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The Family Tree

pete said:
The F Mezzo-Soprano and Alto

The Conn-O-Sax, which has a bigger bore and longer keyed range, is a "true" alto and has a darker tone than the Conn F Mezzo. It's also considerably more rare.


Actually, The Conn F mezzo-soprano and the Conn-O-Sax are exactly the same instrument from the low D key on up. Same bore, same mouthpiece, same neck, same keywork. The Conn-O-Sax has high F# and high G keys, which the F mezzo usually doen't have, but a few F Mezzos had the high F#.
 
The Eb Baritone.

Interesting fact: the oldest surviving saxophone is an Eb baritone made between 1843 and 1846.

Variations:
* Standard

* Curved or "ophicleide shaped" (see the comments on the Pelisson "F baritone", above).
There has been a persistent rumor that the first A. Sax baritones were curved, as well. I have yet to see any pictures to substantiate this.

* Straight. These horns were not ever production models, as far as I'm aware, but all custom-makes.

Keyed ranges:
* From low B to altissimo Eb. 1861 A. Sax baritone. From saxpics.com, via Randy Emerick.
* From low Bb to altissimo Eb, F or F#. 1977 SML low Bb/altissimo F baritone. From saxpics.com, via worldwidesax.com, via Steven Weinert.
* From low A to altissimo F or F#. 1953 Selmer Super (Balanced) Action low A/altissimo F baritone. From saxpics.com, via saxquest.com.

The low A baritone may have first been produced by A. Sax, himself (based on the 1866 patent), but I know of no surviving examples. The first low A baritone is generally accepted to be the Selmer Super (Balanced) Action in approximately 1946.

Manufacturers: Not quite everyone. The baritone is a somewhat "unique" animal and a lot of companies concentrate on just alto and tenor production. Most large manufacturers, hover, do produce a baritone and most produce one with a low A key.

* Wikipedia Entry.
* Video: Gerry Mulligan (Dave Brubeck on piano),Things Ain't What They Used to Be.

Vitals:
* Sounding range, low Bb to altissimo F# horn.
* Weight is 11 lbs for a low A version (approximate). SOURCE.
 
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