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Tuning a saxophone for optimum performance at different temperatures

3K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  nathan61 
#1 ·
If you were doing an overhaul and setting key heights could you purposely set an instrument to perform well at a certain temperature?

I find that when it is 90 fahrenheit I have to pull out a lot and the horn doesn't play as evenly up and down. This makes sense because pulling out disproportionately effects the toneholes closest to the mouthpiece. But if the key heights were set with the mouthpiece already pulled out then wouldn't the horn play great at a higher temperature.

I actually have enough tenors lying around that it might be worth my getting one set up to play well in hot weather. But only if it is really going to make a difference.
 
#2 ·
Not really a good idea, because key clearance affects the tone. Setting them low enough to materially bring down the pitch is going to cause the notes to be fuzzy. A better way to do it is to change mpcs--use a different chamber volume so that the actual lenght does not change. However even that is iffy for many reasons. There is no really good solution AFAIK.
 
#4 ·
That makes sense. You might end up with a really stuffy horn that plays evenly in hot weather. When Yamaha designs a sax to play at A440 I wonder at what temperature they are thinking of. Most saxes I've owned seem to play best at about 75 fahrenheit.
 
#9 ·
I play a lot of hot weather gigs in the warmer months...I can't pull my MOC out enough on my main tenor to keep it in tune. My backup (A Conn CHU) seems to do just fine. (The cork is newer - the instrument gets less play time). Those gigs are "blow and go" for me. Too hot over 85 to worry about it...
 
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