Hi there folks, does anyone have any experience of unlacquered horns? Is it true the lacquer reduces the resonant qualities and therefore quietens down the horn. Or is all this talk i read about just sales speak.
Unlike pianos, bells, drums, the body of a woodwind does not vibrate or resonate. If it did, then holding it in the way we do would dampen any resonance.
The body is merely a container for the air column, which is what vibrates. Saxes sound different to each other because very small tiny changes in dimensions of the body can create significant changes in the vibration of the air column, so neither the material nor any coating will change that.
That is the science, however some people get horns delacquered, and when the y do they are generally overhauled, so when they come back, hey presto, they sound better, hence the myth.
The thing is nobody can ever prove anything as you can't get two exact horns one lacquered and one unlacquered, as every horn is different.