Tech/maintenance Why do old saxes and cases smell like that? And how can it be stopped?

[Bernie]

A relative has given me a late 60s Beuscher Aristocrat alto as I said I like messing about with such things. She bought it for her daughter who couldn't get a note out of it and abandoned it.

I have got it working again: I made a makeshift octave key pad out of microcell foam, which worked very well and looks rather cool to me (why aren't all sax pads made out of microcell foam?), I replaced some dislocated springs and then I had four working notes. Couldn't figure out for a while what was preventing the other notes sounding, then I did what you all would have done immediately, looked down the bore, aha, so that's where the mouthpiece went...

Ok, so I will offer the daughter the sax now it is working, but it is smelly and the case it is in is smelly. It smells like the last old sax I had, a mixture of a polishy smell and mould. I think she is much more likely to love and play the thing if it is not smelly, so:

1. Why do saxes and their cases smell like that and

2. How do you deodorise them?

 

[kevgermany]

1. Why do saxes and their cases smell like that and

2. How do you deodorise them?

1 - Cos they're put away wet and dirty.
2 - Get a new one. There are various treatments if you search the web, but in reality they don't work.

 

[Bernie]

Thanks Kev, that seems like sound advice, but did you mean a new sax or just a new case?

 

[Colin1]

There's a deodoriser in the auto care world which is used to purge pet/childrens debris/work/other smells/odours from your car. It is sprayed around the carpets and footwells and then the car is left shut, overnight if my memory serves me correctly - it's been a while since I had a car that bad.

For a saxophone, presumably, you'd spray it into the contours and then close the lid, leaving it overnight. Can't think why it wouldn't work on a sax case it's possibly just an issue of what your want your case to smell like instead.

There might be some proprietary product out there in the sax world but my case hasn't gotten that smelly yet.

 

[kevgermany]

Thanks Kev, that seems like sound advice, but did you mean a new sax or just a new case?

Case. The sax can (and should) be washed out. Try stripping it, soaking in warm slightly soapy water for a while, then see what comes out of it. It'll turn your stomach.

 

[kevgermany]

btw, I don't think the microfoam pad will last long. It's really cheap and quick to replace it with a leather covered one. Probably the easiest pad to do.

 

[Colin the Bear]

The smell in the case is bacteria, dead and alive. Mildew. Bicarbonate of soda sprinkled liberally around the case and left for a few days then vacuumeded out should help. If it's really bad a weak solution of Disinfectant, dettol works, sprayed onto the textile and left open to dry will kill the bacteria. Then do the bicarb thing.

 

[Bernie]

btw, I don't think the microfoam pad will last long. It's really cheap and quick to replace it with a leather covered one. Probably the easiest pad to do.

Thanks Kev. I can't see why the foam pad would wear out, but it's the sort of thing I am usually wrong about.

 

[jbtsax]

The best product I have found for case odor is Case Odor Eliminator from Dr's. Products. In the worst cases the best method is to soak the inside of the case liberally with lighter fluid, toss in a lighted match, and go buy a new case. (best done outdoors)

 

[Saxlicker]

If the smell is the same as the one I recognise and associate with old sax's & cases.....
I'd bottle it if I could....I LOVE IT !

Strange thing is when I wear aftershave women run a mile

 

[Bernie]

I found an article that said Febreze air and fabric deodoriser contains all kinds of dreadful substances noxious to human health and the environment, so I tried a bit of that, seems pretty effective.

 

[jonf]

. In the worst cases the best method is to soak the inside of the case liberally with lighter fluid, toss in a lighted match, and go buy a new case. (best done outdoors)

That's my sort of direct action. 😀

 

[altissimo]

soak the inside of the case liberally with lighter fluid

there are other things you could resort to - https://youtu.be/j5EmCKbWS6c

 

[MMM]

I heard that the smell in old cases is due to the glues which were used to line them...
Anyway, I'd suggest getting a new case, they're not terribly expensive and while the sax is in its new case, you can use a combination of fe breeze and magic trees... I tried and it takes a while but the smell recedes, if you have enough patience!
I do love those old style cases of only they didn't weigh a ton!

 

[sidenius]

I've had great succes putting a bowl filled with activated charcoal in the case and leaving the case closed for a week or two.
The charcoual absorbs the bad smell. It can be reused several times after a rinse in running water and drying it.
I bought 5 kilos of activated charcoal sold for use in aquariums. That's the cheapest solution.
I've also used it in my car, my fridge, my house and so on

 

[Targa]

I bought 5 kilos of activated charcoal sold for use in aquariums. That's the cheapest solution.
I've also used it in my car, my fridge, my house and so on

Have you ever wondered where these smells are coming from?

 

[sidenius]

Have you ever wondered where these smells are coming from?

Haaah 🙂
Not that my car, my fridge or my house smells ugly. I used it as preventive aircleaner - just in case.
By the way, when I think about it, my fridge and my car doesn't always smell like new 🙂

 

[Bernie]

I do love those old style cases if only they didn't weigh a ton!

This one is 1960s, and it looks a bit like this:

 

[Colin1]

This one is 1960s, and it looks a bit like this:

I guess my auto care suggestion isn't quite so out of place after all 🙂

 

[Colin the Bear]

You'll need more gasoline to burn it then.