Tech/maintenance SHWoodwind Updates

[GJ77]

Aha! Well spotted! But is it of any special significance...?

Is No.4 a ‘Hawkes & Son’? I’ve got a wooden one made by them which looks exactly like that and I think might be for a C melody.

 

[Stephen Howard]

Is No.4 a ‘Hawkes & Son’? I’ve got a wooden one made by them which looks exactly like that and I think might be for a C melody.

There are no markings on it at all. It's almost identical to No.2 - the only difference being that 2's bore is 15.6mm and 4's is 17mm. They both have truly cavernous tone chambers.

 

[Hackenbush]

Reed strength?

 

[hedgehog]

It'll be very, very, very exciting to learn what's going on 😉

 

[Stephen Howard]

Some good guesses here, and one or two of you are going to feel suitably chuffed...

Here's the article - and it's all about brass, ebonite and acid...with a neat little hint at the end.

Brass & Ebonite versus acid (and hot water)

Testing weak acids for crook and mouthpiece cleaning

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[vries1]

Interesting as always!

As for blackening ebonite, there are other communities looking for the same grail. Vintage pipe collectors, for example, or vintage fountain pen collectors. Of course fountain pens do not belong in one’s mouth, while pipe stems do have that vocation- so maybe some of the ideas in the following link could prove inspiring and/or useful. Removing Oxidization on Vulcanite Stems

 

[Stephen Howard]

Interesting as always!

As for blackening ebonite, there are other communities looking for the same grail. Vintage pipe collectors, for example, or vintage fountain pen collectors. Of course fountain pens do not belong in one’s mouth, while pipe stems do have that vocation- so maybe some of the ideas in the following link could prove inspiring and/or useful. Removing Oxidization on Vulcanite Stems

I've seen many of those tips before. Most of them are variations on the theme of sanding the bloom off - and part of the problem with chemical solutions is the need to soak the mouthpiece. In combination with a soup of chemicals it could result in some softening of the ebonite, even temporarily. Not such a big problem with a pipe stem, but a serious one when it comes to a mouthpiece.
Still, some of the methods might be worth testing...

 

[Stephen Howard]

Just a l'il update...

I had a Pan American bass in for a service recently, and because it wasn't all beaten up and I had some time on my hands I took the opportunity to update my original review of this fine vintage beauty...which was first published back in 2003.
Better pics and more blurb...just what we like.

Pan American ( Conn ) 56-M bass saxophone review

A review of the Pan American (Conn built) 56M bass saxophone

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[Stephen Howard]

And just for fun(?)...there's a new entry in the dreaded Black Museum!

The Black Museum - a woodwind house of horror.

An exhibition of botches, horrors, monsters and other assorted nasties

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[vries1]

Yuk!

 

[Stephen Howard]

A modest batch of updates today...

An update to the John Packer JP045 alto review. Had a more recent model come in for a service and was keen to see if it was any better or worse than the one I reviewed back in 2012.

John Packer JP 045V alto saxophone review

Description

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

There's also a new Notes article: Third Time Lucky - the mysterious case of the bent A key.

The mysterious case of the bent A key

The mysterious case of the bent A key

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

And finally, a new entry in the Benchlife Blog: A Sticky Solution.

A rolling blog of everyday life on and around the workbench

An informal peek at what goes on in the SHWoodwind workshop

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[Stephen Howard]

Time for another review, folks - and this time the bench plays host to the basic Sakkusu baritone.
It's big, it's (bloody) heavy...but it is worth it?

Sakkusu baritone saxophone review

A workbench review of the basic Sakkusu baritone sax

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[Stephen Howard]

There's a new entry in the Benchlife Blog today - Thumbs Up; making a custom thumb rest and octave key touch.

A rolling blog of everyday life on and around the workbench

An informal peek at what goes on in the SHWoodwind workshop

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[Stephen Howard]

Been rather snowed under of late, but managed to find some time to review a Yanagisawa TWO32 Elite tenor. At £7500 a pop I couldn't really pass it up...

Yanagisawa T-WO32/T-WO33 Elite tenor sax review

A workbench review of the Yanagisawa T-WO32/T-WO33 Elite tenor saxophone

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[vries1]

Nice one, as always!

 

[malteof]

You mention the Rampone & Cazzani R1 tenor in this review, is it something we might see a write-up about too?

 

[Stephen Howard]

Only as and when someone brings one in for a service!

In the meantime I'll be adding the SX90R that was mentioned to the rolling review - spotted a few iffy toneholes.

 

[malteof]

Only as and when someone brings one in for a service!

In the meantime I'll be adding the SX90R that was mentioned to the rolling review - spotted a few iffy toneholes.

Do you have any quick thoughts on the R&C? I'm sure you must have seen one at some point? And didn't Pete bring in his Two Voices at some point?

 

[Stephen Howard]

I haven't seen many, so I can only offer a broad generalisation - but my feeling is that while they're great players, they can sometimes fall short on the build quality front...or at least the cosmetics.

 

[rhysonsax]

I haven't seen many, so I can only offer a broad generalisation - but my feeling is that while they're great players, they can sometimes fall short on the build quality front...or at least the cosmetics.

You worked on my R&C gold-plated saxello quite a few years ago. I think you quite liked it but said it was typically Italian - I think meaning flamboyant but maybe not lots of attention to detail.

It is my favourite soprano out of about seven Great tone and ergonomics, decent tuning and a very good gold finish that is lasting well. The action is maybe a tad spongy but I love the instrument.

Rhys