Out of tune D on a c-melody

[LordXiminez]

I have a 1922 straight-neck Conn c-melody saxophone. I've had it for a bit over a year. The pads seem nice, and everything is in working order. However, the D is really out of tune. The lowest D is fine, but the middle one is at least a half step off from the rest of the sax. I had been playing with a Selmer C* alto mouthpiece, but I couldn't get it tuned. When I used the original Conn Eagle mouthpiece, the D was slightly more in tune. (But then it made the sax sound crappy. :roll: )

I don't know. Would another mouthpiece solve this, or is the sax itself the problem?

[awholley]

Suggestions:

Try adding the low B key on your middle D

Lower the low C key to where the low D is slightly flat but you can still comfortably nudge it up.

Try a tenor mouthpiece instead -something like an Otto Link - or better yet
get a modern C-melody mouthpiece. I suspect the chamber size of your alto mouthpiece could be aggravating the problem, but that's only a guess.


My Conn stencil C-melody (curved neck) plays great with my Couf tenor mouthpiece.

[bruce bailey]

It is most likely the mouthpiece. Check the WW&BW catalog as they list several. You also might find a decent tenor mouthpiece that is smaller. I had a Lelandais tenor one that was perfect for the C. Check the opening of the low C pad and try holding it closed a bit and see if that fixes the D problem.

[LordXiminez]

Thanks for the advice! :) I'll be so happy when I finally get my c-melody to the point where it's fully playable.