Intonation on Yani T991

[Tom Goodrick]

I got my Yani T991 last July. I noticed the first day playing with a tuner (Seiko ST-909) that all notes played with the octave key tend to be sharp by 10 to 20% when the horn is tuned so the lower notes are right on. I had no idea whether this was normal or not. I tuned the horn so the upper notes were closer and learned to bend all notes close enough for my ears. I don't play with anyone normally thoguh a firend came over once and checked me and the horn out. He didn't notice a problem. (He teaches jazz at a college and plays sax locally). He's busy so we don't get together much.

My question is whether this is indicative of a problem with the horn. I have been playing melodies with some jazz interpretation for several hours a week. (I am retired and have plenty of time.) I can play all the notes on the horn nicely including G3. I seldom notice the intonation problem though it is slightly noticeable at times when I play with a recorded accompaniment on my synth. With my trumpet I show good intonation high and low but there the horn is pointed at the mic on the front of the tuner. Is there something about the mic on the tuner that it does not pick up low sax notes as well?

The horn came by mail and was not inspected by a tech. I examined it very carefully and saw no indication of any damage. The fact that it plays all low notes easily shows it has no leaks of significance.

[MikeH]

My guess is that it is not a problem with the horn especially since your friend did not have the same problem. How open is the facing on the mpc that you are using? A tip opening that is too large will cause this kind of problem because the upper octaves are more difficult on the chops; squeezing the reed and therefore sharpness will result.

[Tom Goodrick]

Sorry, I was not clear in that my friend did not play the horn but only listened to me. But I think you are right. I play an HR Link 6. I also have both an HR Link 5 and a Yani 5 that came with the horn. The Yani did not show the problem.

Today I watched the tuner carefully while playing long-note scales and while playing songs. On the scales I tend to go sharp on the higher notes, but in songs the intonation stays within 5% on all notes. I played at least a gig a week from 1960 to 1980 except for a two year period. I did a lot of brass section work. My ear is trained to play normal music in tune. Even after 20 years of only hobby keyboard work, my ear is trained to hear song notes in tune. Separate notes are something else.

Yes, I have developed the habit of squeezing the mouthpiece a bit on the high notes. Thanks for the comment.

[MikeH]

Glad to be of help. BTW, the Yani 5 (I assume it is hard rubber) is a much closer tip opening than even the Link 5 so that would be consistent with the idea that an open tip is the source of the problem.

[Tom Goodrick]

I will admit that I found the Yani 5 to play differently than the Otto Link 5 (both hard rubber) but, according to the handy camparison chart in WW&BW's recent catalog, both 5's are 0.080 inches. They appear to be the same when laid on a flat table tip-to-tip.

I found reeds that became a little soft with use were squeeking on the Yani 5 but not on the OL 6 so I changed to the OL 6 for the past 2 months.

This is a good point - about tip opening and intonation. While we gain the addition of more volume and more depth in the sound, we also take on more responsibility for training our mouth with our ear. I will continue to work on this checking intonation during songs with all mpc's.

[MikeH]

The mpc chart is in error on the Yani. The opening of the current production #5 HR Yani tenor mpc is .076. Yani has a site with the tip openings of all their mpc's listed.

[Tom Goodrick]

Thanks for the info.