Extremely Hard-to-solve-problem on yana soprano

[sadist]

i own a yanagisawa s901 straight soprano saxophone.

the D has an extremely stuffed up sound... middle one... and the only way i found that could solve it was to not use the octave key... Whenever i use it , it just stuffs up...

i use a selmer c* mouthpiece and vandoren reeds. Also the problem seems to be reduced if i use thinner reeds...

is there any problem with it? i am so used to pressing the octave key and maintain the embroshure that maybe biting harder and not pressing the octave key is not a good way out...

i really need advice... on reed mouthpiece etc.

[Dave Dolson]

Sadist: Have you carefully examined the octave mechanisms? What you describe sounds more like an equipment failure rather than a mouthpiece set-up issue.

Your horn should play well - I own three Yanas now (recently sold one from the four I had) and all play great - no stuffy middle D for sure.

If not the octave mechanism, then you may be having a problem elsewhere on the horn that seems unrelated but may be affecting your middle D. Look for sticking pads (a stuck pad may not be sealing properly even though it is stuck shut), failures-to-close-tightly, other leaks and malfunctions.

Two common areas of failure on many saxophones (not just Yanagisawas) are the 1-1/1-2 pads (the cross-fingered Bb); and a failure to close the Ab/G# key completely. Your Yana most likely has a screw-adjustment feature in the middle of the stack that holds down the Ab/G# pad and the bisBb pad. Look to see if that is closing properly. Any leak(s) could give you the stuffy D problem. Good luck. DAVE

[sadist]

Dave thanks alot i will look into it...

here's another thing i just discovered...

whenever i use a vandoren reed it stuffs
whenever i use a rico royal reed there is surprisingly no stuff at all!

for the past week i have been attempting to find if the reeds are giving me problems and.. Bingo?

seriously i need some advice

[Dave Dolson]

Sadist: Just shows we are all different - I recently switched to Vandoren from Rico Royal. For me, the VDs (Javas in #2 for alto and sop) play the best. DAVE

[sadist]

no i dont use v16... i use classic... but could it be my embroshure causing this problem? my friend tried using it and got the same stuffed up D though

the vandoren reeds are ok on the rest of the register

[Bootman]

Clean out the octave body vent key hole with a pipe cleaner and see if it improves. It sounds as if this hole may be clogged.

[sadist]

is it the hole that opens when you hold down the "g" and octave key?

ok now i tried recording it myself and i find it super airy... upon closer listening i realised the problem occurs on reeds too...

i'm realli at lost but trying to find out more...

[rrex54]

Yes, pip on the body is the one that opens from G down.

As far as reeds are concerned, you can certainly find differences. The Vandoren blue box reeds play quite differently from the Javas. The blue box reeds are also generally harder by half a strength than other brands -- and other Vandoren cuts for that matter.

[singlereed]

Get Larry Teal's book The Art of Saxophone and see the section on reed adjustment. The diagram from that book is also on the Saxgourmet website.

[sadist]

ok but it seems to sound better when the little key is closed... means playing it without the octave key down just bite lil harder...

well i think that reeds should not be a problem... i think it might be the instrument's own technical fault... you see my friend tried plaing it and it sounded as bad... he's a pro... the air can seem to vanish...

my jazz custom mouthpiece is coming in and i'm going to see if the mouthpice combination is the root of the problem... this is because on jazz reeds i managed to decrease the airy sound... i do better on jazz i tink...

however on jazz reeds my tone is not exactly pleasant... could it be that the c* mouthpiece mixed with jazz reeds is not good? or is there just a problem with me? or anything else?

[Bootman]

Have you tried cleaning the octave vent pips and the little pip under the C# key yet?

A C* is not a great choice for a Sop sax. Try several other mpcs too.