September 1940 to Mr. Arthur Blocher(?) of Henry, Illinois.  I was unable to decipher the word "Hultquisto" in the sender's brief message. Is it a name or a greeting? The language seems Spanish-like but Google offers no clues.

 

 

                                             Aerial view of factory, C. G. Conn, Ltd.,
                   Elkhart, Indiana, world's largest manufac-
                   turer of band and orchestra instruments.
                   Occupies more than 200,000 square feet of
                   floor space and employs over 900 skilled
                   craftsmen.  Capacity output of 7,500 com-
                   plete instruments per month. 

As music evolved into the jazz age, the saxophone became the instrument most identified with this new musical genre.  The Conn company continued to bring out innovations on saxophone design like improved mechanisms and better materials that appealed to the increasing number of sax performers, both professional and amateur. It also tried making several variations on saxophones like a mezzo-soprano sax in the key of F and the "Conn-o-sax", a saxophone-English horn hybrid which failed to gain any traction with customers. 

 

C.G. Conn Factory, ship binnacles, 1943
Source: Indiana Memory

During the war years 1942 to 1945, the Conn factory stopped producing musical instruments and instead joined the war effort by converting its metalwork tools from manufacturing tubas, trumpets, and saxophones to making specialized military equipment. The Conn factory used its expertise in operating at very close tolerances to build aviation and naval instruments like compasses, altimeters, and gyro-horizon indicators. 

In this photo from 1943 Conn workers assemble brass semi-spheres to be used for ship binnacles that housed a ship's compass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Among my individual photos of unknown saxophonists is this young man who posed with his giant bass saxophone. He wears some kind of uniform as he has high legging over his shoes and up to his knees. I initially thought he was an army bandsman, from roughly around 1915-1920. But his long sleeve shirt is not military issue, I think, so perhaps he is in some fraternal or collegiate outfit. I can't tell if it's a Conn sax or a Buescher or some other maker, but in any case, he seems pleased with his photo.

The card was sent, probably in a letter to Mrs. Wm. G. Bullis of Rosendale, New York.

 

 

 Dear Nettie,
How is this 
for your brother
in laws.  I took it
last Sunday in the 
parlor at home.
I am as every.
    Will

 So to recap, here is what you need to make a saxophone.

First, build a factory with lots of space
to store tools and materials.
Second, hire very skilled people
who can operate complicated machines
like a sax socket puller. 
Third, borrow some reed stock
that clarinet players rejected.
And fourth, make sure
you keep a fire extinguisher handy.

 

Or you can watch how it is done
at the Selmer Saxophone Factory
and then decide it's better
to order one off the rack and readymade,
rather than to try to make one yourself.

 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where everyone tries to thread the needle.