Bell to Bow Length of Curved Soprano Saxophone

I think it depends on the manufacturer...


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The length would makes difference, but so would the diameter, possibly more so as a soprano would not be gripped well.

I would use a soprano stand for a soprano

Most curved sopranos have about the same measurement from bell to bow . . . the variance wouldn't be enough to alter the stand's fit. Right now, I'm using a K&M stand that has three legs with the upright support shaft being removable and reversed for storage. In addition, the bow-support thingy can be moved up and down the upright support shaft. The stand works with my curved Yanagisawa SC902. Unfortunately, the horn is in the shop for some tweaking so I can't measure it. DAVE

I get 10.1cm from bell lip to the top of the bow -the soldered joint - measuring vertically. This is a BW curvy.

Mine goes in the case when not playing. No stands for me.
Your repairman will appreciate he work though.

No way that an alto stand holds the bell securely. Right?

OP, the comments above are correct. You need a special curved soprano stand. No regular stand will fit. Remember that these are not "alto stands" -- they are designed to hold altos OR tenors. I have a Hercules Auto Grip stand, which will give you the tightest bell hold by far, and even it is too big for my Yany curved sop. The stand is also too long, even with the bow support pushed all the way up.

My K&M stand was a gift, but the ad I saw for it claimed it was for a curved soprano, not a bigger saxophone. And, the size of the bell-support is small, griping the exterior of the bell snugly.

A store in the UK (Myatt's) used to sell a curious curved soprano stand - I bought one YEARS ago and used the heck out of it. It folded flat and resembled a guitar stand - my curvies fit it perfectly. But alas, it finally bit the dust when a soldered part broke. That's when I put the K&M on my gift-list and it works. DAVE

datsaxman said:

I get 10.1cm from bell lip to the top of the bow -the soldered joint - measuring vertically. This is a BW curvy.

Mine goes in the case when not playing. No stands for me.
Your repairman will appreciate he work though.

No way that an alto stand holds the bell securely. Right?

Click to expand...

In a Broadway-style the instrumentation can ask for a player to swap (quickly) between up to 5 instruments. You'd have fun doing that without stands!
I made my own adaption for a curved soprano because then I could not find one made for curved sop. You are correct... alto stands do not cope well with a sop.
I eventually swapped to straight soprano.

WWBW has the K and M curved soprano sax stand here:

https://www.wwbw.com/KM-Curved-Sopr...0&rNtt=curved soprano saxophone stand&index=1

Works great, you can adjust the top cradle by bending it which it is designed for. I use it on my Yani sc991.

I use a K&M stand too. It's basically the industry standard in curved soprano stands (not that there are a lot of choices).

I'll point out that the linked page from WW&BW shows a picture of the K&M stand to which I referred. However, there is no way to show perspective (relative size). I moved the bow-support further up the tube toward the bell's support to better fit the bottom of my curvy.

Also shown on the WW&BW page was their "SAXXY" stand. I have one of those for alto and I'm guessing the soprano version would also work well. The SAXXY reduces down in overall size when collapsed so that the alto SAXXY can store inside the horn's bell.

I don't know if the soprano SAXXY stand can fit inside the bell of a curved soprano, but if it can, it seems to me it would be even more convenient than the regular K&M soprano stand. I had some stability issues with the alto SAXXY (discussed in other threads about the SAXXY), but they are viable, so if you can, give some thought to the soprano version of the SAXXY. DAVE

datsaxman said:

I get 10.1cm from bell lip to the top of the bow -the soldered joint - measuring vertically. This is a BW curvy.

Mine goes in the case when not playing. No stands for me.
Your repairman will appreciate he work though.

No way that an alto stand holds the bell securely. Right?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info!
I don't have the soprano yet to place on the alto stand but as my alto stand just
cups and doesn't grip the bell it seems like the critical support is between the bell rest and the bow rest...
and not the grip of the bow rest....

Thanks! Good to know!

Thank you for the insight!

I have a midge, but in the studio I exclusively use a banana hanger... They come in a variety of finishes including black and stainless are are typically around $10.


....and when you're not using it, you can hang bananas on it...

Dave Dolson said:

I'll point out that the linked page from WW&BW shows a picture of the K&M stand to which I referred. However, there is no way to show perspective (relative size). I moved the bow-support further up the tube toward the bell's support to better fit the bottom of my curvy.

Also shown on the WW&BW page was their "SAXXY" stand. I have one of those for alto and I'm guessing the soprano version would also work well. The SAXXY reduces down in overall size when collapsed so that the alto SAXXY can store inside the horn's bell.

I don't know if the soprano SAXXY stand can fit inside the bell of a curved soprano, but if it can, it seems to me it would be even more convenient than the regular K&M soprano stand. I had some stability issues with the alto SAXXY (discussed in other threads about the SAXXY), but they are viable, so if you can, give some thought to the soprano version of the SAXXY. DAVE

Click to expand...

Ahh! I like the look of that Saxxy stand... Thank you for pointing it out.

Is anyone familiar with this:
"Stagg WIS-A35 Single Curved Stand for Soprano Saxophone with Folding Legs"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stagg-WIS-...for-Soprano-Saxophone-with-Folding-Legs-Blac/