[camry]

I bought a Yanagisawa 9030 soprano sax 9 months ago from web. Once I received the sax, I found that when a play the note "D" and "A" with the octave key pressed, there is a small sound of air leakage, which come from my mouthpiece. I took the sax to two local techicans for check, one said that I should press the "D" key with more force to avoid leakage of air, while the other said that it is due to the problem of mouthpiece and reed setup.

I have tried to play another soprano sax with the same mouthpiece and reed, no problem found. I also tried to use different reed and mouthpiece to test my own sax, the problem still occurs...

So what's wrong with it?

 

[hornfixer]

one said that I should press the "D" key with more force to avoid leakage of air

You need to stay away from this one

 

[JerryJamz2]

The leak you hear which seems to come from the mouthpiece area I believe is occuring from the upper body octave key (similar to having an octave key on the neck) which is remaining open when you play from high G# down to middle D. Try going from high G to high A. When playing A or above, the upper key should be open, and the lower octave key should be closed. Opposite from high G# down to middle D. The body octave key should be open and the upper key closed while in this range. Let us know if this is what is occuring. :?

 

[griff136]

You need to stay away from this one

most definately

 

[jbtsax]

One said that I should press the "D" key with more force to avoid leakage of air.

You need to stay away from this one

Isn't this the same concept as putting deep seats into the pads so they will seal better?

 

[JerryJamz2]

Isn't this the same concept as putting deep seats into the pads so they will seal better?

About the same as gluing the reed to the mouthpiece so that it doesn't leak either... :shock:

 

[camry]

There is no strange sound when playing the note from Eb - G sharp, It only occurs when playing D.

 

[JerryJamz2]

There is no strange sound when playing the note from Eb - G sharp, It only occurs when playing D.

But in your original post you stated a "leak" occured from your mouthpiece area when you played both high A and middle D. Now you say you only get a "strange sound" on middle D. Does it leak near the mouthpiece, or is there a leak in the D pad? I'm not following you now..

 

[hornfixer]

Isn't this the same concept as putting deep seats into the pads so they will seal better?

If it has good seats, and the keys are adjusted, you won't have to push hard.

I thought he said to "press the "D" key with more force to avoid leakage of air,"
To me that means there is not a good seat in the pad or is out of adjustment.

 

[frasermanx]

There is no strange sound when playing the note from Eb - G sharp, It only occurs when playing D.

Have a very close look at the neck opening where the MPC fits. I had the same problem with a low d that wouldn't sound at all it had a small crack in the neck at the opening.

 

[lydian]

Where were you 13 years ago? Poor guy has had a leaky mouthpiece caused only by a D for over a decade.

 

[CJ1972]

Whilst the OP has either sorted this ages ago or moved it on, it may be useful for anyone with similar problems. If you have a frustrating leak that is hard to track down then gas leak spray works wonders. Spray a little around the suspected area and then play while someone watches, even a tiny leak will result in a very obvious series of bubbles from the offending spot. They spray doesn’t contain any nasties and can be wiped off pads if needed, I use methanol, bit lighter fluid also works well.