Problem with Selmer Series III Soprano

Thanks for all your replies...very helpful.

Bruce: I hadn't thought of trying to pull the neck out some. That sounds like it would help, but I wouldn't want to endanger the neck-body seal. I'll give it a try, anyway, when I get a chance.

Dave: I appreciate your concerns, but I assure you I am experienced enough to know what I'm talking about. I have checked using an electronic tuner. When I push the mouthpiece all the way on to fix the problem, it gets in tune at about 449 (which is as high as my tuner will calibrate to). I hadn't thought of checking intonation, though, so when I push the mouthpiece in, it may be throwing the whole horn out of whack (God I hope not). Also, it played fine for my teacher, but she was using her own mouthpiece (an older Selmer) that may have had a larger chamber.

Alan: It bit me badly, too. Combined with reed problems, this issue caused me the worst performance of my life with a saxophone quartet in a recent competition. However, I love everything about it except for this issue. So I will not be getting rid of it. I was hoping someone would mention similar problems, as I have a theory. In France, standard tuning is more like A442, sharper than American. So they probably designed the instrument to be played at that level. However, as I mentioned, the problem is only fixed when I am considerably sharper than that. I do know that many players prefer the Selmer S90 mouthpieces on this horn, which have a slightly larger chamber. It just irritates me that Selmer includes a mouthpiece for a horn that doesn't work with it.

In conclusion , I think I'm going to try a Morgan classical model. I really love the RM28 I just got, so I'll probably call Ralph tomorrow and see if he thinks one of his large chamber pieces will solve my problem. Thanks again for your suggestions.

--JT

Alright guys, here's what's happened since my last post:

I called Ralph Morgan and explained my problem. He told me that if I play middle C and then play the first overtone of low C, I should push in the mouthpiece until both those pitches are in tune together. This means the instrument is in tune with itself and ideally will be in tune, as in A440/442, whatever. I tried this and even with the mouthpiece pushed all the way in, they would not match. Tried it on my alto and tenor, and it worked on both. This tells me that the instrument is a dud. So I call Selmer to see what my options are warranty-wise. Long story short, Selmer barely understands their own warranty process and wwbw's customer service for the most part has no clue about anything.:evil: After endless, irritating conservations with both over the past 3 days, we have come to the solution of sending the saxophone to wwbw, who--if they find it irrepairable, which I believe they will--will send it to Selmer for replacement. So, it's in the mail and I'll let you guys know the outcome. Thanks for listening!

--JT

Dr. G: Yes, I have tested mouthpiece pitch, and my C was good, but I also tried playing with different pitches, to no avail. I had never heard of Morgan's trick before, but yes, I did this exercise without a tuner first, per his instructions. I started with the mouthpiece pulled way out, and went in little by little, ending up with the middle C still flatter. I also checked with a tuner just to be sure (all this with both my mouthpieces, on both necks). I agree that the III is a great soprano, so I'm hoping Selmer will replace it with one without this problem. I also agree that Yani ergonomics shame all others.

Jive: Yes, I should have been more clear. I don't believe this problem is inherent in the design of the III, I believe this was just a quality control problem, as all factories have from time to time (some more than others ). When I mentioned that III's are meant to be played slightly sharper, I didn't mean that as a problem, just fact.

Thanks again for all of your input.

--JT

Virtually all of my soprano intonation, response etc. problems disappeared when I started using mouthpiece in the order of ~.070" tip openings (talk to Dave Dolson he is the expert in larger openings of sop mouthpieces and is a soprano player of the highest order). Of course it takes a lot of work to grow into a setup like this and to play it sensitively, and seeing your mouthpiece preferences, it would seem that you are more a classical player and would probably not favor larger tip openings. However it's worth a shot. FWIW, I was able to play my teacher's Series III for a week or so, with both my Barone Vintage 8 and his Selmer Soloist F worked on by Theo Wanne, and did not have any problems playing in this register at pianissimo with a very delicate approach. This is a tricky part of the range on all sopranos and for me the Series III was one of few horns that made this register very even with the rest of the horn.

Of course the obvious idea is to just try some other Series III's. I think they are the best soprano on the market in terms of response and it's interesting that your only issue with the horn is one of response. They are, unfortunately, the worst soprano in terms of weight on the thumb. Jheesh. I'll keep playing my Mark VI stencil, thanks.

If I hinged my brand preference upon the quality control and customer service branches of any current interations of a company or its associated retailers, I'd probably be making my own saxophones, mouthpieces, and reeds, no matter how crappy they might all turn out. :shock:

I just found out WWBW sent the sax to Selmer yesterday (Wednesday). Haven't really heard anything otherwise, as I can't talk directly to the WWBW warranty people. Now, about these last few posts...

AMASAX: I was told by a Selmer representative that the Paris models are intended for A442, but as I have found, employees don't always know what they're talking about.:? I'm pretty sure it's not a leak/adjustment problem, as I have had two different techs look at it. Also, I had my teacher check it again, and she said that while she could keep it from happening, she had to work very hard with her embouchure, voicing, etc., much more than she thought was reasonable. But, yes, if they send it back, I'll probably just try different mouthpieces. Maybe one will fix it.

As to the idea that it might not be the saxophone, it's very possible. But I think it is the saxophone. I've played on another III without this problem and others have played mine and had the problem, so...

Also, I realize that soprano is difficult. I'm no expert, and I've only been playing soprano regularly for about 2.5 years now. Also, I never said the instrument didn't play in tune. The intonation is at least as good as other sopranos I've played and/or heard. Just this problem.

Razzy: Good point about the brand preference.

--JT