[Christopher]

I had no trouble for the past I don't know how long getting my altissimo up to Eb4 on my Ponzol. However today I practice them and can't get a3 ab4 and b4 out. Tried all my reeds none of them would produce these notes. The sound however was fine.

I then strapped on my Runyon to see if it was the mouthpiece and they came out effortlessly. I was even able to increase my range, although a bit sketchy to A4 on the Runyon.

I also posted this in the altissimo and muliphonics section since that is what it seems to effect, but also decided to post it here since it has to do with maintenance and refacing.

I am almost suspecting that something happened to my Ponzol since last night because of this incidence. I do see a slight nick in the rail on the left hand side as well. It does seem very odd that it did not effect anything else besides those 3 notes.When I play those on the Ponzol I get a sound reminiscent of teeth on the reed mixed with uncontrolled overtones.

Although it is a pleasure that I found I could reach higher notes on my Runyon, I am very discontent with this. The Ponzol gives me a much sweeter tone.

If anyone has any thoughts, opinions, advice or similar experiences it would be greatly appreciated. I'll also put up a picture tomorrow, before I take my sax in for adjustment, so you can get a better idea of hat I'm talking about.

 

[Christopher]

I came to the conclusion that I'm going to have some work done on this piece to restore it to it's original condition. The only thing that bothers me now is how it happened. Now all I need to know is what it might cost to fix the damaged rail. I also tried to get a picture but the quality on my cell phone won't show the two nicks.

 

[MojoBari]

Small nicks are usually not a problem. But they can be an indicator that the mouthpiece was dropped and the tip rail is bent. If so, that is a problem.

 

[Christopher]

It didn't seem like it had much effect to me either. It just seems strange how some of the altissimo are acting now. I got a pic anyhow. It shows some funk under the baffle,but that is not normally like that. I gave it to my dad to take a picture of right after playing,they left, then took the pic. I'm in the process of trying to clean it as we speak.

It also looks like there are a couple on the left side and a minor one on the right side.

 

[MojoBari]

I do not see anything obvious. The facing curve needs to be measured to tell anything further.

 

[Christopher]

Is there any possibility that a mere tech could measure that or would it have to be done by a refacer. I live in Southern Illinois so there are probably none in my area. If I'm wrong, please tell me. Also if I was wanting to have some work done what would be an average cost?

 

[MojoBari]

Possible but not likely. I can analyze it for $15 + $5 return s/h. Some guys might do it for free, but ehy might not plot the facing curve shape like I do as part of the analysis.

Ponzols usually have an arched tip rail where the middle is farther from the tip of reed than the corners. Moreso than is seen on other mouthpiece brands. I find fixing this makes them respond better. But this will require a full reface to fix. Since the mouthpiece played OK for you in the past, you may just have a reed issue.

 

[saxpiece]

Altissimo playing is full of variables, much more so than the standard range.

On a certain mouthpiece, some missing Altissimo notes that the player might have got before could be due to a lot of things like the reed but the number one suspect would be shaky voicing ability and the ability to voice a few Altissimo notes with a particular mouthpiece/reed/sax combo has gone missing for a while and experience and practice and improved voicing bring the notes back.

Altissimo range overtones are an intrinsic part of the tone of the standard range notes especially the lower and middle Altissimo range overtones and so if the standard range tone seems ok then the Altissimo range overtones are there and have not gone missing.
If some chunks of the Altissimo range overtones went missing or became very weak then it would affect the overall tone of regular notes and I can't see it really happening unless the circumstances were exceptional.

When a reed is at it's end, the higher Altissimo overtones are usually the first ones to show weakening (but it can be other overtones as well) making the higher Altissimo notes harder to play because the higher Altissimo overtones are weaker in strength than other overtones even when the higher Altissimo overtones are at their strongest with a new and/or good reed and mouthpiece combo.

Usually a standard note consists of a fundamental tone with max strength and a series of weakening overtones.
The overtones usually weaken in strength as they go higher.
Altissimo is basically just losing the fundamental tone and optional further higher overtones leaving one of the weaker higher overtones as the dominant strength tone in the new note ie one of the higher overtones becomes the new max strength fundamental in effect but it's strength is not as great as the standard notes original fundamental tone.
It's a bit like going up a overtone ladder with each rung of the ladder being a weaker overtone than the one below it.
Although some lower Altissimo overtones can be weak in strength as well like the Altissimo G overtone on a Tenor for example so it's not as simple as I've described but generally it is.

Or there could be something wrong with the mouthpiece but seeing that you say you have played the gone missing Altissimo notes using this mouthpiece before and the mouthpiece doesn't seem to be badly damaged then I would suspect the missing Altissimo notes are down to voicing, but I could be wrong of course.

 

[MojoBari]

Nice post. The role of the player is more important than previously discussed in this thread. I had not really considered it a problem here since, for me, alttissimo is like "riding a bike". Once I started voicing well I never had it go missing.

But it should be noted that Christopher does not have a problem playing altissimo on his Runyon.

 

[Christopher]

Thanks for the input Saxpiece. One thing that I have to consider is that it could be due to adjustments I needed on my sax. I'm having that taken care of at the moment. I'm looking at a couple of the reeds I was using and they appear fine. So, I guess I'll figure this out when it gets out of the shop.

 

[Christopher]

Just in case you were wondering. I got my sax out of the shop and pretty much convinced it needed adjustments. The second I tried it I was able to get up to A4 and Bb and the three notes I was having issues with. So, I'm thinking it was venting enough to produce them on the Runyon,but not the Ponzol.

 

[saxpiece]

Different mouthpieces, different results.

It's hard to diagnose things on the net.

When Altissimo goes missing it could be due to sax, mouthpiece, reed or technique problems but if a player has been playing Altissimo in a stable way for a while then technique can be eliminated and it then points to a gear problem somewhere.

 

[Christopher]

I had a b key that wouldn't close, since the cork disappeared. I did a quick fix on it, but due to lack of materials it was not perfect.

 

[Phil Barone]

Possible but not likely. I can analyze it for $15 + $5 return s/h. Some guys might do it for free, but ehy might not plot the facing curve shape like I do as part of the analysis.

Ponzols usually have an arched tip rail where the middle is farther from the tip of reed than the corners. Moreso than is seen on other mouthpiece brands. I find fixing this makes them respond better. But this will require a full reface to fix. Since the mouthpiece played OK for you in the past, you may just have a reed issue.

Ya can't beat that. I get $75.00. Phil Barone

 

[MojoBari]

Ya can't beat that. I get $75.00. Phil Barone

$75 just to look?

 

[Phil Barone]

$75 just to look?

No, I'll do one adjustment for that. But nobody has asked Chris if the mouthpiece is getting suction. is the mouthpiece getting suction? A nick can effect how a piece plays sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. I'd have to see it. Phil Barone