sax needing set up....

[Jules]

what are the factors which govern whether a saxophone stays set up? Ok- basic bashing about set against hardness of instrument metal and how good your case is is the obvious one, but what else causes a horn to gradually sneak away from the ideal, effortless set up that the repairer forced on it? I'm sure there must be a few other factors that conspire to keep techies occupied...

 

[Linky Lee]

how much it is used. The general movement of the keys will gradually take a toll on the springs and they'll need tightening.

something may work itself loose and the action becomes sloppy.

General wear and tear will take it's toll and it'll need a tweak every so often. Most repair places reccomend a tweak every year.

There are two ways to look at this. 1 it's a bit expensive but your sax will be playing great all the time.

2. the cheaper option, service when it needs one and have a less than optimal sax for several months.

I follow number two as I have to pay for all the repairs etc. myself and I have no income excluding 'pocket money' and EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance). I would like to follow number 1 as I think it is a better option.

 

[Pete Thomas]

My MKVI tenro used to go out of whack all the time. a) adjustable articulated G# on them have a very long pieceof cork on the end of the screw which seems to get more and more compressed, and the screw itseld gets loose.

b) detachable bell can easily shift around a bit if you use a shoulder strap type case and sling it over your shoulder a tad too energetically.

I no longer have those problems with my antique instruments that have fewer features.

 

[Bobby G]

I'm waiting to see how things go on my Dolnet, which from the serial number appears to be about 60 years old. It's recently been overhauled (while Jambo had it) and it plays really nicely, but I've noticed what I take to be signs of wear and tear - a little bit of play here and there, but nothing too terrible. There's a definite lack of adjustment screws all round, compared to my YAS-62, and corks and felts all over the place to keep an eye on, but I feel quite confident about taking on small jobs such as replacing a cork, or making small adjustments to ensure pads are sealing, which should help keep running costs down a bit, hopefully. Having looked at the springs, they all seem quite sturdy so I shouldn't break any if I need to do any re-tensioning.

I'm quite willing to get in there and make adjustments and do minor repairs - I haven't messed anything up as yet, and I think as long as you're careful and take it slowly and gradually, and remember where things like screws were before you move them, it's not too hazardous an undertaking.

Cheers, Bob

 

[Jules]

On one level that's reassuring- that the mighty mark VI had the same problems as my Mauriat.

Pete Thomas wrote:
My MKVI tenro used to go out of whack all the time. a) adjustable articulated G# on them have a very long pieceof cork on the end of the screw which seems to get more and more compressed, and the screw itseld gets loose.

b) detachable bell can easily shift around a bit if you use a shoulder strap type case and sling it over your shoulder a tad too energetically.

I no longer have those problems with my antique instruments that have fewer features.

 

[Pjonah]

My Old Selmer Pennsylvania used to go out of whack after a couple of months of hard gigging. There are no luxuries like stack adjusters etc, just varying thicknesses of cork, which can get knocked off with pollishing. Hence my reason for never pollishing it, it just looks so much more "rock n roll" that way!

On these older instruments its cork compression/loss thats the problem, as Pete rightly pointed out.

Thankfully modern instruments come with a whole shed load of adjusters, which are a god send until you get it wrong and totally cock the regulation up, don't fiddle and if it aint broke don't fix it.


Its a pity Stephen Howard wasn't more central in the UK, he's a little out of my range in sunny Daventry.

Simon :erm: