B & G swab rant

[starboarder]

I had a no brand swab that came with my sax that you were able to swab both the neck and body. The B & G swab you are ask to buy seperate swabs for neck and body (so they can make more money). I brought the body swab, but everytime it gets stuck in the sax, the shape of the swab is too big to fit in the neck also. I am thinking of bringing out my scicers...

[dubrosa22]

I have both alto versions and they work perfectly.
What's your horn?

[nachoman]

I have both alto versions and they work perfectly.
What's your horn?

likewise

[Jazz Is All]

Yeah, my big silk swab does both the horn and the neck too. My peeve about the B & G swab, and the reason I consider it a waste of money, is that that thick fabric cord they use is actually heavier than the dinky little weight sewed in the end. Getting it to go around the bow and not just fall back out of the bell is almost impossible if you don't tie a bunch of big knots in it to make it heavier. The silk swab has a big rubber-coated weight on the cord and it goes down and around the bow with no problems. It dries quicly too.

[milandro]

I have many swabs from may brands Helin, Bg, Music medic, Selmer, and no brands. They all have merits and demerits .
Bg swabs are ok. I wouldn’t use a body swab to swab the neck, it is a very dangerous thing to do and one can unwittingly damage the octave pip if the swab gets stuck and you have to pull it loose.Better safe than sorry! Do you know the expression penny wise, pound foolish?

[Jazz Is All]

The silk swab is very compressable because the fabric is so thin even when the piece is wide and long. It easily slides through the corked end of my tenor neck and being silky has never once even tugged on the pip. It just slides over it like....well, like er....silk.

I also use a cut down B&G soprano swab on the tenor neck and that being very narrow goes through easily also, but it is cut down because it got bunched up and stuck inside my Conn soprano once and I had a hell of a time getting it out, tearing it in the process. The neck of the soprano is actually a smaller diameter than the corked end of a tenor neck. The problem with the BG is that the material is thick and does not compact like silk and so can bunch up if you aren't careful. If it doubles over it can get stuck in the narrower part of the body tube. That is why for my money the silk swabs are the best.

[starboarder]

my is tenor, maybe the swab cut (shape) isn't quite right that's why it gets stuck, or i should have got the silk version which does make sense from your discription Jazz Is All.

"Do you know the expression penny wise, pound foolish? "

british saying, what is the story behind that. I like it. haha

[Jazz Is All]

Well, the B&G tenor swab is big in the width, not the length, which is different from other swabs. I think this is a bad desing and probably why it can bunch up and get stuck easily. My B&G is an alto swab, but I no longer play much alto and I use it on the tenor because it does soak up some of the moisture even being smaller. It didn't go down aroound the bow of my altos any easier however, and it did get stuck once and I had to use the handle of a long wooden spoon to force it back out. My silk tenor swab works perfectly on altos too, so why one would want or need a B&G of any size is beyond me, especially since they are pricey.

[Buck Laughlin]

I love the round BG swab. It's about 10 times more effective than the silk swab I used to use. I use a separate BG neck swab for the neck and for my mouthpieces, and I love that, too. The only other swab I would even consider using is the similarly-designed Music Medic swab, but they've been sold out of that for a long time now.

[Jazz Is All]

To each his own. Just have a long dowel handy for when that swimming pool sponge gets stuck in your horn.

[trice]

I love the round BG swab. It's about 10 times more effective than the silk swab I used to use. I use a separate BG neck swab for the neck and for my mouthpieces, and I love that, too. The only other swab I would even consider using is the similarly-designed Music Medic swab, but they've been sold out of that for a long time now.

Ditto. Exactly. I use the body swab for the body and the neck/mouthpiece swab for the neck and mouthpiece. They work better than any other swab I have tried.

Obviously, mixing and matching doesn't work. Why would anyone be suprised that the body swab doesn't fit through the neck?!

[chinux79]

I have the BG Swab for my alto and also the separate one for the neck. No issues so far. The only problem I have is that I don't know when I should wash them because I haven't done so since I got them 2 years ago.

[ratracer]

I have a Hodge silk swab that is designed to swab out my tenor sax, from bell through the neck, without disassembling the horn. Could even go through the mouthpiece as long as you took the reed off! No problems with it hanging up on the body octave pip at all.

Unfortunately the rubber coated weight will not slide completely through the neck. It hangs up right before it would exit the neck on the corked end. That is remedied by pushing it into the corked-end first. (The rubber easily compresses enough to do that without any damage to the neck on that end.) The silk swab then slides effortlessly through the neck with no problems that octave pip.

Only time I ever had any issues with the swab was once, in a hurry, the swab got bunched around the very long string and as I pulled it up through the horn, it did snag on the body pip. Had to poke it back down the horn and untangle the swab but I knew better than to try and wank it past the pip.

I have another, generic cotton, swab that game with the sax that actually swipes the bore of the horn better than the Hodge silk swab. It has a small sponge in the center of it that holds the swab more open and forces it up against the inner bore of the sax better than the much more compressible silk swab. I use it more at home after practice or if there is time to do so after playing out. Definitely cannot use this one for the neck. But, just pull it slowly up through the body and it slides over/past the body octave pip quite easily.

Bought the horn new in 2007 so it's 5 years old. Bore of the body, neck, and mpcs look good as new using these accessories.

[Jazz Is All]

Obviously, mixing and matching doesn't work. Why would anyone be suprised that the body swab doesn't fit through the neck?!

Please, I wasn't saying I got the swab stuck in the neck. Obviously it is too big to go through a neck. I was talking about my B&G Alto body swab which got stuck in the body of my New Wonder 1 because I was in a hurry and looking at something else while swabing. When I pulled it through one side got doubled over causing it to bunch up in the upper tube near the pip. I couldn't pull it out through the tenon receiver and there was is of course no cord to pull it back down the other way. All you can do then is push it down with a dowel or rod. With the silk swab which I got as Sam Ash, I have never had a problem of that sort and it serves for all parts of the sax and dries the sax really well. Silk dries really quickly so if you wave it around a bit like a flag the moisture evaporates almost right away. They could give me a B&G free and I'd still use the silk swab.

[dubrosa22]

I don't know when I should wash them because I haven't done so since I got them 2 years ago.

Cripes! I wash mine every fortnight! I feel the difference every time - they get greasy and gross pretty quickly. BTW I'm not a germaphobe.

[Dave Dolson]

You don't have to swab a saxophone, you know. The one time I did I regretted. I've written about this several times so I won't repeat myself here. DAVE

[dubrosa22]

Octave pip damage? It is a concern
But what alternatives????

[chinux79]

Cripes! I wash mine every fortnight! I feel the difference every time - they get greasy and gross pretty quickly. BTW I'm not a germaphobe.

Do you wash them in the washing machine? or by hand?

[adamk]

I don't swap my saxs, but i do use a BG ligature on my tenor. It's stiff fabric with 3 metal rails to hold the reed, one screw.

[dubrosa22]

Do you wash them in the washing machine? or by hand?

I bought a $2 laundry delicates bag (usually for bras & stuff ) and put them in that.
I use a rubberband to hold the ribbon cord wrapped up so it won't twist and knot. Then I chuck it them in with a regular load of washing.

Works a treat!