Noisy corks

[botahoratiu]

Hi. I recently bought a Jupiter 587 tenor in near mint condition. All seems ok, except its keys are very noisy. It's not the pads, but the corks that touch the main body of the saxophone. Oddly enough, they look like new, I mean really new and unused. Is there a possibility for the corks to be hardened by lying around for too long? What can I do?

 

[jbtsax]

I will sometimes use self adhesive felt "dots" attached to the body under the cork. I try to find the thinnest ones I can. In some cases I will sand the existing corks to make them thinner, or replace them with thinner corks before installing the felts so the key opening stays the same.

 

[botahoratiu]

Ok, but wouldn't that alter the current key action?

 

[botahoratiu]

How about making small grooves in the cork foot like this? (so that the touching surface would be smaller)

 

[jbtsax]

How about making small grooves in the cork foot like this? (so that the touching surface would be smaller)View attachment 14420

You are welcome to try that and let us know how it works. The felts I suggested both quiet the keys and eliminate bounce. Many brands of saxophones like Yamaha and others come with them from the factory.

 

[botahoratiu]

Is there a way to soften the corks?

 

[saxyjt]

Is there a way to soften the corks?

Rather than trying your fancy shaped thingy, I'de go for the more frequently used 'V' shaped approach or use @jbtsax suggestion. I've done that often and it proved quite successful.

 

[jbtsax]

Is there a way to soften the corks?

Yes. Replace them with synthetic felt or sorbothane. Both are available from Dawkes Music. The typical thickness for feet cork is 1/16" which is about 1.6mm.

 

[JayeNM]

Ok, but wouldn't that alter the current key action?

Not the 'action' but the keyheight, yes. Which would effect horn intonation. So as JBT noted, you'd need to sand down the corks.

Now old Yamahas had the felts glued to the bodies then the cork glued to the key feet, BUT Yamas also had the keys cast and set to accommodate for those things, so that when cork + felt are installed on Yamas, the keyheights end up 'normal'. Jupes (and the vast majority of brands) do not have their keys like that, they are meant just to take one regulating material to get the keyheights into normal range. Thus adding the felt to the body means you have to reduce the cork thickness on the key feet.

Another option to the felts is to use tech cork or synthetic cork, really really thin. Talking about .4mm (1/64") or even .3mm (MusicMedic has .3mm). Glue those to the body. The thin-ness is such that it will only lower the keyheights in the most negligible of ways, so sanding teh feet will not likely be necessary. So it'd then be a 'cork-to'cork' contact, instead of 'cork-to-body'.

Personally, if the foot corks are in good shape and the horn plays well...I wouldn't bother messing with anything. Just get used to it and enjoy the horn.

 

[botahoratiu]

Thank you. I already shaved the corks to a V shape, and the problem is 80% solved, so I am very pleased with the results.

 

[jbtsax]

That may be a "temporary solution", but my opinion is that shape will make it easier for the corks to come off, and the smaller surface contact area will compress more changing the key heights and possibly adding "lost motion". Short cuts in saxophone repair often reflect the old saying, "The good is the enemy of the best".

 

[botahoratiu]

Ok,... so if in time it will compress too much, and if I choose sorbothane, should it be like a sandwich with some felt, or just plain sorbothane directly on the key foot and directly touching the main body?

 

[jbtsax]

Sorbothane is typically used alone. Its biggest advantage is removing/reducing key bounce which can be a problem on some tenors. It is also quiet. My first choice is always cork on the key foot and a spot of felt on the body. The advantage of this set-up is that the cork is easily sanded to get the desired key heights, and to eliminate lost motion. I have shared everything I know and I'm starting to repeat myself so that's all I am going to write. Good luck finding your best solution.

 

[botahoratiu]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate your advice.