Old neck doesn't fit new alto sax.

[silver_smurfer]

I imagined that the neck where it joins with the body of the sax would be a standard bore but I can't use my old Walstein neck with my new Yani as it is too wide. Also my old beginner's Yamaha mouthpiece slips loosely over the Yani neck cork. Luckily the Yani mpc that came with the new Yani sax is a good fit. Surely there must be a standard or you wouldn't be able to buy mouthpieces and necks online. :?

 

[TomMapfumo]

Life was so simple once. 8)

 

[griff136]

even if you had a new yanni and bought a new yanni neck it wont necessarily fit correctly without it first being "honed"

some necks are interchangeabl;e between instruments but most dont.

 

[TomMapfumo]

I understand that neck fitting is very popular work for technicians 😛 and I guess I was lucky with my recent Yani 92 neck fitting my T901 Tenor sax. It does sound an unnecessary problem IMO, but not repeated in the mouthpiece world - though I have had problems with Otto Link - one was too tight, and one was way too loose - no problems so far with Vandoren, Selmer, or Berg Larsen.

Kind regards
Tom

 

[mfox]

all the crooks ive bought over the years i can remember ever one not needing tweeking

 

[Rogerb]

just stay away from new crooks...stick with the ones you know 😉

 

[blues_growler]

Doesn't it go beyond simply a physical fit ? Surely necks and bodies are designed as complete system and swopping necks between different makes of instrument can lead, but maybe not in every case, to tuning problems ?

I've heard of players saying they've improved the playability of some modern Selmers by changing the supplied neck with one from another contemporary Selmer model but is it being said that one could, after adapting the fit between neck and body, mate different makes of neck and body without negatively effecting the tuning ? For example, could one fit a Selmer Ref 54 neck on 1930's Conn and expect the Conn to play as well, or better, than with it's original Conn neck ? Where are the limits ?

I'm asking this because I genuinely don't know and would be interested to hear what others have to say. I've heard stories of some makers trying different necks from the same batch, while play testing in the factory, to find the best match. Martin even stamped neck and body with the same serial number. Is it now being said that all this matching up was unnecessary ?

And, finally, Silver Smurfer, why were you trying to fit your Walstein neck onto your new Yani in the first place ? We should be told.

 

[mfox]

the crook can make a big difference..but its all about the ability to un-lock the design features.. a seasond player will find a difference (good or bad) where as a someone who has only been playing a short while (year or so) would not notice any difference..
but you can go on tweeking. personally i have given up tweeking now i'm satisfied with my set-up

 

[silver_smurfer]

"...And, finally, Silver Smurfer, why were you trying to fit your Walstein neck onto your new Yani in the first place ? We should be told." (Blues Growler 2008 ).

I guess the public have a right to know, Growler. Having bought the new yani saxophone, the new yani mpc that came with it was squeeking like crazy so I tried to replace it with my old, trusty Yamaha 5C mpc. This is when I discovered the incompatibilities. It makes me think that taking mouthpieces for home trials might be pointless if they don't fit on the neck.

In the meantime, I am getting used to the new yani mpc and I feel I have more control. Tempted though I am to buy more new toys, I think I'll persevere with this mpc a bit longer.

 

[blues_growler]

What one usually does is lightly sand down the neck cork until the new MPC fits if it won't go on, or replace the said cork with new corking if the MPC is too large a fit for the existing neck cork. Swooping the necks is a bit extreme to gain the desired result. You may find this vid of interest,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScTUhwTk-_w

And these links.

http://www.petethomas.co.uk/saxophone-repairs.html

http://www.saxontheweb.net/Learning/Cork_Replacement.html

http://www.musicmedic.com/info/articles/num_4.html

Too much unintended squeaking can be, but not always, the consequence of using too hard a reed for the MPC. You could try soaking the reed in water for a bit longer or very, very lightly sanding the reed with the very finest (lightest) grade of wet & dry, one stroke at a time, working down the grain towards the tip, trying the reed as you go, or if you prefer, just buy some softer reeds. It's not always you. Having some very fine grade W&D around is always a good idea for carefully taking the sharp edges off the sides of new reeds before these edges cut into one's bottom lip.

http://www.petethomas.co.uk/saxophone-reeds.html

Let us know how you get on. Cheers.

 

[silver_smurfer]

Thanks Growler. The squeaking has gone now but if it crops up again I'll try your tips. I knew there was a reason I joined BR 🙂

 

[griff136]

If you must replace a crook cork yourself then I would suggest that

a. you do not use pliers like the gentleman in the youtube video in Growlers post - you could end up needing a new crook!

b. you get som masking tape and put it one the lacquered part of the crook up against the cork so if you slip you dont ruin the lacquer on your crook.

c. be very careful when cutting the cork with a sharp blade and cut away from you rather than towards you.

if you are doing it as a money saving exercise - forget it.

1 x sheet of the correct size and grade cork will cost around ?4.50 before delivery. The contact cement around ?1.80, sandpaper and blades andother couple of quid.

get it to your tech and it'll more than likely be done that day and come in at under a tenner in most places.

 

[justin_chune]

I had a sax neck re corked recently. It cost well under a tenner and took about ten minutes.

 

[jonf]

I'm with Griff on this - having done a neck recork myself, it takes so much longer as an amateur to do a decent job that it's just not worth it, unless you really want to do it out of interest.

 

[Jules]

JonF wrote:
I'm with Griff on this - having done a neck recork myself, it takes so much longer as an amateur to do a decent job that it's just not worth it, unless you really want to do it out of interest.

Your Signature's got a bit punky today Mr Ford!

 

[jonf]

nachoman wrote:
Your Signature's got a bit punky today Mr Ford!

I wondered whether you'd recognise it. I was torn between that one and a witty ditty about New York State Police.

Got to let a man have his memories 🙂

 

[blues_growler]

Excellent advice from Griff and not just about not using pliers to strip old cork from necks. If you're not very experienced with saxophones I strongly advise you to have all work, even very simple jobs, done by a professional sax tech. It's not a bad idea, every time you take an instrument to a sax tech, to ask for it "to be returned in as good a playing condition as possible". This gives them a free hand to quickly check to the instrument over and thus keep it in optimum playing condition.