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| Did you originally start on Saxophone? |
| Yes |
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26% |
[ 8 ] |
| No |
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46% |
[ 14 ] |
| I was born with a sax in my hand! |
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26% |
[ 8 ] |
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| Total Votes : 30 |
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Fashionable Conversationalist
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 Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:16 pm
I used to play bass clarinet in symphonic band and doubled it a bit on some pieces for jazzband. Soliong on bass clarinet is fun! Course i'm nor Eric Dolphy or Bob Mintzer.
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:22 pm
Sorry to interrupt the bass clarinet conversation, but I have a problem with my alto sax.
It's brand new, a Yanagisawa A992 Bronze. It plays beautifully on every note... that is, except for low C. I'm stumped, because sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't "work," it's there, but it's a wobbly note. It sounds like it wants to jump up an octave. The reason I'm stumped is because no other note acts like it, even all the notes below low C.
I don't know if I should try to just deal with it and try to improve my low notes, or if I should get it looked at. It can't be me, because low Bb, B, and C# all come out great, but they use the same key as C.
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Stay Sane Inside Insanity
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:30 pm
megamanfan66 Sorry to interrupt the bass clarinet conversation, but I have a problem with my alto sax. It's brand new, a Yanagisawa A992 Bronze. It plays beautifully on every note... that is, except for low C. I'm stumped, because sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't "work," it's there, but it's a wobbly note. It sounds like it wants to jump up an octave. The reason I'm stumped is because no other note acts like it, even all the notes below low C. I don't know if I should try to just deal with it and try to improve my low notes, or if I should get it looked at. It can't be me, because low Bb, B, and C# all come out great, but they use the same key as C. That pad might be leaking. (The hole isn't being properly covered and air is escaping making it hard to play a note.) But I don't really know how to check for leaks. If you are a student in school, you can get your band director/teacher to look at it. If not, you might have to get a professional to look at it. (Which can cost some $$$)
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:14 am
Stay Sane Inside Insanity megamanfan66 Sorry to interrupt the bass clarinet conversation, but I have a problem with my alto sax. It's brand new, a Yanagisawa A992 Bronze. It plays beautifully on every note... that is, except for low C. I'm stumped, because sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't "work," it's there, but it's a wobbly note. It sounds like it wants to jump up an octave. The reason I'm stumped is because no other note acts like it, even all the notes below low C. I don't know if I should try to just deal with it and try to improve my low notes, or if I should get it looked at. It can't be me, because low Bb, B, and C# all come out great, but they use the same key as C. That pad might be leaking. (The hole isn't being properly covered and air is escaping making it hard to play a note.) But I don't really know how to check for leaks. If you are a student in school, you can get your band director/teacher to look at it. If not, you might have to get a professional to look at it. (Which can cost some $$$)
Try having someone else play it, whether it be another student or your band director, and see if they have the same problem with it. That's how we found all the problems with a freshman's saxophone during band camp- I played it, and based on the problems I was having, I found most of the key leaks and bent keys and stuff (I'm used to finding problems on saxophones, because my director had me test saxophones in middle school...I don't know why he had me do that xd ). It sounds like a key leak to me...along with having someone else play it, try having someone press down on the key while you're playing it. That should definitely show if it's leaking or not if it sounds better.
I'm not sure why it wouldn't have any effect on the other low notes, though...if someone else doesn't have problems with it, then you should definitely check out your embouchure.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:04 am
he already said that it's most likely not a key leak...he says it's just C, but Bb, B, and C# all use that exact same key. so it's probably not a key leak. it could be that since it's a new sax, you're just not used to it yet. or it could be that you're just not pressing down hard enough when you're only using that key by it's self...(i.e. you press harder when you're using both pinkies as opposed to just the one) you might just need to wear the spring in.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:48 pm
toco clarinet he already said that it's most likely not a key leak...he says it's just C, but Bb, B, and C# all use that exact same key. so it's probably not a key leak. it could be that since it's a new sax, you're just not used to it yet. or it could be that you're just not pressing down hard enough when you're only using that key by it's self...(i.e. you press harder when you're using both pinkies as opposed to just the one) you might just need to wear the spring in.
Yeah, that was my only problem with the key leak theory, so I wasn't sure. Do you really have to wear in an instrument? I've never played on a brand new sax, let alone brand new anything, so I wouldn't know. Sounds like that's possible, too.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:01 pm
Thanks guys. I fixed it. It was partly me and partly the sax. Because it was so new, I had to get a LOT more used to it before it is at its best. Also, the spring on the low C key was a bit out of place. It was quite an easy fix for me. I played it for two hours, took a break, played for another hour. The note comes out great now, but only warps when I get lazy with my playing technique. mrgreen
And it's a new sax... so it doesn't have any key leaks. I had it checked out before I bought it.
And yes, you have to wear in a new instrument before it sounds good.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:59 pm
megamanfan66 Thanks guys. I fixed it. It was partly me and partly the sax. Because it was so new, I had to get a LOT more used to it before it is at its best. Also, the spring on the low C key was a bit out of place. It was quite an easy fix for me. I played it for two hours, took a break, played for another hour. The note comes out great now, but only warps when I get lazy with my playing technique. mrgreen And it's a new sax... so it doesn't have any key leaks. I had it checked out before I bought it. And yes, you have to wear in a new instrument before it sounds good. cool smile i've never played a yanagisawa...hope it works out awesome for you biggrin
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:02 pm
My section leader played a Yanagasiwa for concert band...it looked nice, it just sucks that he had a really harsh tone. xd I got to play around on it, and I don't remember my sound, but the keys felt nice and...not-jiggly. I don't know how else to explain that. xd
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:16 pm
Yeah, my yanagisawa has really nice, tight keywork. That's something Yanagisawa specializes in. As for tone... I love it. I got the bronze metal, instead of gold. It apparently has a darker, warmer tone, and it's just perfect for me. I can't get enough of it. mrgreen
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:46 am
I'm pretty limited with the saxophone's I've used...there's my student yamaha, which is good for marching band, the selmers I tested out in middle school, and the blessing rental that I used for the second week of band camp this year...so far that one's my favorite. It was so nice, sounded amazing, and I liked the feeling of the keys, though they were a bit more stiff than what I'm used to. I know that a good musician should be able to make a good sound on any instrument...but that sax really helped out. xd
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:11 am
yeah..i haven't had too much experience with other saxes yet either...just my bundy that i started on and now my yamaha...the only selmer i've ever played is my private teacher's mark VI razz it's pretty nice, but i don't think i would drop the kind of money required to buy one of those, not even mentioning finding one for sale in my area.
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:29 pm
toco clarinet yeah..i haven't had too much experience with other saxes yet either...just my bundy that i started on and now my yamaha...the only selmer i've ever played is my private teacher's mark VI razz it's pretty nice, but i don't think i would drop the kind of money required to buy one of those, not even mentioning finding one for sale in my area. LOL! I love the Mark VI! I played one that was in mint condition... It sounded amazing, but it was $5500. Crudd. I had to travel a lot before I decided on my sax, though. It took a lot of trying this, trying that, too expensive, not good enough, etc. Then I found the Yanagisawas. Yay.
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:47 pm
megamanfan66 LOL! I love the Mark VI! I played one that was in mint condition... It sounded amazing, but it was $5500. Crudd. I had to travel a lot before I decided on my sax, though. It took a lot of trying this, trying that, too expensive, not good enough, etc. Then I found the Yanagisawas. Yay. yeah, my teacher was lucky enough to get his for free...he had an old teacher who was planning on touring with it when he retired..and when he retired he thought he was too old to tour..so he gave it to my teacher lol
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:41 pm
toco clarinet megamanfan66 LOL! I love the Mark VI! I played one that was in mint condition... It sounded amazing, but it was $5500. Crudd. I had to travel a lot before I decided on my sax, though. It took a lot of trying this, trying that, too expensive, not good enough, etc. Then I found the Yanagisawas. Yay. yeah, my teacher was lucky enough to get his for free...he had an old teacher who was planning on touring with it when he retired..and when he retired he thought he was too old to tour..so he gave it to my teacher lol OMG. How lucky is that? Wow. A Mark VI for free... ahh, I think I'm daydreaming again... and/or I'm just obsessed with saxes. That may very likely be the case. pirate
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