Wobbly G

[o_c_v_]

I was playing my Yamaha 32 tenor last night and each time I tried upper G it came out distorted. It also happened on G sharp occasionally. All other notes were OK. I cant see anything obviously wrong. Can anyone suggest what might be causing the problem?

 

[greg_strange]

Hi O.C.V.,

You could have an obstruction in your octave vent on the body of the sax. Get a pipe cleaner or a paper clip straightened out with a bit of a hook at right angles and try poking through the octave vent from the inside of the sax - try not to damage the small pad of the octave key also clean out the octave vent on the neck of the sax as well, that might help. Could also be some leaks somewhere. Hopefully Griff, Steve Howard or Pete might be able to offer some expert advice.
Hope it works out for you.
Regards,
Greg Strange.

 

[griff136]

Hi O C V,

It sounds to me like you have a leak in the upper half of your sax. it could be problems with your octave mechanism or possibly your G# mech. or a leak on one of your pads. It could also be a spring that has popped off its latch, or a piece of cork missing in a linkage.

as this occurs up the octave i would first

Check that the octave mechanism is operating correctly.

finger G and press the octave key - the body octave should open and the octave key arm on the crook should remain closed.
then finger A and the body octave should shut and the crook octave should open.

I would also check that the crook key arm loop is not touching the octave arm when the vocatve key is not being pressed - there should be a small gap between these two.

check as well that your G# spring is working correctly by pressing the G# pearl, and pushin down the G# key cup down and letting go it should spring up on is own.

let us know how you get on.

if you cant solve the problem take it to a repairer.

 

[o_c_v_]

HI, Greg and Griff,
Many thanks for the advice. I've been through the checks suggested and everything appears to be in order. Poked through the octave vents, there was no visible obstruction. Had a blow and it was good. I'm wondering if it might have been a drop of condensation causing a partial block.
Thanks again.
O.C.V.