[magical pig]

Bonsoir,

I finished fixing my The Martin ( I put it all apart, repadded, recorked it...) but the LH cluster is hard to play, especially the C# that needs a lot of strength to open. Lower the tension of the spring and the C# pad leaks. I took care of adjusting the pad very well on the whole circumference of the tone hole so I'm a bit puzzled by this tension problem.

So anyone got any clever insight and tips about adjusting my The Martin's LH cluster?

Thanks in advance,
Victor.

 

[axetech]

"Lower the tension of the spring and the C# pad leaks."

You should be able to unhook the spring and the pad should lay flat on the tone hole. When you adjust the pad so this happens then lighten the spring alittle.
Your G# lever spring may be too heavy so lighten it up too if need be.
This is typical of the vintage saxophones.

Carl

 

[magical pig]

Thanks I'll check it out!
Victor.

 

[magical pig]

My question might be dumb but what's the use of the LH cluster's C#, B and Bb keys pushing th G# lever? It doesn't seem useful to me for regular fingerings of notes.

Victor.

 

[Chris J]

My question might be dumb but what's the use of the LH cluster's C#, B and Bb keys pushing th G# lever
Victor.

Just that I think. It means any of those keys will play you a G# in times of need.

Some, like my Couesnons, allow you to switch it off. I prefer to play with it disengaged as the action of the keys seem much better that way

View attachment 3482

View attachment 3483

 

[magical pig]

Wow, nice feature on the Couesnon!!!
So if that's true about the G# lever 1.why in the world would someone manufacture such a poorly designed mechanism 2.does it mean I can modify the G# key so the other cluster keys dont touch it?

the action of the keys seem much better that way

That's why I was asking...

Victor.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

My question might be dumb but what's the use of the LH cluster's C#, B and Bb keys pushing th G# lever? It doesn't seem useful to me for regular fingerings of notes.

Victor.

It is pretty useful when going from one of those low notes to G#.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

"...but the LH cluster is hard to play, especially the C# that needs a lot of strength to open. Lower the tension of the spring and the C# pad leaks...."

It has a lot more involved than just pads and spring tension.
- The pivots must be as frictionless as possible.
- Friction must be eliminated as much as possible where a lever meets a key. Easy to say! ... The surfaces must be as flat as possible (no crushed natural cork), as slippery as possible (buff any metal; Teflon is often good), and the geometry must be good where a lever meets a key (ie, angle of connection, and location of connection point relative to pivot axes.)

The geometry is often pretty poor, especially on vintage instruments, but can often be improved with some judicious bending. There is no reason to assume that it was made the best it could be at the factory.

 

[magical pig]

Gordon thanks for the info and the tips.
Now that you talk about Teflon, I realize I did not use any of the sheets that were in my kit, maybe it's time to give it a try.

Like I said in another thread, I wont experiment on bending as this Martin is my only horn and the only reason I fixed it myself is because I dont have enough money for an overhaul. I'm sure though a good tech would make it play much faster and easier than now, but at least it's actually playable...

I'll be experimenting some more with that cluster even if I know in the end the Martin LH cluster is not the most ergonomic in the world... I'll let you know.

Thanks a lot,
Victor.