Please do not mutilate your $4000 alto in order to fit an incorrectly sized $200 mouthpiece. I would recommend getting an adjustable blade reamer and reaming out the bore of the mouthpiece a few thousandths of an inch.Yes, it's a morgan excaliber mouthpiece on a ref 54 alto, the sax tech recommended to remove the ring on the neck but I have never heard of this before.
Please do not mutilate your $4000 alto in order to fit an incorrectly sized $200 mouthpiece. I would recommend getting an adjustable blade reamer and reaming out the bore of the mouthpiece a few thousandths of an inch.
Yes, but the tech likely saw an opportunity to make a few extra dollars.This is a good answer. Please do not ignore it.
Also, consider looking for another tech. With advice like what he gave you, relying on him would make me nervous.
Those ferrules protect the end of a tube that can be deformed or split.
While they are not strictly necessary, keeping that protection there is a good idea, while boring out a mpc is a minor matter.
Your tech should have, at the least, discussed this with you before suggesting that the ferrule ring be removed.
ouchYes, but the tech likely saw an opportunity to make a few extra dollars.
Over the years, I have had 3 experiences in finding alto sax neck end rings that came off and jammed inside mouthpieces. Two were alto sax Rousseau and one was an alto Warburton. Clients complained that they could not push in enough to tune. I had to grind out the obstruction.
Some people are just ham fisted and have no sense of what is "the normal amount of assembly force" and what is "way too tight". I had a roommate like that once, who managed to break off a 1/4" NPT oil pressure sending gauge in the oil gallery of his car. Or, honestly, my wife, who seems to believe that if a control (on anything) moves from one side to the other, the normal way to operate it is to slam it as hard as possible against the stop in each direction, making sure to engage the large muscles of the upper back or thighs to ensure maximum force.Over the years, I have had 3 experiences in finding alto sax neck end rings that came off and jammed inside mouthpieces. Two were alto sax Rousseau and one was an alto Warburton. Clients complained that they could not push in enough to tune. I had to grind out the obstruction.
Kinda surprised that the mpc shank did not give way, ala those infamous Tonalins ....Some people are just ham fisted and have no sense of what is "the normal amount of assembly force" and what is "way too tight". I had a roommate like that once, who managed to break off a 1/4" NPT oil pressure sending gauge in the oil gallery of his car. Or, honestly, my wife, who seems to believe that if a control (on anything) moves from one side to the other, the normal way to operate it is to slam it as hard as possible against the stop in each direction, making sure to engage the large muscles of the upper back or thighs to ensure maximum force.
It seems pretty obvious to me that if the bore of the mouthpiece is so small that it won't fit over the brass ring on the end of the neck, the solution is to increase the ID of the mouthpiece, not take off the ring, nor to force the thing on, sweating, cursing, feeling the grinding of metal on plastic, till there's a sudden "snap" and the ring is magically missing from the end of the neck, because it's jammed up inside the mouthpiece.
I expect that phenomenon is worse if you have a piece that is left with the molding draft taper in the bore rather than the manufacturer spending an extra minute's worth of cost to ream it out like they should have done.
Some people are just ham fisted and have no sense of what is "the normal amount of assembly force" and what is "way too tight". I had a roommate like that once, who managed to break off a 1/4" NPT oil pressure sending gauge in the oil gallery of his car. Or, honestly, my wife, who seems to believe that if a control (on anything) moves from one side to the other, the normal way to operate it is to slam it as hard as possible against the stop in each direction, making sure to engage the large muscles of the upper back or thighs to ensure maximum force.
It seems pretty obvious to me that if the bore of the mouthpiece is so small that it won't fit over the brass ring on the end of the neck, the solution is to increase the ID of the mouthpiece, not take off the ring, nor to force the thing on, sweating, cursing, feeling the grinding of metal on plastic, till there's a sudden "snap" and the ring is magically missing from the end of the neck, because it's jammed up inside the mouthpiece.
I expect that phenomenon is worse if you have a piece that is left with the molding draft taper in the bore rather than the manufacturer spending an extra minute's worth of cost to ream it out like they should have done.
Only problem is that the ID prongs of the calipers only reach in a half inch or so, so you can make the bore all kinds of tapered and you won't be able to tell. I would supplement the calipers with a set of telescoping gauges so you can reach down in there.Get some cheap digital calipers from Harbor Freight, Measure the cork & measure the mpc shank i.d. & start sanding the inside of the shank. Keep measuring your work as you go. It's simple. I've done it several times.
Yes, I agree 110%. We leapt to the solution without confirming the problem.My advice would be to get some accurate measurements before doing any type of modification. I would even measure the shank diameters of several other mouthpieces to compare. You might find the ferrule is not what is causing the "tightness" of the fit after all. Be sure to check to see if the the cork itself is cylindrical and not tapered. That alone could produce a tight fit when the mouthpiece is pushed further onto the cork.
Check also that the taper (and depth) inside the mouthpiece isn't wrong. It happens. Check with a go/no-go gauge such as a drill bit or dowel of the "correct" diameter.Yes, I agree 110%. We leapt to the solution without confirming the problem.
Honestly I don't know how I would be able to manage without a 6" vernier caliper. (Dial or digital are good too, but the vernier never goes out of adjustment, needs a battery, and if you drop it in a liquid you just wipe it off.)