[Permanent Beginner]

I hope you don't mind listening to a half-assed hobbyist's tale of Whoa!

My 10m is my friend, but my friend was frustratingly inflexible, real stuffy on the low notes and only played the high notes when she felt like it. One day I stumbled into a ligature discussion and, probably like most people, figured that the subtle differences wouldn't mean much to me.

Don't ask me why, but one day I reached into the fridge, took the fat little rubber band off the broccoli, and used it to secure the reed to the Brilhart.

Holy Expletive! The high notes sang and the low notes roared. Seventy-five percent of my problems went away and the rest was so what do you want anyway? The horn blew better and sounded better.

Continued.

 

[Enviroguy]

Shoe string works good too...

 

[Saxland]

Broc-o-lig

The Broc-o-lig is a great lig. I always have one as a back up. It sounds like the mouthpiece table is not flat and takes alot of pressure to make the reed seal to the mouthpiece.

 

[Permanent Beginner]

Mr. Saxland, you have nailed it.

Persuing your idea, I checked the table and found that it did indeed sag like a hammock between the flat area and the curve. So I cut a piece of glass, laid some very fine sandpaper on it, and flattened the thing out. Of course I discovered that I screwed up the curve, but it wasn't hard to figure out that the curve of the mouthpiece had to match the curve of a bent reed, so after a little tweaking I got it nice and the piece and the reed popped just as fine as can be.

On the horn the mouthpiece sounds better than ever and it's thanks to you and so...thanks to you!

PB

 

[Saxland]

Broc-o-lig

GULP!!!! Wow!!!! No guts no glory. I have never tried to flaten the table myself, my next step would be to send it to a mouthpiece refacer. I'm glad it worked out for you. I find for some reason the blue color Broc-o-ligs work the best.

 

[Permanent Beginner]

Almost every time I send an instrument to be fixed it gets destroyed. I sent a vintage Fender guitar right to Fender in 1968 and they ruined it. I took another one that I dearly loved to the guy who was supposed to be the best repairman in town and he not only destroyed it, he destroyed it permanently. The only guy who has ever made me happy is Dino in Rochester, who works on the mongrel saxes I turn up, and he makes them wonderful.

So I am pretty accustomed to trying to do the simpler stuff myself. Any reasonably bright, observant, and cautious person can manipulate little pieces of plastic and brass. There is a long-gained "feel for your material" that one needs to acquire, but I guess a person can do what everyone else does and ruin other people's instruments until he achieves it.

PB