[silver-sax]

I bought two Rampone & Cazzani horns for interest. Alto and tenor De Luxe model. I assume that made in 1970s (serial numbers: 02XXX and 06XXX). Ring between bell and body, nickel plated keywork. Saxophones need good repair (dents, oxidation etc.). Therefore, I will slowly restore these horns. Question to the owners of such model (De Luxe). When I disassembled these saxophones, I noticed that the bell was not evenly soldered. This is strange, because such soldering is present both on the alto and the tenor... Therefore, the question. Is it a constructive technological feature or manufacturing/assembly defect ? The photos clearly show that such soldering will tilt the bell towards the body.

 

[Dr G]

The photos clearly show that such soldering will tilt the bell towards the body.

Solder won’t force the bell to go anywhere; it can only fill the gap left once the bell is positioned/aligned.

 

[turf3]

Meh, they just didn't get everything lined up properly. Can't tell for sure where the error is without looking at the horn closely. Bell brace too short/long? Brace slightly misplaced? Bend in bell less/greater than design? Bow curve wider/narrower than design? Could be a combination of things. It's an old Italian product, what do you expect?

If the joints are air tight, they will have no effect on the performance of the horn.

 

[silver-sax]

Both saxophones have similar defects in the area of the ring (it is slightly indented to the body). This is also the reason for the slight tilt of the bell towards the body (together with hypothetical influence bad soldering between the bell and the bow). But I want to know the opinion of the owners of such model. Do they really have the same picture...

 

[Dr G]

Both saxophones have similar defects in the area of the ring (it is slightly indented to the body). This is also the reason for the slight tilt of the bell towards the body (together with hypothetical influence bad soldering between the bell and the bow).

No, the soldering is really NOT the reason the bell is tilted. The bell was placed in that position then soldered. You keep calling it bad soldering, but if the joint seals, then the solder is performing its job.

 

[lostcircuits]

There are many possible reasons for what you see, the most obvious one to me would be that the sheet metal used to form the bow and bell has some tolerances and that the bell is fitted to line up with the brace rather than the seam. Since most people won't peak inside to inspect the line-up of the two pieces and furthermore, it has no impact on the performance of the instrument, there is no reason to finesse the tooling to create a perfect alignment of the two pieces. That's actually how they used to build cars in Italy in the 1970s, too.

 

[fudidudi]

For what it’s worth, the De Luxe curved soprano has an offset bell relative to the body, to fit the RH bell key mechanism. Might be common in curvies for all I know.

I suppose going full on “Kenny” and playing out the side of the mouth would make the bell appear straight, though.

 

[Dr G]

For what it’s worth, the De Luxe curved soprano has an offset bell relative to the body, to fit the RH bell key mechanism. Might be common in curvies for all I know.

The OP is talking about a gap that is apparent inside the horn at the joint. It has nothing to do with the rotation of the bell relative to the body.

 

[turf3]

Again, it's sloppy fitment of the various bits. If the mechanism works (pads line up with tone holes) and the joint's air tight, the rest of it doesn't matter and is just a minor aesthetic concern. Inside the bell, where no one will ever see it.

It's something to note, once, and then forget about.

 

[turf3]

You know, it could also have been that the cutoff fixture for the bell, or for the bow, got out of square. There are several potential root causes. If the bell notes play in tune, you need never think of it again. We're not talking about super-precision equipment here; saxophones are made out of sheet metal.

 

[silver-sax]

It is interesting to hear opinion about such soldering bell from Milandro. It is seems to me he had several such saxophones.