Accessories When do you insert your neck furry thingy? (padsaver)

Saahil

Member
120
Hi all,

I do apologies for the sheer randomness of my questions, I've got a unique blend of OCD, excitement and quiet time at work due to time of year.

The reason for this particular question is I understand you need to put that weird furry thing down the neck of the Sax after playing, and it makes sense to put it in when you're putting the sax in the case because you've just taken the neck off so you put the furry thing down it and store it.

But if it's staying on the stand, you aren't going to be taking the neck off, so then when do you put the furry thing down it?

And as a follow up, would you still take the mouth piece off if it's going to be on the stand? Or just put the cover on it and leave it till next time? Because you'd have to take the reed off anyway wouldn't you to moisten it before playing?
 
I don't use "furry" things as I think they do more harm (stay moist, can damage pads, key). I tend to leave my horn on the stand with mpc and cap on it, then pick up, moisten and play. Not the most hygenic I know! After about a week I dust the sax, clean mpc and normally change reed.

You will get several different replies to your question Saahil
 
I used to use the furry thing after my lesson but as soon as I got home took it out and put the sax on the stand. I now have lessons at home so furry thing doesn't get used. Sax remains on stand

Mouthpiece, I used to be really good at taking it off, rinsing and drying it and putting the reed in it's holder but often I intend coming back so leave all in situ and then don't come back until next day. Not sure it's good for the cork to have mouthpiece on all the time, be interested to hear what others say.

Jx
 
I run a pull through through the body of the sax after playing, and push a rolled up but of kitchen roll through the neck and mouthpiece to dry each. I then put the sax away. I've never been in the habit of leaving my saxes out - there are so many of them that if I did, I wouldn't be able to move for them.
 
Forgot about pull through I used to use that on sop, I really have got quite lazy at looking after my sax. Though again it is because I put it down and think I'll come back later and just get caught up in other stuff.

Jx
 
Wait so you don't actually need to use the furry thing?

Or keep it in even?

I'd imagine Jeanette that your Sax is still in good condition after several years of this?

The Tenor is 23 and the Alto is 18, they've both survived this long, just want to make sure they'll continue performing so I'll know it's me not the sax that's at fault.
 
Both the Sax came with pull through thingies, that will be interesting to try out. I've got pretty slender fingers, reckon I can probably get my hands in there to pull it through.
 
Why have you got to get your hands in?
Pull through thingy is a rag on a string; drop string in wide end, waggle sax until string appears at narrow end, pull through.
Bit complicated but you will soon get the hang of it.
 
Why have you got to get your hands in?
Pull through thingy is a rag on a string; drop string in wide end, waggle sax until string appears at narrow end, pull through.
Bit complicated but you will soon get the hang of it.

A weight on the end of the string helps.

On a tenor a wine cork (or half of one) and a thumb tack works, but I have thought that a ball of bluetack would be good. Anything which won't inflict damage on its way through and not get hung up on the octave tube will do.

It's daft to buy pull-throughs, they are a doddle to make in a few moments. A little fluffy cotton flannel of the type used for wiping snotty babies is ideal. Synthetic cloths are best avoided - not as absorbent as cotton.
 
I have never been a fan of the "neck savers" or "mouthpiece savers" even though I do use and recommend the HW Padsaver for the body of the saxophone. Instead I have found that a "hanky" clarinet swab to be perfect to pull through the neck and mouthpiece after playing to wipe out the moisture.

A mouthpiece left on a neck cork for long periods of time will permanently compress the cork and cause the mouthpiece to become loose. Removing the mouthpiece each time allows the cells in the cork to recover their shape and keep the mouthpiece tight for a longer period of time. Eventually every cork wears out and needs replacing.
 
I take the neck and mouthpiece, and reed off. I rinse them in the bathroom sink. I dry them off and put the reed back in the reed holder. I dry the inside of the neck and mouthpiece with one of those 8-10" long fuzzy swabs.

For the body, I use a pull-through on a string and then use the long swab. I leave the furry thing out to dry. My horn sits on a stand taped down to the top shelf of an Ikea computer desk (5' above the floor) in the basement. I screwed an eye into the floor joist above the sax stand. I took a piece of paracord and tied it through the eye. On the other end is an aluminum (aluminium?) carabiner; not the serious carabiners used on safety harness lanyards but the type people use for attaching their keys to their belts or belt loops. When I place the saxophone (without the neck on it) on the stand, I attach the carabiner to the saxophone neck strap. The paracord is adjusted so that if the horn did fall off the stand, it can't go anywhere. There are no children around anymore and the yorkiepoo doesn't knock things over.

The natural gas-fired furnace is in the basement so the humidity is really low, below 30% throughout the house, and we've had to use two humidifiers, one upstairs and the other in the basement, to get the humidity up. It's -10 Celsius (18 F) today so the outside humidity is low also.
 
A mouthpiece left on a neck cork for long periods of time will permanently compress the cork and cause the mouthpiece to become loose. Removing the mouthpiece each time allows the cells in the cork to recover their shape and keep the mouthpiece tight for a longer period of time. Eventually every cork wears out and needs replacing.

That was my worry thank you for clarifying, I will revert to my old better habits now 🙂

Does it do any harm to leave the neck attached?

Jx
 
I have a small 'fluffy' thing a bit like a pipe cleaner on steroids (it's actually a pull through for a recorder) which is flexible enough to go through the neck, and also OK for pushing through the mpc. I use a chamois pull-through on the body and then an HW padsaver, which I shove in and out a few times, shake off, then insert and leave in.
 
If you leave the pad saver inside the body of the instrument in the case it will trap moisture and rot the pads. I run the padsaver through the body occasionally and wash out the mouthpiece when it smells or tastes funny or won't play. I like my saxes on a stand to air.
 

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