End Plug?

[goldberg447]

I have a Mark VI alto, and I am just using a cheap end plug that I bought from my local music store to protect the octave mechanism and to keep it from moving around in my case. Do I need to use a special end plug. I see people selling vintage end plugs on ebay, and I wonder, will using the cheap, plastic end plug hurt my sax in anyway?

Thanks

[maiaihii]

can't see how it would, I've never used one for my mark VI though, don't recommend that though

[StanleySaxMan]

I would keep using the one that you have. It is better to be safe and use it and not risk having the octave mechanism get damaged.

[bandmommy]

As long as the horn stays put in the case the price or material of the end plug doesn't matter.
But if you want to over pay just to have a 'vintage' one.... go for it.
You are the only one who would give a ratsass about what kind of plug you use.

[Buck Laughlin]

will using the cheap, plastic end plug hurt my sax in anyway?

No. But not using it could definitely hurt your sax.

I still have the original Mark VI end plug for my tenor. It has a cool looking Selmer "S" on it. But the cheap $2 plastic end plug my tech gave me fits better, so that's the one I use. It never occurred to me to sell the original plug on eBay. How much could I get for it?

Addendum: What the what??? I just checked eBay. There's a wooden end plug for sale with a buy-it-now price of $125.00! Mine's plastic though. I probably wouldn't get very much for it. I'll just keep it in the case as a back up.

[Sigmund451]

People will call anything vintage to pull an extra buck. Anyone who has enough time to worry about a matching end plug should be spending more time in the shed.

[Pete Thomas]

People will call anything vintage to pull an extra buck. Anyone who has enough time to worry about a matching end plug should be spending more time in the shed.

Unless they know something we don't. maybe the vintage end plugs sound better, or at least, have more resonance and a better intonation than the plastic ones. I use a champagne cork.

[Dave Dolson]

It IS nice to have all the pieces for a saxophone including the original end-plug. But the problem is that no one knows it or cares about it but you. I agree with Buck . . . $125 for an end-plug. Ridiculous. And I agree with the champagne cork although I detest champagne. DAVE

[goldberg447]

I didn't think it would be problematic. I just thought that it would be ridiculous if I had to by one of those expensive end plugs.

[bruce bailey]

The length and the way it is held in the case is more important than the looks or brand.

[milandro]

......I use a champagne cork.

Yes but which champagne? Something good and of a certain cachet or something cheap........ I mean I hope this is not an “ Aldi” champagne !?!
You know the Cheap and luxurious idea? Everybody knows that makes your sax sound terrible and “ common”!.........

To OP..........an end-plug is simply a piece of any material which prevents the octave key being bent: nothing more, nothing less, a plastic one will do the same job as an ebony one. Of course an ebony one looks nicer in the same manner that the key holder of your car doesn’t change the way you car drives!
Leather might be more in keping with you luxury car or the aspiration of driving a luxury car if you dive a cheap one......that’s what there is to it....


Oh yes, cheap champagne...........does exist, too expensive to be really cheap and too cheap to be the good stuff........

.......an end plug

[sandy cameron]

Champagne plug is my best, except for the wood one I made. My others are cheap wine plugs. The only "real" plug I had was sold recently with my alto. I should have doubled the pice.

[sandy cameron]

Sorry. Would not want to instigate another spelling error conflict. Should read "price".

[mrzel]

End plug material does matter if you ship the horn or drop the case. My Holton alto fell in its case from a truck tailgate to the pavement after a show one evening. The case landed on the end of the case. Because the case fit the horn snugly and the end plug was the brass kind, the horn had nowhere to go. In the impact the brass plug didn't deform thus forcing the body tube to bend slightly. My repair guy explained it to me and from that point on i use Yamaha style plastic end plugs just in case. Arguably The impact could have done this with any plug but my horn guy suggested that a plastic plug may have reduced the severity of the bend in the body by deforming slightly or absorbing some impact.

[jthole]

I use a champagne cork.

Me too. At least on my tenor. Works as well as any plastic or metal plug.

[bruce bailey]

I generally use an endplug that is about a half inch too short. Inside the hole in the case, I glue in a half inch layer of medium rubber. give a certain amount of cushion but nothing will protect against a serious drop. The newer cases like a protec or better have more end padding thus making the endplug an octave lever protector.

[Kelpie]

I bought one of these for my Keilwerth, as it was missing the end plug when I bought it and I couldn't find one anywhere else. Nice plug.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EBONY-END-PL...item19cff05c52

[milandro]

yes, nice, I hate to think how much they would charge for a clarinet if they charge 45$ for 4 cm (at most) of black hardwood...

[BIG B Convert]

Yes but which champagne? Something good and of a certain cachet or something cheap........ I mean I hope this is not an “ Aldi” champagne !?!
You know the Cheap and luxurious idea? Everybody knows that makes your sax sound terrible and “ common”!.........

I also use a champagne cork for my conn trans. tenor.
My end plug cost me $135....


I shared a bottle of Dom Perignon with my brother in-law when he got out of 7 yr. service in the Navy. We used to play (he plays guitar) before he went in. Jammed for hrs while splitting that bottle. Every time I 'pop' the cork on my tenor, I try to capture the spirit of that day.

[milandro]

well, of course you don’t need to drink to bottle to get the cork but I give it to you , it is a lot more fun!

Try to squeeze that black wood