Sax on the Web

Sax on the Web Forum Archive / Baritone Saxophone / bari swab

jon boy
User ID: 1056474 Jan 29th 5:11 PM
i have an old bari i got from a pawn shop, i think its a king but its impossible to read the engraving.

anyway, the neck doesnt come off, the horn is one solid piece. how the hell am i supposed to clean the thing out? there's a spit valve on the bottom of the neck loop, but thats not good enough!

RS
User ID: 1314254 Jan 29th 9:13 PM
The neck doesn't come off? Are you sure? If that's true than I would bet that it's a real piece of crap and should not fooled with. Check it again close. Maybe the neck screw is missing and the neck is stuck onto the horn making it seem to be one piece.

Mossy
User ID: 1808544 Jan 30th 7:56 AM
I'm no expert but have seen pictures of very old bari's where the neck is non-removable. No idea how you'd swab it out though.

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Jan 30th 7:58 AM
At leaset you have a spit valve. Some "vintage" horns do not.

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Jan 30th 7:59 AM
You could probably shove one of those fuzzy LaVoz neck savers in and out.

MBushaw
User ID: 8081443 Jan 30th 3:39 PM
RS, why assume it's a piece of crap? It is much harder to manufacture a bari with a removable neck. Many, many vintage baris have solid necks.

MBushaw
User ID: 8081443 Jan 30th 3:40 PM
OOPS!!!!
"It is much harder to manufacture a bari with a removable neck."

I meant "It is much harder to manufacture a bari with a NON-removable neck."

mike
User ID: 1557854 Jan 30th 4:03 PM
Why is that? Its the same amount of bending, either way, and with a single piece you don't have to worry about fitting a tenon and receiver.

RS
User ID: 1314254 Jan 30th 6:01 PM
MBushaw--I have never seen or heard of (until now) a bari with the neck attached to the body. Just doesn't seem like a good idea. The cleaning issue has already been mentioned plus how do you position the neck to suit individual taste? I set my neck to the right a little to make it more comfortable for me. When other players try my set-up they move it back to the center. None of this is possible with a one piece. If some vintage baris have this construction and they're good playing horns then they might be worth a look. But everything else being equal a bari with a removable neck is to be preferred.

J. Calhoun
User ID: 0673084 Jan 30th 6:03 PM
It shouldn't be too enormous a job for a competent repair person to obtain a neck tenon and receiver as spare Bundy parts and install.

saxdaddy@napbirt.org
User ID: 0701364 Jan 30th 8:56 PM
While this could be done, it is no easy job. Not just any tenon and reciever is going to work. You would have to try and find a part of the neck is cylindrical to start, then match the I.D. and O.D. of the neck at that point to a matching tenon and socket. This may or may not be possible. If a suitable set of parts are not available, then they must be made, or a close set more than likely would need to be modified.

jon boy
User ID: 1056474 Jan 30th 9:12 PM
my bari may well be a piece of crap - it rather looks like one - but it has an unbelievable tone, so its worth it to me to keep it from gettin crusty on the inside.

as for adjusting the neck for the prefered angle of approach, i just had a repair dude re-solder the neck-strap ring where the horn would hang properly.

jon boy
User ID: 1056474 Jan 30th 9:13 PM
thats "preferred"

MBushaw
User ID: 3194694 Jan 30th 9:14 PM
mike- making the pigtail on a bari is very difficult. Most modern manufacturers do the work in sections, with collars to cover the seams (and this also makes later dent removal much easier). To make the continuous bend thru to the neckpipe is real art.
RS- Swabbing a bari is a relativly new idea. Many of the old horns didn't even have spit valves on them. And I agree, I prefer a removable neck.

RS
User ID: 1314254 Jan 30th 9:58 PM
The stuff that comes out of my neck when I wash it out every few weeks they could make a bad horror flick out of.

MusicMan
User ID: 0464054 Feb 7th 9:04 AM
I have seen several examples of older (pre 20's) era bari's with non-removable necks. It was just the practice of that era and not due to any particular reason. Remember the curved sops of that time also didn't have removeable necks.

MPL
User ID: 1363014 Feb 7th 10:19 AM
See saxpics.com in the King section...there is indeed a documented baritone with a one-piece neck! From the "Museum of the 'Hard To Believe!'"

jon boy User ID: 1056474	Jan 29th 5:11 PM i have an old bari i got from a pawn shop, i think its a king but its impossible to read the engraving. anyway, the neck doesnt come off, the horn is one solid piece. how the hell am i supposed to clean the thing out? there's a spit valve on the bottom of the neck loop, but thats not good enough!
RS User ID: 1314254	Jan 29th 9:13 PM The neck doesn't come off? Are you sure? If that's true than I would bet that it's a real piece of crap and should not fooled with. Check it again close. Maybe the neck screw is missing and the neck is stuck onto the horn making it seem to be one piece.
Mossy User ID: 1808544	Jan 30th 7:56 AM I'm no expert but have seen pictures of very old bari's where the neck is non-removable. No idea how you'd swab it out though.
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Jan 30th 7:58 AM At leaset you have a spit valve. Some "vintage" horns do not.
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Jan 30th 7:59 AM You could probably shove one of those fuzzy LaVoz neck savers in and out.
MBushaw User ID: 8081443	Jan 30th 3:39 PM RS, why assume it's a piece of crap? It is much harder to manufacture a bari with a removable neck. Many, many vintage baris have solid necks.
MBushaw User ID: 8081443	Jan 30th 3:40 PM OOPS!!!! "It is much harder to manufacture a bari with a removable neck." I meant "It is much harder to manufacture a bari with a NON-removable neck."
mike User ID: 1557854	Jan 30th 4:03 PM Why is that? Its the same amount of bending, either way, and with a single piece you don't have to worry about fitting a tenon and receiver.
RS User ID: 1314254	Jan 30th 6:01 PM MBushaw--I have never seen or heard of (until now) a bari with the neck attached to the body. Just doesn't seem like a good idea. The cleaning issue has already been mentioned plus how do you position the neck to suit individual taste? I set my neck to the right a little to make it more comfortable for me. When other players try my set-up they move it back to the center. None of this is possible with a one piece. If some vintage baris have this construction and they're good playing horns then they might be worth a look. But everything else being equal a bari with a removable neck is to be preferred.
J. Calhoun User ID: 0673084	Jan 30th 6:03 PM It shouldn't be too enormous a job for a competent repair person to obtain a neck tenon and receiver as spare Bundy parts and install.
saxdaddy@napbirt.org User ID: 0701364	Jan 30th 8:56 PM While this could be done, it is no easy job. Not just any tenon and reciever is going to work. You would have to try and find a part of the neck is cylindrical to start, then match the I.D. and O.D. of the neck at that point to a matching tenon and socket. This may or may not be possible. If a suitable set of parts are not available, then they must be made, or a close set more than likely would need to be modified.
jon boy User ID: 1056474	Jan 30th 9:12 PM my bari may well be a piece of crap - it rather looks like one - but it has an unbelievable tone, so its worth it to me to keep it from gettin crusty on the inside. as for adjusting the neck for the prefered angle of approach, i just had a repair dude re-solder the neck-strap ring where the horn would hang properly.
jon boy User ID: 1056474	Jan 30th 9:13 PM thats "preferred"
MBushaw User ID: 3194694	Jan 30th 9:14 PM mike- making the pigtail on a bari is very difficult. Most modern manufacturers do the work in sections, with collars to cover the seams (and this also makes later dent removal much easier). To make the continuous bend thru to the neckpipe is real art. RS- Swabbing a bari is a relativly new idea. Many of the old horns didn't even have spit valves on them. And I agree, I prefer a removable neck.
RS User ID: 1314254	Jan 30th 9:58 PM The stuff that comes out of my neck when I wash it out every few weeks they could make a bad horror flick out of.
MusicMan User ID: 0464054	Feb 7th 9:04 AM I have seen several examples of older (pre 20's) era bari's with non-removable necks. It was just the practice of that era and not due to any particular reason. Remember the curved sops of that time also didn't have removeable necks.
MPL User ID: 1363014	Feb 7th 10:19 AM See saxpics.com in the King section...there is indeed a documented baritone with a one-piece neck! From the "Museum of the 'Hard To Believe!'"