[jojosax]

My YAS is nearly 20 years old, 12 years of every day service. (I have been the only owner-player of this horn)
When will I know if it needs to be repaded or checked?
It has never seen a screendriver but maybe it should?

I do not feel any problem on my horn everything plays well but I seen that some guys go to the repaire-shop with "new" 5years-old sax?

Do I need to take care of my horn in a better way?

 

[saxxsymbol]

if you horn is playing from top to bottom evenly and can play the lowest notes with ease and quietly then you are ok. if not, then you might take it to a tech or purchase a leak light and check yourself. a very small leak can make some notes stuffy or not play at all.

 

[jbtsax]

I would certainly recommend having it checked, if you haven't done so in 12 years. Even top quality instruments that are well cared for can develop small leaks and adjustment problems after being played a while. Having a sax checked with a leak light every 6 months to a year is a good rule of thumb. Most shops do not charge to just check an instrument and give an estimate to repair.

The problem with going by how a sax plays is that the leaks start so small and increase so gradually that the player adapts to them over time and the sax "feels" ok to them because they are compensating.

It is not uncommon in our shop to repair a customer's sax and have them come back and say "wow, I never knew it could play the low notes this easily and blow so freely".

 

[jojosax]

Thank you so I will build myself a light and try to see if something is wrong.

the nearest technician is about 5 thousand km away so I will have to wait before showing my horn to a tech!!

 

[jbtsax]

Sorry to hear it is so far. This thread might give you some good ideas on building or getting a leak light. http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=29650&highlight=build+leaklight

This website also has some tips on do it yourself repairs and supplies. http://musicmedic.com/

Good luck.