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by jerrydog
(1 post)
18 years ago

Funny noises

Let me begin by stating that I am a beginner. I have been taking lessons for just under a year and practice religously. Let me also state that I am soon to be fifty. I have two tenors. My first sax is a SELMER SERIE III. My second sax is a KESSLER CUSTOM purchsed mostly to take camping in the woods. My problem is the SELMER (or myself) has a hard time going smoothly from middle C, B and A to D when slurring. Funny noises come out. For a long time I thought the problem was me. My teacher said I wasn't dropping all my fingers at the same time and to practice, practice, practice. Then I bought the KESSLER and it doesn't have that problem. I took the SELMER to the local (only music store within a few hundred miles) store where I bought it and had the tech take a look. He said he found a few minor leaks, made some adjustments and gave it back. No charge. The C to D was a bit better but that was it. I took it back again and again he made some adjustments. It still isn't right. The sad thing is I blow the KESSLER even though the tone and action aren't as nice. Should I send the SELMER somewhere out of state? I live in a little town in Montana so my resourses locally are limited to the store I bought the horn at. Or is the problem me and my teacher is right? I need to practice more? Any advice from a veteran would be very helpful.

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  2. by saxtech
    (12 posts)
    18 years ago

    Re: Funny noises

    Check it yourself (or at least give it your best shot). Make your own leak light. I have a few in different configurations. ALL of them I made myself with household items. An easy one to make, if you can solder wires, is to make one with a D cell flashlight. It is safe and no need to worry about electrical shocks with this type of leak light. Just remove the bulb from its socket. Notice the contact points of the bulb in the socket. Solder a wire to both of these contact points and the other end of the wire to the bulbs (same) contact points. Make the wire as long as you like (at least 2 or 3 feet). You can even put a little peice of "clear" shrink tube over the bulb to protect it from breaking. Go in a dark room, apply "normal" pressure to the keys and you will see any leaks it may have. Look at ALL angles of the keys (360 degrees around the key). This surely beats driving 200 miles to get an answer from a shop that will keep you coming back and never fixing it. If you don't want to make your own leak light, you can buy one from Ferrees at the link below: www.ferreestools.com You can get your pads, glue, corks, tools ect there also. Ask more questions here if you get stuck. Good Luck Gary

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    1. by saxtech
      (12 posts)
      18 years ago

      Re: Funny noises

      Oh ..... ALSO .... When you check for leaks, look especially at the F key (you depress this one when you play the D that is giving you problems). The F key has an adjustment (either a screw or a cork adjustment). This reaches over to the G# key. A lot of times, the G# key will lift up if the F Key adjustment is not properly holding the G# key down. Don't adjust it with too much pressure because then your F key won't close all of the way. Adjust it just enough so that it holds the G# key down to seal it and no more. Hope that helps a little more. (Those pesky G# Keys !) Gary

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