Colin the Bear
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 13,561
I had a couple of sticky pads on the recently acquired Gear4Music soprano. Thought it was just in need of a clean so gave it a go.
On closer inspection the left hand palm keys were found to be interfering with each other. Eb was rubbing on F and not returning properly. No amount of adjusting would sort it. Poor design. I decided to remove the keys and have a look what could be done.
There's a lot of spare metal in the F key so I decided to remove a small piece with the dremel rotary tool to clear the Eb key. This went very well and has solved the problem
My shock was what I found when refitting the keys. The tone holes had very sharp burrs on them and looked as though they had been rough finished with a file.
I managed to remove the burrs and sharp edges with a fine swiss file and it plays fine.
I can't help wondering what the rest of it is like. If there's sharp edges on any other tone holes , it doesn't bode well for pad longevity.
There was also a problem with the G# key sticking. The mounting bracket grabs the rod if it's tightened and the use of some plastic tubing as a spacer was sticking. A little faffing, adjusting and lubrication have sorted it for now. Poor design again.
I have their alto which is in a different class. Very good design and finish. I took advantage of a promotion and invested in a Tenor which is the same design as the alto and finished well. Both of them play great.
I have been recommending Gear4Music saxes but the curved soprano is of a different design and looks like it comes from a different factory.
Can't recommend it. In fact, if it's the same as mine, I'd steer clear of it.
On closer inspection the left hand palm keys were found to be interfering with each other. Eb was rubbing on F and not returning properly. No amount of adjusting would sort it. Poor design. I decided to remove the keys and have a look what could be done.
There's a lot of spare metal in the F key so I decided to remove a small piece with the dremel rotary tool to clear the Eb key. This went very well and has solved the problem
My shock was what I found when refitting the keys. The tone holes had very sharp burrs on them and looked as though they had been rough finished with a file.
I managed to remove the burrs and sharp edges with a fine swiss file and it plays fine.
I can't help wondering what the rest of it is like. If there's sharp edges on any other tone holes , it doesn't bode well for pad longevity.
There was also a problem with the G# key sticking. The mounting bracket grabs the rod if it's tightened and the use of some plastic tubing as a spacer was sticking. A little faffing, adjusting and lubrication have sorted it for now. Poor design again.
I have their alto which is in a different class. Very good design and finish. I took advantage of a promotion and invested in a Tenor which is the same design as the alto and finished well. Both of them play great.
I have been recommending Gear4Music saxes but the curved soprano is of a different design and looks like it comes from a different factory.
Can't recommend it. In fact, if it's the same as mine, I'd steer clear of it.