[Homely Saxman]

I used to have a Mark VII tenor that I put Noyeks on when I had it repadded. As much as I generally prefer darker horns, the VII was a bit too dark and pretty focused as well, and the new resonators helped bring a little extra sparkle to the tone. I don’t think they made an enormous difference, and I don’t think they improved the projection (though I have never had an issue with loudness on any saxophone), but they made the sort of minor improvement I was hoping they would.

 

[Homely Saxman]

Were the Noyeks the same size as the resos they replaced? A horn in need of repad will have extra sparkly just from eliminating an accumulation of leaks.

That may well have been the case. This was about seven years ago, and my opinion on various saxophone gadgets has evolved since then, so I don’t think I would make the same decision today. The horn was noticeably brighter than it was before the repad, but like you said, that may be due to the size of the resonators and the difference in material.