[A Greene]

I've had black roo pads on my tenor forever. They seem indestructible. But over the last few years, the pitch on my tenor has been less and less workable and the low C# churpie-er then normal. Just though it was a practice thing. Then last week I noticed that the center of my upper octave key had a small hole - punched by my the key over the years. Since the pads are black you really had to shine a light directly on the key to see the little hole. The pad was also pretty hard so while dropping off other school instruments, I had my repair guy drop in a new pad.

What a difference. The pitch of the horn is much more centered and the low register seems much more consistent. Maybe some of this is psychological but what a difference that little pad seems to make.

All my repair friends and players - Have you experience this sort of horn improvement simply by switching out the neck octave key?

 

[saxoclese]

Yes, all the time. That is a common problem to occur on neck octave pads, although in my experience "roo pads" hold up better than some other brands. I have even started to use fine grit craft sanding sticks to slightly flatten the "dome" of the octave pip to give the pad a larger contact area and to take away any sharp edges around the opening.

 

[B Flat]

I remember going 6 months or more with a blob of sugru as an octave key pad on my Yanagisawa Baritone.
Worked perfectly fine.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Cork is also good

 

[B Flat]

Yes.
The body octave pad on my S20 Tenor is cork.
Has been there for years now.

 

[Tenor Mattness]

Yup. Everyone talks about the tenon leak, but i imagine many old dogs would be new puppies if you'd check the octave pad first. After all, if you have a leak at the first pad, then almost all other notes will also have a leak.

A good tip along the same line is to make sure your octave key isn't being slightly lifted by your neck position. Everything might look closed, but if there isn't any play between where the neck and body keys meet, there's a good chance you might be creating a leak.

 

[lostcircuits]

Yup. Everyone talks about the tenon leak, but i imagine many old dogs would be new puppies if you'd check the octave pad first. After all, if you have a leak at the first pad, then almost all other notes will also have a leak.

A good tip along the same line is to make sure your octave key isn't being slightly lifted by your neck position. Everything might look closed, but if there isn't any play between where the neck and body keys meet, there's a good chance you might be creating a leak.

It's always the first thing I check, both the pad, they tend to get petrified, and the neck orientation/lever symmetry, I have seen it so many times that they were off-center (at the tenon) causing the octave pin to prematurely engage. The worst in this case is my P Mauriat soprano.

 

[lucidreamer]

It's really simple to check for neck octave pad leak - just plug close the tenon side with your palm and blow the air into the neck from the mouthpiece side. If there is a leak in the pip solder or pad needs a replacement - it will be hissing air from that part.

 

[1saxman]

Cork is also good

Cork has not been good for me in the octave keys. Sure seems like a great thing but there's nothing like an original-type octave key pad even if you do have to replace it every year. Cork is very unforgiving and is porous by nature. As far as I'm concerned, I learned my lesson and bought a good assortment of regular octave pads. I have to admit I was very surprised by the improvement in the horn by simply replacing the cork octave pads.

 

[turf3]

The regular leather pads are so cheap, and replacing is so easy, any sax player ought to consider laying in a supply (says the guy who has not done so). Buy a stick of pad shellac and a Zippo lighter and you're in business.

I have one octave pad that I renewed by wrapping some Saran wrap around it, twisting it up on the back side, and sealing it with the flame from a lighter. Not as good as replacing it.

 

[datsaxman]

Yes. The octave pads BOTH need replacing more often than most.
I have several times discovered one or the other to be damaged.
Typically the gradual decline in how the horn plays is hard to notice.
Eventually, the best horn becomes difficult to play.

All for a few dollars worth of parts and ten minutes of attention.

 

[AddictedToSax]

Yes. I noticed my tenor’s neck octave pad had a tear in it. The horn played but it was a struggle. I took it in immediately and the owner fixed it himself because it was his tech’s day off. No charge too. Yay! Huge difference.

 

[Humbardi]

I Have a question... Does the inside diameter of the octave pip affect the intonation of the tenor sax ?

 

[turf3]

I Have a question... Does the inside diameter of the octave pip affect the intonation of the tenor sax ?

Yes, in complex ways.

 

[1saxman]

Its a good thing to keep clean, including the larger diameter tube in the bore.

'Typically the gradual decline in how the horn plays is hard to notice.'
Man, you can say that again. Unless you can do it yourself, it is wise to take the horn to the doctor once or twice a year depending on how much you play. It is amazing how great your mouthpiece and reeds become when the horn is tight.