Intonation troubles with the 889SG?

[james nichols]

I own a jupiter 889SG tenor sax. I have had it for a little over a year, and have noticed something troublesome. At first I was impressed by how smooth the sound was, especially on the lower register. I still say it has one of the best low ends of any sax I have played. But I have been having troubles with intonation. I have heard from some reliable sources that this sax tends to have intonation problems. Does anybody else who has this sax have this problem? I am wondering if it is an isolated problem, or maybe something else. Thanks!

[Merlin]

I haven't found any more or less trouble with intonation on this horn than any other pro tenor - what exactly are the problems you're having, what context do you play in, what's your setup?

Answer these questions, and maybe some suggestions can be made.

[james nichols]

Well, I play in a show band in high school. Its a small ensemble that plays blues, rock and pop vocal tunes, and some instrumentals. The problem that i'm noticing is that I am always sharp. This might be from the 3.5 reeds i'm playing on ( i bought them by mistake), but i notices the problem when i was playing on 3s as well. I'm really not sure what kind of mouthpiece I use. (that sounds really bad)
I know it isnt the stock one, because that one is still in my case.

[Merlin]

If you're playing reeds harder than you normally use, you may be biting, making you sharp.

Go back to your regular reeds and see if things sort themselves out.

[james nichols]

thanks, i'll try that.

[RandyJ]

James,
I agree with Merlin, and beside the reed issue if you are not a "seasoned" player you still might be a little nervous when playing and that also will tend to make you clamp down and play a bit sharp.

[Reedist]

Hi,
Hi I too play in a show kind of band that do arrangements of pop music and such. I find and it's a general rule to me, the harder the reed the more likely i am to being flat and not sharp. I too use a 889SG and is well suited to most genres. just a note though if you are sharp and have no cork left try lifting up the neck a fraction and tightening it at the right sounding position, you'll notice a good difference.