[bearnic]

Hey guys, wondering if there is any easy way to tell if a saxophone is bent if it hasnt been setup to accomodate for the bend. Im looking at 2nd hand saxophones, and dont want to buy something that is bent

 

[HornForHire]

First the obvious: look down from top to bottom and see if it's straight.
Second: check if the keys are centered over the key holes, in other words, the impression of the key holes should be in the centre of the pads.

 

[bearnic]

by looking down the horn, would i be able to see if its slightly bent (1mm out or something)

And with the bell, they are always a little angled as well, so I dont know how to id it there
haha

 

[HornForHire]

1 mm out isn't much, so it wouldn't be a problem. There are many saxes that are bend more than that, but play fine.
It's all to do with a proper setup.

 

[bearnic]

ok kool... thanks...

 

[abadcliche]

Put a leak light in the bell, then look down the inside of the body tube from the neck tenon receiver. The leak light will lightly illuminate the interior of the bore. Tilt the saxophone so you are looking straight down inside the, close one eye and sight down bore aligned exactly with one of the walls. Tilt it slightly. If it is straight, the whole wall should disappear from view at the same time. Repeat the procedure a few times until you have looked at all sides of the interior of the bore (N, S, E, W). If it is bent, wherever it is bent inwards from an external perspective will show as a high spot from an internal perspective- for instance, the lower half of the bore wall will disappear, but you can clearly see the G# tonehole means you've got a bend with its focal point around the G#. This example is for a simple, one-way bend. Obviously there can be multiple bends in different directions, bends on top of bends, and regular old dents.