The Wilmington-Conn 12.5M Neck

We already make a great Conn 12M neck, and this neck works like a charm for anyone who plays their vintage horn with vintage mouthpieces. However, Conn 12M players who prefer modern mouthpieces are well aware of the troubles of that combination: sharp intonation or mouthpieces that wobble just at the edge of the neck with no stability. Traditional neck extensions can leave you with flat palm keys. Traditional mouthpiece extensions make it so that you can't switch the mouthpiece over to a modern horn, and you need extensions on all of your mouthpieces. Curt Created the 12.5M neck especially for players who use modern jazz mouthpieces, which have shorter shanks than their early predecessors. This neck is longer with an adjusted taper to offer the best possible intonation and huge tone with premium mouthpiece stability. This is the pet project of a lifetime Conn 12M player, and there has never been a more sublime neck upgrade than the 12.5M. You're simply going to love it. Available in a variety of finishes. There may be a 1-5 week waiting period depending on availability. Please review our return policy located in our FAQ's before purchasing any neck.

Jan Provazník For Atelier H&M had this to say:

"Hello Curt- The neck is absolutely great ! It has a big sound, easy to play and correct intonation :-). Most importantly it fits in to the receiver like it ment to be together. I appreciate the exact fabrication ! I am happy to do a business with you. In case you are in Europe, since I saw you travel a lot, I’d be happy to meet each other. Have a great day, you made my day :-) My very best, Jan Provazník "

"Finally, a great innovative solution from Curt Altarac. The new 12.5 M neck fixes the tuning problem for modern Lawton style mouthpieces on a vintage Conn12M Baritone Sax. Makes the original neck seem like a mistake. Although, clearly it must be said that the original neck does play in tune with a tradition large open chamber mouthpiece. The old neck does not accommodate modern mouthpieces without playing very sharp! The 12.5 M neck has near perfect intonation using a Lawton 7* brilliant modern high baffle mouthpiece. Conn baritone sax players know the issues. The vintage Conn Naked Lady model Baritone sax has evolved! Thanks Curt Altarac." -Athol Holdernesse

"Hi Curt! -I had all of the necessary adjustments made to the neck - it’s incredible. I’m so happy with the way it works with my horn. I was at the point where I was looking for a cheap, modern horn to play R&B and pop section gigs with, but now the intonation is so good that I know that I don’t need to. I’ve spent hours on the horn since figuring out all of the nuances of this neck and I love what I’m hearing and feeling. The neck is a little more resistant than the original, but I like that - I can drop my reed strength a little to gain some more flexibility and the horn stays in tune. My wife commented that the horn sounds more full and a little louder as well, which is an added bonus to a horn that I chose for those qualities already! Thanks so much for putting your time into making this neck! Let me know if you have any other bari toys coming down the pipe! Cheers!"  "It’s pretty amazing. I love the fact that you’ve helped bring a great horn up to today’s expectations. If you listen to the early R&B bari players, their tuning is usually not so hot, but that doesn’t fly today on sessions. I’m so happy that I can use my horn in every situation now (I did before, but it was so much work), with ease." -Richard Page

A Review by Andrew Hadro from JazzBariSax.com