Also see tjontheroad and fballatore's posts in this thread: http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=62152DougR said:Try the search thing.
You cannot replate or relacquer a sax without doing a substantial repad/overhaul. It is highly unlikely that anything other than the repad/overhaul made any difference to the sound. The topic has been discussed to death many times in this forum, including very recently. I hardly think there is any more to add at present. So do a search, or especially see the huge threads - Did you not notice them?!! - currently immediately beside this one, i.e.mjs10 said:Can we strip off a plated horn to bare brass? Would that affect the sound?
its definately replated, the guy who sold me this horn told me its silver plated. But i dont know the difference between silver plated or nickel plated. The horn looks white shiny like looking in the mirror.JimD said:See above but, in a nutshell, if by plated you mean gold or silver, probably but don't bother, if you mean lacquer, yes. Will it affect the sound? No. I declare this post answered.
sounds like nickel. silver isn't quite as shiny and tends to tarnish.mjs10 said:its definately replated, the guy who sold me this horn told me its silver plated. But i dont know the difference between silver plated or nickel plated. The horn looks white shiny like looking in the mirror.
The answer to your question is that, yes, lacquer or plating affects the sound of the horn, but that effect is so miniscule that it is totally insignificant. Don't be misled by studies on brass instruments, in which radiation from the bell can have a just-perceptible effect on the sound radiation from the horn. Go look at the 15-odd pages in the recent threads on this subject if you want elaboration.mjs10 said:Thanks for the link guys, i did try to do a research about this one but I still dont get the answer of my question. The general question about this matter is whether relacquering or replating will affect the sound...But the thing is I have a replated horn and I can see that it is replated, because theres a very little section on the key and underneath the rolled edge of the bell that looks striped off that it reveals the brass color behind it. I am just curious if we could strip a replated horn and restoring it to its original state (bare brass), and if thats possible?
Someone say dont bother, yes i would probably not bother about it but again I am just curious, i mean, maybe i would in the future...
Not at all!rs1sensen said:....Wow, people obviously can't read what the actual topic of your thread was. They get a little feisty when people start talking about lacquer and plating..
Just to clarify my comment...Much of the information given dealt specifically with either re-lacquering or stripping lacquer (which can be done chemically with little actual damage to the horn). Even as far as plating goes, it wasn't so much a question of whether or not plating effects the sound of the sax, it was whether the process of removing the plating would effect the sound (or at least, so I took it as). Although now that I reread it, I can see how it could be interpreted as you did. Both aspects could certainly take part in the question, although I personally would consider the answer "No, the plating does not make the saxophone sound differently than if it were a bare brass finish, but, removing the plating would effect the sound."Gordon (NZ) said:Not at all!
Part of the original question was "Would that [stripping off the plating]affect the sound?"
Surface finish happens to be part of what the body is made from. And whether the material of the body affects tone or not just happens to be arguably the most discussed topic in this forum.
That certainly creates a misunderstanding to me.rs1sensen said:"... No, the plating does not make the saxophone sound differently than if it were a bare brass finish, but, removing the plating would effect the sound."