[Atratr]

Hello, it's been 3 moths since my alto was completely repaded. Before that pads were in bad condition but i got a good sound on it, meaning a sound with rich harmonics, not too harsh. I was capable of hitting the third overtone with ease from Low Bb, B , C and C#.
When i played the sax after changing the pads i found that it was more resonant, more volume,more easyblowing. Feel impressed with the change, seemed that it really had many leaks before and air was escaping.
But now i don't like the sound i am getting, second octave and up, not beautiful although there is more sound quantity, the quality is not better. Palm keys scream ugly. Maybe is a sound with little harmonics, i think. I can only get second overtone now and sometimes the third but very hard to hit it.
It is like i was in a way finding my own sound and now feels like working from the beggining again.
If someone has found this issue or similar any help will be welcome. I play with a meyer 6M and java reeds 3,5. Maybe upgrading mouthpiece next year.
Thank you for reading.

 

[griff136]

One possible explaination is that you got adjusted to playing your sax with the leaks in place, they could have indeed helped you attain those harmonic notes, after all the octave pips are in effect leaks that force the note to change. Now its leak free you will probably need to adjust the way you play in order to achieve those harmonics.

I would also add that you should take a trip back to your tech to check all the pads are seating well and everything has "settled in" now its been 3 months since your full repad.

let us know how you get on.

 

[clarnibass]

There are many possibilities...

One is that maybe you were fighting the instrument a little before so now with the same mouthpiece and reed it doesn't work. Maybe the reed is too soft now. Although that Meyer with 3.5 Java doesn't sound too soft, it depends a lot on the player.

Maybe you got used to blowing in a certain way to overcome the leaks, so now the same is actually "over-blowing" e.g. like your palm notes screaming. Practicing the new condition and setup and/or experimenting with mouthpiece/reed setup might help.

Maybe inspite of the repad there are still leaks, or wrong key heights, etc. It's worth finding another saxophone player to try the instrument if you can.

 

[Jazzaferri]

You might try changing your reed brand. What worked on a leaky sax may not be quite right for your setup now

 

[Stephen Howard]

I would have said that it was a case of re-learning your embouchure after having spent some time working around the compromises with a leaky horn - but 3 months is rather long time in which to have made those adjustments. Two to three weeks would be about right, maybe a month tops?
I guess it could be that since the horn was fixed you've been playing it more, and your tone has developed to the point where you're coming up against the clash between the tone you hear in your head and that which your current setup gives you. If that's the case then a different mouthpiece is probably going to be the way to go.

As Griff says, it would be sensible to have a repairer look at the horn in case anything's settled down - and then make a decision from there.

Regards,

 

[JL]

I would have said that it was a case of re-learning your embouchure after having spent some time working around the compromises with a leaky horn - but 3 months is rather long time in which to have made those adjustments. Two to three weeks would be about right, maybe a month tops?

Hey we think alike! That was my first thought, as well. So I doubt it's an embouchure adjustment issue.

Maybe, being a tech, Stephen will back me up on this, but it's been my experience after getting a horn overhauled or having several pads replaced, that the horn usually needs a trip back to the tech after I've played it for a month or so. Usually it takes my tech about 5 minutes (or less) to put it right and then at that point it's good for a year or more with no problems. New pads have to settle in or something like that, I guess. So maybe your horn could use a check-up.

That's just a guess, though. Maybe a Yamaha in good playing condition isn't your cup of tea...

 

[jaysz]

I would have the key heights looked at, possibly by another tech,
it shouldn't cost that much to have him/her just inspect the horn to
see if they are the problem. Also are the pads sticking at all, perhaps
just a little, often when I get an overhauled horn back, the pads
tend to stick just a little bit that may not be easily noticable.

 

[saxyjare01]

When I bought my alto (Mark VI 172xx) it was one of those that had been put underneath the bed for 30+years. It had the orig pads. After playing it a while, I had it re-padded. It was MUCH more resistant, and I couldn't get used to it. I had the keys opened up more than my tenor. That just made the sound bigger and easier to blow, but didn't exactly solve the change. Bottom line: there were all new pads and I had spend more time getting used to it.

One thing that might help you is going down a half reed size. Your horn is more resonant, but it may not match up with your air stream.

A similar thing can happen, like when somebody plays your horn for a while and then you play it. It may play completely different for a while. Your horn is used to your old air stream. It's time to change your air game. Take your time and really listen to the sound in your head before you play. It may not sound the same at first, but you should notice a difference. If you want to get even more technical about it, try using colder and warmer air (not at once, obviously) and play around with that. To blow through leaks we tend to put out colder air. Those are my two cents.

 

[Atratr]

Thank you all, i will consider all your points. Easiest of all i will focus more time on sound development and embochoure, maybe try some reeds, i have just a box of java 3. There's no good shop nor a technician near my town but want to take the sax to recheck(yes, there are some sticky pads)maybe next month. Want to try some other mouthpiece, i will call the nearest shop, hoping they will send me some models. I was thinking jody jazz but i would like to hear your recomendations.
Love this forum, thank you again.

 

[Dr G]

Want to try some other mouthpiece, i will call the nearest shop, hoping they will send me some models. I was thinking jody jazz but i would like to hear your recomendations.

There's a swingin' deal on some outstanding mouthpieces at Mouthpiece Cafe:

http://mouthpiececafe.com/

 

[Jazzaferri]

Hard to get a useful mpce recommendation as they are such a personal item

Tha way a mpce functions with my embouchure may be completely differnt for ysomeone else

That's why many of us have a number of em. It's all a plot lol

 

[Stephen Howard]

Hey we think alike! That was my first thought, as well. So I doubt it's an embouchure adjustment issue.

Maybe, being a tech, Stephen will back me up on this, but it's been my experience after getting a horn overhauled or having several pads replaced, that the horn usually needs a trip back to the tech after I've played it for a month or so. Usually it takes my tech about 5 minutes (or less) to put it right and then at that point it's good for a year or more with no problems. New pads have to settle in or something like that, I guess. So maybe your horn could use a check-up.

That's just a guess, though. Maybe a Yamaha in good playing condition isn't your cup of tea...

Horns can settle in after major work, but on the whole this tends to be due to corks and felts settling. Strictly speaking a well-set pad shouldn't budge that much, but if they've been over-compressed during seating it's quite likely that they will expand over a few weeks - and then the problems start.

Regards,

 

[JL]

Horns can settle in after major work, but on the whole this tends to be due to corks and felts settling. Strictly speaking a well-set pad shouldn't budge that much, but if they've been over-compressed during seating it's quite likely that they will expand over a few weeks - and then the problems start.

Regards,

Thanks Stephen. A while back I had a fair amount of work done on my tenor (including several new pads) and afterward it played like a dream. A huge improvement, so it definitely needed the work. After a couple of weeks it developed a leak, I took it back in, my tech fiddled with the keys (I think he pulled out a tiny screwdriver or something), and in about 2 minutes handed me back the horn and it played perfectly (no charge, of course). That was 8 months ago and it's still playing great. I had this same experience some years back after an overhaul. So I'm wondering if it's a common occurance. Something must 'settle in' or change initially, but then after a 'final' adjustment, it's fine for a long time. I assume if this has happened to me it might happen to others, so I would think a return trip to the tech after major work might be a good idea?

Oh yeah, I think you're right about the felts & corks settling in, rather than the pads. Now that I think about it, that's almost certainly what happened. I'm not a tech. I just thank my lucky stars there are guys like you (and Lee Kramka, the suberb tech I use) out there to keep my horns in playing condition!

 

[Stephen Howard]

I think most repairers offer an adjustment tweak after a major job, and I tend to advise clients to bring the instrument back whether they feel it needs a tweak or not. It's a good time to get feeback on the work - is the spring tension OK, is the action height where the want it etc.? Such things are often more evident after the player has had a few weeks in which to thoroughly play the instrument.

I guess the same is true of minor jobs, though as it's generally only a few specific areas that need attention there tends not to be quite so much need for a follow-up tweak - but again, I'm sure most repairers would be only to happy to oblige.

Regards,

 

[jicaino]

I like to have the chance of following up any work I've done wether the customer feels something is not quite right or not. After one tweak it gets really stable. Some horns subjected to a lot of abuse (keys slapping, rough case handling and such) requires one or two more tweaks and then they kind of settle in for a long period of time.

 

[Atratr]

So i have been working and researching. I think i had some problems with reeds i used, some of then were bad or something. Now i'm sounding better. Zz's are harder for me, i prefer javas. I haven't tried any other reed brands.
Going to try an aizen mouthpiece and a meyer 5 soon.
Also i have to contact my repairer to meet one of these days.
Thanks for your suggestions