Conn guitars
- Thread starter GGJaguar
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ReevesRd
Senior Member
Conn guitars were first built at Tokai-Gakki in Japan. Check this site for more information. https://www.connguitars.org/
Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
Do you really want to be known as a Conn artist?
Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
Company goes back to the un-Civil War, they made trumpets?
ReevesRd
Senior Member
Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
The guitars weren't too bad, better than Lyle?
The Classical guitars had pretty decent rep.
The Classical guitars had pretty decent rep.
I'm not sure that Conn brass instruments (like Reeves') had anything to do with these guitars. Conn (brass) has a huge, long history of great brass instruments of all types. I believe they also made woodwinds (saxophones, in particular).
SFIV1967
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Midnight Toker
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Yep, they were a massive company! I have one of their very early Strobotuners. (ST-2) Many professional piano tuners still use these old ultra accurate tuners! No digital tuner can match it for accuracy.
Conn StroboTuner
This tuner was made by C.G. Conn Ltd. in Elkhart, Indiana, 1960s. It is a StroboTuner, model ST-6, serial #39356.
americanhistory.si.edu
Got it. Very well. All I can say is that they made great brass instruments (and strobing tuners too, MT). I suppose one can look at these guitars as student instruments compared to, say, their professional brass. I guess it's like any conglomerate and quality of the instruments is all over the place.
Is there anything "desirable" about a Conn guitar?
Guildedagain
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They're a favorite in conning towers.
Midnight Toker
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Yeah, I think it has a lot to do with the era (late 1800’s to mid 1900’s)…in that musical instrument manufacturers that made a name for themselves in one field typically went into the importer/exporter business and became more of an umbrella “musical instrument company”, often having out of house builders (both foreign and domestic) make things that were sold under the parent company name. This was typically the case w/ generational family violin makers in Germany and Czechoslovakia making most of the student instruments sold in the US that were labeled only w/ the US importer’s name and only saying what country it was made it…when it could have been from 100’s of builders across that country. I’d bet they probably had contracts with entire school districts to supply everything having to do with musical instruction.
Westerly Wood
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I had a Pete Townshend Shecter back in 1989. I left it out in CO or something like that with my friend. I didn't want to play electric anymore, so he traded it in for a CONN 12 string to some dude he knew. I had no idea re 12 strings at that time, and I had no guitar at all. This was about 6 months before I spent all my savings on a Martin HD-28 and really got into acoustic guitar and alternate tunings. I was probably 25 at the time.
Friend returned to RI from CO with the CONN. Thing was a monster but sounded incredible. I played it a lot till I got the Martin. Never really looked back after that...If guitar started for me as a 13 year old with a cheap classical my folks got me for my birthday, I got back into guitar with a CONN. How strange...
Friend returned to RI from CO with the CONN. Thing was a monster but sounded incredible. I played it a lot till I got the Martin. Never really looked back after that...If guitar started for me as a 13 year old with a cheap classical my folks got me for my birthday, I got back into guitar with a CONN. How strange...
Curlington
Member
I was thinking New Hartford, Conn, when I read the title, haha
To my knowledge, CG Conn has no Conn ecti on with New Hartford, Conn ecti cut
he, he
But CG Conn is definitely Conn ected to the demise of what may be my favorite guitar brand of all time: SL Mossman
If you don’t already know the story, there is good write-up on it here: The Legend of Mossman Guitars
Curlington
Member
I always wanted a Mossman, but they only built dreads, and I'm off Dreads to smaller bodies.
Chris, did you write that Mossman review? I couldn't find any information about "Plane & Chisel" that led to you, but obviously it's someone who's passionate about those guitars. First I'd heard of them, BTW. I mean it sounds familiar, but I'm not sure it's because of guitars that I know the name.
I'm thinking of Mossberg actually! That's totally a horse of a different color.
I'm thinking of Mossberg actually! That's totally a horse of a different color.
I had thought about writing up the Mossman story more than once over the years, but never did. I did not write that review, but I think it is well done. Stuart Mossman was on his way to super stardom in the acoustic guitar world back in the 70s. The Carradine brothers all played and promoted his guitars (Remember Keith Carradine’s "I’m Easy”). John Denver had a Mossman 6 and 12 string. Dan Crary played a Mossman, as did Cat Stevens and Emmylou Harris. I bought a 1978 Winter Wheat brand new, and it is the “one that got away.” Actually, I traded it out of my small collection at the time and have kicked myself ever since. Argh!
As Curlington mentioned, Mossman only built dreadnoughts, but what dreadnoughts they were! Stuart was an innovator. He pioneered the super thin and fast acoustic neck craze. And his necks were bolt-on. Both features were adopted by Taylor, later, and we know how successful they became. Most all his early guitars incorporated Brazilian Rosewood, in one form or another, until a shop fire destroyed his stash of Brazilian. His inlay work was second to none, and his guitars remain among the most tastefully appointed instruments I have ever seen. A really bad situation occurred when he partnered with Conn to increase distribution, and that sank him.
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