PMST66 Tenor Pre-Setup Problems?

[smoothjazztenor]

My newly-acquired PMST66 tenor has a "noisy" or "sluggish" low C# key. How do I fix this?

I also find that the "alternate" middle B-flat fingering makes the note "stuffy" sounding (ie. the LH-1 and RH-1 fingering).

Are these "problems" normal?

[BigDaddyJ]

Have you had a competent tech go over your horn yet? I bought my P. Mauriat from Tim over at Sax Alley, and he set's up all the horns that he sells. For my horn, I had Tim lighten up the action and get the key heights as low as possible without affecting the horn. I have zero issues with key noise or any stuffiness. In fact, my horn SMOKES!!

later

Joel

[Daktion]

double what BidDaddy said but mine was from junkdude. Apparently an out of the box P. has stiffer action on the loewr keys and will need some adjusting before it's fully ready to play. Just bring it in to a tech you trust and hopefully the problem will be fixed.

[BigZ]

My local tech set up mine for 45.00. The lower stack action was tighter than a truck spring. My F key was a little noisy too, but was easily fixed. Now, it plays great,- smooth and even. I'm still really diggin this horn.

[Randall]

ditto what they said...
The 1+1 Bb fingering for me has always sounded ever so slightly stuffy compared to the 1+bis key or 1,2 +right hand side key fingerings. Try these 2 variations and see if it is still stuffy sounding:
L1 + R2 and L1 + R3.

If you horn is not in adjustment it (the stuffiness) could be more pronounced.

[tomsch]

Setup on my P was not the best either but I ended up making a few adjustments myself. The first was the octave key contacted the arm even when engaged. I thought that would be a quick little bend but the metal is much stronger than I expected and I had to remove the key from the neck for the adjustment. I'm playing mine for a few weeks to allow time for everything to settle and I'm taking it to my local tech for an adjustment.

[smoothjazztenor]

Hey Guys,

Thanks so much for the inputs.

Here is the breakdown of my observations when I took my PMST66 out of the box:

1) Key height is high, esp on the RH lower stack. The F key is almost touching the spring! And this key is also noisy.

2) Sluggish Lower C#.

May I know, how low can the key heights be adjusted, without affecting the pitch/intonation of the horn?

Pls advise.