Pan American 47A New Wurlitzer

Pan American 47A New Wurlitzer 1925

Date: 1925. Owned by Mike Pawul

The naming of this model is based on the fact that the bell is engraved with the name "Wurlitzer" and a few other circumstances. This particular one is a High and Low Pitch model, the 46A was the Low Pitch only version. The bore size os 0.468" (#2 bore). The date of 1925 is based on my current best interpretation of the Pan American serial number list. This model of course is strikingly similar to the Perfected Wonder or "Circus Bore" model. It seems plausible that when a model wasn't produced under the Conn name anymore it continued to be produced for a while under the Pan American name.

I have learned that the third slide, without the finger ring to adjust the pitch of a low D and C#, is slightly longer than it is on modern instruments. On modern instruments the low Eb is in tune, but the low D and C# are quite sharp. On these older cornets with the longer third slide and no finger ring the Eb is a bit flat and the D and C# are slightly sharp, but not as sharp as they are on later instruments. It was thought that the slightly flat Eb and slightly sharp D and C# were within the abilities of the player to lip into tune.

As far as I can tell at this point, all Conn cornets built before 1958 take a short shank cornet mouthpiece as opposed to the 2¾" "Bach-style" long shank cornet mouthpiece. The long shank cornet mouthpieces won't properly fit a pre-1958 Conn cornet and won't give the proper intonation or playing characteristics of a short shank cornet mouthpiece. All of Conn's "Connstellation" cornet mouthpieces are long shank mouthpieces. The "Improved Precision" Conn mouthpieces such as the Conn 4 are long shank if there is a "ridge" halfway down the shank, and short shank if there is no ridge (in which case it is a "Precision" mouthpiece). All Conn cornet mouthpieces built before the "Improved Precision" series (ridge), such as the "Precision" series (no ridge) are short shank mouthpieces.