@jbt - no, that's fine, thanks.
I was just trying out the "guinea pig" horn again today. Comparing it (Yamaha Vito alto) to a Jericho J6 I have, for tone, keywork, etc.
Going back and forth between them I was reminded what
@Stephen Howard often says about his Yamaha 23 - they really are excellent.
Although the J6 is minty and has more modern keywork I can't help but prefer the slightly beaten up Vito. I'm thinking ahead to how much better still it'll be once it's little issues are sorted out. And the great thing is that it cost nothing, so who cares if I mess up?
How did it cost nothing? Well, the price I paid will be covered by selling the Vandoren MP and other goodies which came with it.
However, whilst playing the Vito I noticed another "clicking" noise when coming off the left hand B key. Looking at what was happening, the front F was flying up on the B's rebound. Hmm... what's causing that? Couldn't see at first, so pulled out a YAS-275 (see Yardsale!) and compared them...
Can you see what it is yet? Vito top photo...
I guess I would have worked it out eventually, but always helpful to have "one I played earlier" to hand to see how it should be!
So, that missing cork will be replaced when I'm reassembling the Vito. I guess I should play it a little more to make sure I spot ALL the defects before stripping it down.
Anyway... playing the Jericho again, I noticed a clicking noise coming from the G#/bis rod where the lever was coming up and smacking the adjustment material - some kind of hard plastic. The lever is shown to the right of this example photo (right adjuster removed)...
To prove it was this clicking, I inserted a piece of paper between lever and hard plastic and it was muted. So... how to I overcome this percussive sound when these two interact? Any suggestions?
Matt Stohrer (photo above from his video) recommends doming these adjusters, but that's more for making sure the adjustment is correct, not to stop any noise. Here's his video:
View: https://youtu.be/cPlai6kmcYQ?t=35
I know I keep finding issues with the Vito, which I was only using to try pad replacement but... oh WAIT... just remembered, the neck is loose too! Neck screw tightened I can still easily turn the neck. Now I've seen a solution to this somewhere... it's either something to do with the screw thread or it needs the body clamp closing (hammer... pipe wrench?) or neck tenon opening (mandrel I guess). No worries, Matt at Sheward-MIR can sort it no doubt. Unless you have an easy fix to try first?
Always useful to find an informed DIY solution than immediately give a horn to to a tech I think. Then you can have practical experience and add to your home sax repair knowledge.
It's very satisfying too... mostly!