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Heat problem

3244 Views 22 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  DanPerezSax
I had to play a gig this week in an outside venue in 98 degree heat. It got so hot that my key pearls on my SX-90R actually started to come off. (I wasn't the only one with problems; a clarinet player actually cracked her instrument because of the heat.) Has this ever happened to anyone else? I've had this horn since 1991, and never had a problem with it, but all kinds of little things seem to be happening lately...
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Have you been neglecting to do your annual service?

:D
I've seen those pearls fall off many times for many different reasons on Keilwerths from Coufs up to the present. Seems like whatever they use at the factory just isn't very strong. Get yourself some 2-ton epoxy (5 minute epoxy would probably be fine, but while you are doing it why not overdo it?) and stick it back on there.
once we are on the subject of heat......how about leaving your horn in the (booth or trunk depending which side of the pond you are on) of a dark blue car during a nice North European (28 centigrades) summer day.....(77 F ) is this likely to affect your horn somehow? Would this contribute, for example to do something to your pads.....could this be responsible for a Martin alto octave spring on the crook getting to be less responsive?, I wonder
It's not just the heat. I was told years ago by a very outspoken (you can read that as "dictatorial") tech that humidity changes can affect your pads, especially the backing. He insisted that a sax should never be left in a car.
alright, I understand that the back of the pads is frequently made of carton or felt, that is if I understand correctly what I've heard or read, changes in humidity would obviously shrink or swell the damn stuff, but this is likely to occour anyway even if I travel between Alaska and Singapore in winter on a plane with my horn, not only if you leave a car with a precious possession which, frankly speaking, you can't always take with you everywhere.......
I hate to admit it, but I have left my horns in my Jeep on many hot Alabama days. I keep expecting pads and pearls to start dropping off.
Morry said:
I hate to admit it, but I have left my horns in my Jeep on many hot Alabama days. I keep expecting pads and pearls to start dropping off.
but you had no immediate problems........so I wouldn't worry too much!
milandro said:
nice North European (28 centigrades) summer day.....(77 F)
77!! Degrees? That's not hot. It doesn't get hot where I live unless it's above 95. And we'll usually get temps in excess of 100 for a few weeks a year.
Heat is 95 F with the dewpoint of 77.

Never leave a horn someplace you wouldn't leave your grandmother.
milandro said:
once we are on the subject of heat......how about leaving your horn in the (booth or trunk depending which side of the pond you are on) of a dark blue car during a nice North European (28 centigrades) summer day.....(77 F ) is this likely to affect your horn somehow? Would this contribute, for example to do something to your pads.....could this be responsible for a Martin alto octave spring on the crook getting to be less responsive?, I wonder
BTW 28C=82F :)
It's been 32C here, in Spain, today (nearly 90F), in the shade .... no doubt much more inland... and 80% humidity(ie dewpoint 28/82). I've been hibernating in the aircon !
Carl H. said:
Heat is 95 F with the dewpoint of 77.

Never leave a horn someplace you wouldn't leave your grandmother.
Both of my Grandmother's are dead, so I'll leave them most anywhere.
Carl H. said:
Heat is 95 F with the dewpoint of 77.

Never leave a horn someplace you wouldn't leave your grandmother.
What about your mother-in-law?
My grandmother has been in the ground for about 70 years!
rogerb40uk said:
What about your mother-in-law?
My grandmother has been in the ground for about 70 years!
Start digging!:twisted:
Ooooopppppppsss bad conversion table! however I am sure that shellak or whatever you repair-guys use to glue pads nowadays can take the heat of most places in the world, if not all places, but I would be a little concerned about sudden variations of humidity and temperature and possible influences on the way a pad would seal after some sudden exposure to this or that or the other or all of them together.
However temperature might have an adverse effect on saxophones.

Yesterday I saw a German Fellow saxophonist who bought a soprano from me. I took him to my repair man because he had a couple of horns to be looked after, wel, one of the horns was the most battered Super Action 80 II I've ever seen in my life! It had spent his life (about 25 years or thereabouts) in North Africa and it looked like 70 years old super balanced action which had seen some pretty intense, rough and long action......
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I don't know about the heat, but I played outdoors one January when it was so cold my reed kept freezing between songs! Fortunately, it would thaw out really quick once inside my mouth.
i have a alto modified to play in extreme heat .i had the neck extended so i could play in tune with out the mpc falling off the end of the neck. really saved the day on those hot 4th of july gigs here in florida the horn is a couf superba2 so i guess its fits this keilwerth thread
I ended up using Gorilla Glue to put the pearls back on. They aren't coming off again any time soon. Still, I think I'm going to rent a horn for a week if I have to this again.

Saddest thing about the whole situation was that the girl sitting next to me had one of the most beautiful Mark VI altos I've ever seen...a true closet horn, and with the high F# key to boot.
That's one thing I don't miss about the Keilwerths. The pearls are just sitting on there without any metal around them (like on my Yamaha's). I just used weather stripping adhesive to put one back on when it fell off......
Hey, rogerb40uk, I know you! I sat in with your band a couple years ago at the Montepiedra Palace in Costa Blanca! Look at my picture on my myspace site. Small world... sorta!
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