TonyMoroney
Senior Member
- Messages
- 92
- Locality
- Richmond, VA, USA
Hi All,
Long story, but I'll summarise my question first:
I realise that the question is highly subjective, but like guitar (too low an action causes fret buzz) there must a universal rule of thumb that says "this is too low"? Would really appreciate feedback from the sax techs on the forum!
I was in a London sax store this weekend and tried a Mauriat Curved Sop, which I worriedly took to one of the audition rooms in the store and played; this is the first time I've ever played a curved sop and I was quite concerned after the tales of curved sop intonation being more difficult to tame than Alto or Tenor. Unusually I had wifey with me (she's not normally present for sax porn!), anyway I picked it up and blew, went up and down a scale or two, she told me there and then I could buy it of I wanted it. After checking her temperature, and making sure there were no obvious signs of head injury I asked for her to clarify.
She told me that the sound I produced with the instrument was much more fluid, smooth and slick, and made me sound more like I'd been playing the horn for 5 years instead of a year or however long I really have.
I decided not to walk out of the store with it, but instead take a day or two (being an analytical kind of guy) to understand what was different, and why this was so different to my other horns. I eventually decided that the key work felt more "solid" and the action was much lower.
When I got home I confirmed this, the action on my other horns was significantly higher, and it would seem that when I see an note and the signal is sent from my brain to my fingers to shut the key, when the action is particularly high, sometimes it can introduce a sufficient delay to make the note timing "off". I thought that this is something I just have to learn to build into my playing and deal with as a part of my growth as a player becoming familiar with the instrument. That is until I played the Mauriat!
So can I get the action lowered on my other horns?? Am I imagining all of this? Will affect my sound in a negative way?
Sorry for the novella, it's all a bit confusing to me right now, incidentally the store will probably be calling me back this morning to ask if I want the horn, but I'm holding off for at least the next few hours while I contemplate my navel; especially if I can make my other horns feel as smooth, fast and positive as the Mauriat.
Cheers
T>
Long story, but I'll summarise my question first:
How low can action on a horn be before it becomes detrimental to the sound of a sax.
I realise that the question is highly subjective, but like guitar (too low an action causes fret buzz) there must a universal rule of thumb that says "this is too low"? Would really appreciate feedback from the sax techs on the forum!
I was in a London sax store this weekend and tried a Mauriat Curved Sop, which I worriedly took to one of the audition rooms in the store and played; this is the first time I've ever played a curved sop and I was quite concerned after the tales of curved sop intonation being more difficult to tame than Alto or Tenor. Unusually I had wifey with me (she's not normally present for sax porn!), anyway I picked it up and blew, went up and down a scale or two, she told me there and then I could buy it of I wanted it. After checking her temperature, and making sure there were no obvious signs of head injury I asked for her to clarify.
She told me that the sound I produced with the instrument was much more fluid, smooth and slick, and made me sound more like I'd been playing the horn for 5 years instead of a year or however long I really have.
I decided not to walk out of the store with it, but instead take a day or two (being an analytical kind of guy) to understand what was different, and why this was so different to my other horns. I eventually decided that the key work felt more "solid" and the action was much lower.
When I got home I confirmed this, the action on my other horns was significantly higher, and it would seem that when I see an note and the signal is sent from my brain to my fingers to shut the key, when the action is particularly high, sometimes it can introduce a sufficient delay to make the note timing "off". I thought that this is something I just have to learn to build into my playing and deal with as a part of my growth as a player becoming familiar with the instrument. That is until I played the Mauriat!
So can I get the action lowered on my other horns?? Am I imagining all of this? Will affect my sound in a negative way?
Sorry for the novella, it's all a bit confusing to me right now, incidentally the store will probably be calling me back this morning to ask if I want the horn, but I'm holding off for at least the next few hours while I contemplate my navel; especially if I can make my other horns feel as smooth, fast and positive as the Mauriat.
Cheers
T>