G sharp key has no effect?

[jbtsax]

Whilst looking up SNAFU, I found this bit of sage advice.

 

[Sax4Jesus]

Alright guys, so PROBLEM! The spatula lifts only every once in awhile while pushing down on the G# key. Is it a spring?
If I take it into the shop is it something they can fix within a few minutes?
I'm making Christmas songs for family and have a time restraint.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Take a hankie. Moisten it. Lift the G# cup and put the moist part of the hankie under the cup between tone hole chimney and pad. Gently...Gently mind, apply a little pressure to the key cup and GENTLY drag out the hanky. This will clean the pad and the tone hole. If the problem persists you can clean the pad and the tone hole with a Qtip and some naptha/lighter fluid.

This has been posted in many threads on this forum. It's a procedure every saxophone player should know. It is a universal problem for saxophone.

 

[Sax4Jesus]

Yep, thank you Colin. This did the trick.

 

[MandyH]

I thought that was SNAFU.

beats FUBAR-ed, I guess!!

 

[MandyH]

Usually whenever I get my saxes set up ready to play, I check (by playing) the following notes: C to C#, G to G# and C2 to C#2 (this last one is rarely mentioned, but I had a problem and it confounded the tech for a while too - the pad just above the B pad near the neck of the sax had managed to stick down. Given it is a "normally open" pad, it lead us all a merry dance until we finally spotted the problem I wasn't getting a C# of the no-fingers variety!
I also check all the other "pinkie-table" keys too.

Once I've blown all those notes, the sax has got warmer, the little fingers are ready for the off and (hopefully) there are no sticking pads.

 

[Colin the Bear]

I do wonder at the competence of some who set themselves up as technicians. If C# fingering plays C, it will be that pad, you know, the one that opens for C#, surely. It's only a saxophone.