King Alto Low C downwards play semitone sharp

[SaxMart]

Hi not played my 1950s King Zephyr Alto for a while and it appears that all notes from Low C downward play a semi tone sharp ie Low C equates to middle C#
Nothing obvious I can see but any advice gratefully accepted before I rush out to the repair man Thanks Martin

 

[DartmoorHedgehog]

not played my 1950s King Zephyr Alto for a while and it appears that all notes from Low C downward play a semi tone sharp ie Low C equates to middle C#

Is it possible you've not played for so long you've forgotten the fingering?

Sorry - nothing constructive to add... except, if the C# pad was stuck open I wonder if that would cause something like that - it would certainly make C play a semitone sharp, but would the B and Bb still play at all? I'm not sure without trying it, but I'd guess you'd just get a progressively flatter C# when you finger B and Bb, rather than C and B.

 

[SaxMart]

I did have to check the fingering to be fair for low little finger notes as it has been a while to be honest however this occurs from low C down I suppose it could be a 1) my embouchure too tight (as it has been quite a while since I played) 2) It's always been that way and I've never really analysed it before 3) It's a fault that can be rectified. To clarify I am only noticing it acoustically not using a tuner ie I play the low C then immediately after play the middle C# and the two notes sound a perfect octave apart whereas the middle C sounds flat

 

[DartmoorHedgehog]

Ah OK, so you're not saying that low C and low C# sound the same, just that they aren't in tune with the same note an octave above? That's more likely to be just playing technique or possibly position of the mouthpiece on the cork. But hopefully somebody else will come up with some more suggestions...

 

[Wonko]

Maby you should check it with a tuner?
I use a tuning app on my smartphone

 

[jbtsax]

First make sure the low C# key is closed. Then check the pitch of your C and B using a tuner and adjust the mouthpiece on the cork so these notes are in tune. Then start on middle C and slur down the C scale to low C. Think of do, ti, la, so, fa, me, re, do listening to the scale. Then holding low C raise the back of the tongue to produce C2 without the octave key. Next go back and forth between C2 with the "long" fingering and C2 with the regular fingering. This will tell you what is going on.

 

[SaxMart]

Thanks for all your advice guys it is looking (and sounding) more like my embouchure causing the issue as the more I play the more in tune the notes are. practice makes perfect methinks

 

[Colin the Bear]

the more I play the more in tune the notes are

...and there we have the whole saxophone experience