Tech/maintenance G# key to cup contact

[Woodpad]

On the oldest saxophones the G# key is connected to a cup on the back of the saxophone. When this cup was brought into the main stack the contact between the key and the cup was in most cases a rounded piece of metal against another piece of metal. A construction without major problems.
Than the axis of the cup changed to the other side and the contact area changed from metal on metal to cork on metal or cork on a roller. Never found a good reason why the metal on metal solution had to change.

My question is if there is a good reason for this change of materials. Just curiosity.

 

[skeller047]

Metal on metal = noise. Hence the need for cork.

I suspect when saxophones started having the lower bell keys operate the G# key (many early horns did not have this feature), that the noise became more noticeable because there would be a clank from releasing a bell key, as the G# key returned to rest position.

 

[LostCircuits]

I just "serviced" an MK VI of a friend (at a jam) who had lost the cork (I just happened to have a piece of "valentino" cork in my case and the bartender gave me a toothpick to properly mount it).
And yes, that thing rattled like a diamondback. Like as in really annoying.

 

[turf3]

All the horns I've ever owned with old style G# mechanism have used a piece of thin cork both for silencing and adjustment. Never metal on metal. If you have one that's metal on metal, it needs a piece of thin cork (or leather, or even UHMW-PE) installed.

 

[LostCircuits]

All the horns I've ever owned with old style G# mechanism have used a piece of thin cork both for silencing and adjustment. Never metal on metal. If you have one that's metal on metal, it needs a piece of thin cork (or leather, or even UHMW-PE) installed.

Sometimes a piece of electric wire insulation, depending who butchered the horn.