Conn 20M Alto Saxophone Review: Is It Worthless?

Kevin Busse Jan 24, 2026

5 People Read

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to me at no cost to you if you decide to purchase.

So, this is my Conn 20M Alto Saxophone that I've owned since I was a kid.

I used to play it in 5th and 6th grade, until one day I figured out that I had maxed out the potential of this instrument and so I upgraded to a different saxophone.

Recently, I had this horn in the repair shop to "tune it up," but the reality is when you have a Conn saxophone like this one, there's only so much potential within the instrument until it's necessary to upgrade

In fact, even when this saxophone just got out of the shop it still won't perform well. Truthfully, some of the least expensive brand-new alto saxophone found on Amazon will perform better than the Conn 20M Alto Saxophone.

As much as I'd like the Conn to perform well and sound good, I can't get some of the notes to play well at all. Even after having the horn fixed up and even if I've had years of experience playing the saxophone.

There's limitations in the build of this saxophone that isn't great for beginners. If you think about it, when you play on a saxophone that's not well equipped to be played, then you'll limit your potential right away.

Conn M20 Alto Saxophone

You can see that there are scratches and dents on the saxophone (near the bottom of the horn), which doesn't effect how the notes perform due to the lower location of the dents on the horn.

The performance of the notes primarily have to do more with the overall build quality by Conn when the instrument was manufactured. To be quite honest, this is not a saxophone that has a high build quality.

As much as I would like to giveaway this saxophone to other sax players, this saxophone will only stunt the growth of anybody playing the saxophone because it's difficult to produce basic tones on this horn.

Even as a skilled saxophone player, this saxophone doesn't play very well and some notes are extremely difficult to produce well. (No matter the condition of the horn or who's playing it).

Conn Alto Saxophone

If I were deciding whether to give away this instrument, I would decide against giving it away. I would rather giveaway a saxophone that's brand new that I could find (even on Amazon). I guarantee that the least expensive saxophones on Amazon would be better than a recently refurbished Conn!

The Conn has recently had pads replaced, in fact, none of them stick. The horn has been cleaned and the key action performs well. However, the fact of the matter is that it remains difficult to produce basic tones out of the horn.

In my opinion, this saxophone has out-lived its useful lifespan and is only worth keeping due to its personal sentimental value.

In fact, the only reason I keep it is due to its sentimental value. It has been in my family since my older brothers played saxophone. I've thought about selling or giving it away, but it's not worth it knowing that it's an improper instrument for a beginner.

If I were to giveaway a saxophone, I'd prefer to get an inexpensive brand-new saxophone from Amazon with all of the accessories already included. It would be a better start for a student's saxophone journey.

I spent $250 repairing and "tuning up" my Conn Alto Saxophone, but it wasn't worth it. The money was better spent on a new horn and disposing or just keeping the Conn in storage.

I've had this sax in the repair shop a few times and no matter how good of a job the repairperson does, you still can't get the horn to play easily!

The serial number of this Conn 20M Alto Saxophone is N204166.

At the end of the day, the manufacturer only improve the key action of this model saxophone, but they neglected to provide a quality barrel of the horn that would have made this a better instrument.

Saxophone Reviews

The Legendary Sax-A-Boom