Tech/maintenance SHWoodwind Updates

[Karolis]

So he doesn't have to think paints his fingernails to match.

How did you know? I thought I was the only one doing that...

 

[Targa]

How did you know? I thought I was the only one doing that...

One likes to look one's best.

 

[Hipparion]

One likes to look one's best.

View attachment 14211

The horror...

 

[Stephen Howard]

Couple of site updates today:

First up is a test prompted by Ivan's question about leaving acid on a horn. No change after five weeks - which means it's unlikely that anything much will happen:

Methods for removing green spots (verdigris) from your horn

How to treat green spots (verdigris) on your horn

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

And a new entry in the Benchlife Blog - making tin whistle buttons (AKA a thumb rest)

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

 

[rhysonsax]

And a new entry in the Benchlife Blog - making tin whistle buttons (AKA a thumb rest)

Nice idea, well executed - along the same lines as the Ton Kooiman thumbrest for flute, but maybe the body tube diameter would be different.

Ton Kooiman "Prima" Flute Thumb Rest. Just Flutes

Ton Kooiman, Woodwind Ergonomics - Flute

I bought one of those thumb rests for playing my flute with a "Fipple" head, so the tube is vertical.

Rhys

 

[Stephen Howard]

The Kooiman is a good design, but has a significant flaw that precludes it from use on whistles - namely the band that wraps around the body tube.
Flutes have raised holes and keys, so the fingers never get anywhere near the body tube. On a whistle the fingers are resting right on it - and the forefinger will always be directly above the thumb.

 

[Stephen Howard]

One small but important update - I've just published my Coronavirus policy.

Coronavirus advice for clients

Coronavirus advice for clients

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[Targa]

One small but important update - I've just published my Coronavirus policy.

Coronavirus advice for clients

Coronavirus advice for clients

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

'you're more than welcome to simply 'knock and drop' the instrument by the door'
That should ensure you have some repairs to do.

 

[Stephen Howard]

'you're more than welcome to simply 'knock and drop' the instrument by the door'
That should ensure you have some repairs to do.

Damn! You've seen through my cunning plan!

 

[Stephen Howard]

Time for another update - and this time it's a review of the Selmer (London) Super Pennsylvania tenor...otherwise known (in this instance) as the Yanagisawa T4.

Selmer (London) Super Pennsylvania (Yanagisawa T4) tenor sax review

A workbench review of the Selmer (London)Super Pennsylvania (Yanagisawa T4) tenor sax

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[Stephen Howard]

Another little update to keep you amused for a couple of minutes during these trying times.
It's a mini-review of the Martin Magna alto. I've bunged in on the end of the Committee III review, given that it's....well...go see...

'The Martin' Committee III and Magna alto saxophone review

A workbench review of 'The Martin' Committee III and the Magna alto sax

www.shwoodwind.co.uk

 

[brianr]

Stephen, I enjoyed your review. Thanks.

I owned a Magna alto once. It was fantastic.
It had the best sounding lower octave of any alto Ive tried ( I’ve tried probably everything out there !! )

It was the closest thing to a tenor ever.

I needed money at one point,and it was a choice between the Magna or my Mark 6.
I sold the Magna. I always wish I could have kept it.
( but I still have the mk 6, so it was the right choice )

So, just to come to a point you raised.
I’m pretty certain that my Magna had the left hand thumb mechanism that your review version doesn’t have.
ie , mine was like your mark 3 version, with the lovely shaped/sculpted mechanism. It must have been an earlier version, but I cant remember the serial number

 

[rhysonsax]

My Magna alto has the silver neck and dates from 1959, so it isn't from near the end of the run. I don't know whether it was the neck or something else, but the sound is just TOO BIG for me and I stopped playing it.

Keep the great reviews coming.

Rhys

 

[thomsax]

When "Magna" model came in c 1955 (according to my info) it was when Selmer had big days in USA. Both Conn and Buescher have thrown in thier towels. King had the Super 20 Sonic model. I have "The Martin Tenor" and "The Martin Magna Tenor (1959). I think the Magna is slighty beter. Just a liite bit. I agree that I wouldn't pay all the extra money for a Magna. I bouhgt my Magna for 2000 sek in 1985 with two Berg Larsen metall bullet mpc that came along. Although I'm close to buy low A Magna. But it' too much money. Here is a picture of a low a Magna bari from a book. ("Sax & Brass Book"). Red Tyler on bari?

 

[Vetinari]

Does having the octave key on the crook rather than below the joint make a diference in sound in the top octaves

 

[sizzzzler]

I used to have a Committee III and now have a Skyline which is focused but with a fuller and rounder tone than the III, yet it can play from woody classical to screaming blues. Both Bird and Pepper played Martins at the start of their careers, before they got in to the endorsed freebies they pawned for smack. The thing is heavy and tough, like a club. The keywork is quick, just a shade off the Selmer series III quick from D to C#. To hit it‘s full potential the Skyline/Searchlight needs a knowledgeable tech experienced in setting these up because there is a stud that needs to be bent carefully to sort the tuning above top C and the bell keys system balances springs against each other and needs to be set a fraction away from flapping free to play with the same pace and fluidity as the rest of the keywork. The octave key and Bb are so comfortable and easy I don’t understand why these designs aren’t the norm.

 

[jbtsax]

Does having the octave key on the crook rather than below the joint make a diference in sound in the top octaves.

That is a good question. Gary Scavone in his dissertation indicates that the register hole on a conical woodwind should be located 1/2 the distance from the imaginary apex of the "missing cone" to the first open tonehole. For the "neck octave" the ideal "compromise" location for saxophones is 1/2 the distance from the apex to the open tonehole that vents the note B. For the body octave, the ideal "compromise" location is 1/2 the distance from the apex to the opening that vents the note F. Notes on either side of these values will be sharp to a certain extent when played with the octave key.

Given that, insofar as those conditions are met, on a bari sax it should not make a difference whether that location falls on the "crook" or below it, unless perhaps the tone is affected somehow by the different taper and length of the different "crooks".

 

[Vetinari]

Asked the octave key question as I noticed it's location on the picture of the Martin bari.

 

[rhysonsax]

Asked the octave key question as I noticed it's location on the picture of the Martin bari.

Older baritones, I think from all the manufacturers including Conn, Martin, Selmer, Buescher, Buffet, had the upper octave pip on the neck.

You can search around The Vintage Saxophone Gallery :: SaxPics.com for hours and see which model baritones from which manufacturer had an octave pip on the neck. For instance pre-war Selmer baritones did until the Balanced Action model in the late 1930s.

The neck was also longer than on most modern baritones because the point where the neck changed to the main instrument bore (start of the pig tail) was further down the cone. The neck of a tenor is always longer than on an alto, but the baritone is shorter than tenor, just because the break point in the whole instrument tube is a smaller proportion, presumably for ergonomic reasons more than acoustic ones.

Of my baritones the Selmers have a short neck with no octave pip on it and the Conn (1931) and Buffet (late 1960s) have longer necks with an octave key.

As others have said, the placement of an octave pip is a compromise as it should theoretically be slightly different for each note it serves. On the baritone either scheme (upper octave pip on neck or not) seems to work well enough.

Lots of professionals still play the old Conn 12M baritones (with the neck octave pip) and sound great on them.

Rhys

 

[Stephen Howard]

So, just to come to a point you raised.
I’m pretty certain that my Magna had the left hand thumb mechanism that your review version doesn’t have.
ie , mine was like your mark 3 version, with the lovely shaped/sculpted mechanism. It must have been an earlier version, but I cant remember the serial number

I can't find any examples with this design of octave key fitted, and I would have said that perhaps they were using up what remained of the Comm.III stocks in store - but the two models ran concurrently for quite some time. Bit of a puzzle.