Saxophone Adjustment Materials by Matt Stohrer Everybody knows about pads, everyone has an opinion on resonators or whether plating makes you sound better, and you can google your way through most of a simple DIY saxophone overhaul or at least with enough time spent begin to understand why your horn does what it …
This is an all-original survivor, a rarity among Martins from this period whose notoriously delicate lacquer has survived nearly completely intact after 74 years. Most often when you see nickel keywork on a lacquered body, you think student intstrument. But it was not always so- indeed the nickel (or sometimes plated silver) keywork against lacquer …
I attended a clinic where the Director General and head of Research and Development of Selmer (Paris) Jerome Selmer gave a historical presentation and graciously and patiently answered questions from the audience of saxophone repairmen (and one Taiwan-based competitor) for nearly two hours. Some interesting things he mentioned: – The Mark VI and Reference horns …
I recently overhauled a 1954 Kohlert “Winnenden” tenor saxophone and was impressed with its tone, ergonomics, intonation, and construction- which features rolled toneholes and relatively modern ergonomics. The tone is dark, woody, and full- and tons of fun to play with a really dig-deep cupboard-rattling capability. Repair-wise, the design of the horn presented no special …
This is something I posted in a forum a little while ago. The question was “My low C# is stiff on my Conn 10M. What springs do I adjust to make it better?” As is often the case with good saxophone repair, the answer lies deeper and the knowledge required is greater than you might …
Choosing the right mouthpiece for you can be a daunting task. You’ve got an almost infinite amount of choices, and from among them you are expected to find exactly what works for you without being able to try them all and many times without the most basic knowledge as to what actually makes a …
I’ve gotten some of these for the shop every year since they’ve been made, and also been submitting pictures and luckily getting my pictures put in! This year though I’ve got the cover, which is pretty cool. Its a photo I took a while ago (should actually be in the gallery here) of a Selmer …
Well, this is a rarity. On eBay this week is a Couesnon alto saxophone with low A! edit: there are actually two on eBay this week. How strange! I’d love to own one of these some day.