Tech/maintenance SHWoodwind Updates

[Ivan]

Thanks @Stephen Howard

A pleasure to read about a thoroughbred horn, even if it's fiscally out of reach

 

[rhysonsax]

I really was tempted to drop you a line - but as I said to the client when he came to collect the horn, I felt it wise to keep quiet about having this beast at the workshop in case word got around and I suddenly found myself buried under an avalanche of players who'd "just popped in to have their octave key pads inspected".
But I will mention your challenge to the owner, just in case he's up for a comparison - and if so I think it would only be fair to drag Mr PT along with his vintage banger.

You do realise, of course, that once you've tried the Eppelsheim you're gonna want to buy one...

If we sell tickets for the bout, I might be able to afford one.

Pad, that is.

Rhys

 

[Stephen Howard]

It's really great to read about these monstre horns that we'll probably never see in the flesh. This one looks fantastic!

By the way, is it indiscreet to ask what was broken on that horn?

The biggest problem was that the compound bell key pillar had been knocked backwards - and as it's responsible for holding the tilting table keys in place it meant that getting the low notes was sketchy at best.
Other than that it was really just general maintenance; dealing with regulation that had gone out, minor wear and tear in the action and a few leaks dotted around the horn.
Finding and sorting the slight leak on the altissimo vent made a noticeable difference to the overall response of the horn.

 

[vries1]

When I read about the idea to get Rhys and Mr. PT and the owner of the Eppelsheim bass together with their monster instruments, I suddenly got a vision of Roland Kirk playing three bass saxophones simultaneously, with all horns hanging on regular neck straps of course!

(To make it easier, you can leave out the nose flute!)

 

[GCinCT]

Time for another review, and this time it's the spectacular and wonderful Eppelsheim bass saxophone.
It's a beauty, whichever way you look at it.

Benedikt Eppelsheim bass saxophone review

View attachment 12288

That was fascinating! I really enjoy your reviews and that one has to rank as my of my favorites.

 

[Stephen Howard]

Benedikt Eppelsheim dropped me a note the other day - he was rather chuffed with the review of the bass. He took the time to discuss some of the technical points raised and to inform me of subsequent upgrades, which I've added to the review.
The explanation for the link between the low C/C# was particularly interesting - turns out it's an anti-resonance feature which improves the response of the middle/low D.

Benedikt Eppelsheim bass saxophone review

 

[Stephen Howard]

Just a small update (got a huuuugeeeee one in the pipeline, so watch this space...).
Got my complementary copy of the Yamaha Clarinet Manual today. Well chuffed...though I can't read a word of it!

 

[vries1]

Congratulations ! But mind your spelling...

 

[vries1]

And of course we are all looking out for your huuuuge, undoubtedly very very very exciting update!

 

[Stephen Howard]

Congratulations ! But mind your spelling...

You mean complementary? It's a reference to the Yamaha version of the sax manual.

😛

 

[Chris J]

Suggest you don’t try google translate...

 

[Stephen Howard]

It's update time folks - and here's a cavalcade of articles (and tpyos) for you to peruse:

Let's kick off with a completely mad horn in the shape of the Vito Leblanc System 35 alto...the 'Johnny Hodges' horn.
It's a long review, but then it's a very complicated horn - but would ya buy one...?

Vito Leblanc System 35 (Johnny Hodges) alto saxophone review

A workbench review of the Vito Leblanc System 35 (Johnny Hodges) alto saxophone

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

Next up we have a bit of an eye-popper. You know I call it how I see it - and show you the photos - and I'm afraid the Lupifaro Platinum Vintage tenor gets rather called out:

Lupifaro Platinum Vintage tenor saxophone review

A workbench review of the Lupifaro Platinum Vintage tenor sax

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

For a bit of light relief, how about the Hanson SA8 alto? I don't get many Hanson horns in, so I was pleased to be able to get this one on the workbench:

Hanson SA8 alto saxophone review

A workbench review of the Hanson SA8 alto saxophone

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

Holding the fort in the soprano category we have the Sequoia Lemon soprano. It's interesting, but the old report card cays "Could do better".

Sequoia 'Lemon' soprano sax review

A workbench review of the Sequoia Lemon soprano saxophone

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

And then there are a couple of updates.
First up is yet another Sakkusu tenor - a black one this time...

Sakkusu tenor saxophone review

A workbench review of the Sakkusu tenor sax

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

...and the new edition of the Gear4Music Ultra-Cheap bari in the shape of the Rosedale. With caveats...

Gear4Music/Rosedale BTS-500G baritone sax review

A review of the Gear4Music/Rosedal BTS-500G baritone saxophone

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

For the technically-minded there's a small update to the Oiling The Action - For Geeks article, in which I faff about with grease.

Oiling the action - for geeks

The science of oiling the action

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

And finally (phew), I get to grips with a new entry on the Benchlife Blog:

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

Lots to read and digest - and I hope you enjoy it!

 

[sax panther]

if you really love getting Hansons in, I'll let you service my ST8 for free...

regarding the alto SA8 vs the VIII - I took my SA8 up to Hanson for a service recently and did a very quick side by side test of my one (after it had been serviced) vs a brand new alto. The new one was a bit lighter, but I didn't find the difference hugely noticeable - I'd spent a few hours trying tenors though, so both of the altos felt very light in comparison. I'd say the newer one was just about nicer than my freshly serviced SA8, but not nicer enough for me to justify buying it. If my SA8 got run over by a bus/dropped off a roof/eaten by a shark though, I'd definitely get a new Hanson alto.

I tried a couple of other tenors while I was there too - I think they were both LXs, which again are a bit lighter than the ST8. I ended up preferring how the ST8 played though - nothing wrong with the LXs, they were nice saxes, I just felt that the ST8 had a bit more volume, and sounded a bit "fatter". Keywork was great on all of them.

 

[Stephen Howard]

Thanks for the overview - very interesting about the new VIII, it sounds like it might be the same bore dimensions as the SA8, just with a thinner wall.
Funny thing is, no sooner had I uploaded the review than a client called up to book an SA8 in for a service. Typical.

 

[vries1]

Since the Definitive (or was it Final?) Octave Mechanism article, Steve's really getting the knack of GIF animations! Wobbly-wobbly keys beware!

 

[Stephen Howard]

Since the Definitive (or was it Final?) Octave Mechanism article, Steve's really getting the knack of GIF animations! Wobbly-wobbly keys beware!

I dunno about 'getting the knack' of them, but I think they demonstrate the amount of wear far better than a static shot and half a paragraph of text that, essentially, says "Would you look at this!!?"

The only drawback is that they take a lot of time to shoot and construct - and I mean a lot, at least if I want them to be reasonably presentable.
And these are only two-shot gifs. Some of the animations for the octave mech article took upwards of half a dozen shots. It doesn't sound like much, but when you've got to match the exposure, the colour balance...and keep the horn from moving inbetween shots, it's a hell of a lot of work. And that's before the Photoshopping begins.

 

[Karolis]

As always very entertaining, educational and useful !
A couple of typos that caught my eye:
Vito leblanc (towards the end) :
- and even though all my horns how have such a key I still find myself reaching for the 'fake fingering'.

Benchlife::
I found some correspondence with the current owner/representative of York (they're still in business) that states that the Wilton company was set up in 1941 by a merchant from Prague who used to trade in York vices and who (very sensibly) legged it off the the States just before the nazis came knocking.

 

[Stephen Howard]

Thanks for that - much appreciated (and well spotted).

I've just updated the Hanson review...a client dropped by with another SA8 for a quote, and I noted the octave mech had taken a whack.
I said in the review that I thought the pin key was rather long, and would be vulnerable to knocks...

From a quick scrute it all looks to be comparable with the silver model in terms of build quality, and although it had a few leaks it still had the same tonal approach - which at least bodes well for consistency.
It's due back for a strip-down service in a couple of weeks, at which point I'll have a closer looks for any differences.

 

[s.mundi]

I love reading your saxophone reviews.

 

[kevgermany]

It's really great to read about these monstre horns that we'll probably never see in the flesh. This one looks fantastic!

Epplesheim is in Munich... You might not find it so difficult.