[LeftySaxDude]

I have a reference alto sax and am in the market for a new neck. What are the qualities and trade-offs of silver vs. copper? Anyone try both of these necks? I like a freeblowing response with a warm sound and a velvety smoothness.

 

[NatureColor]

hey,

I have a Selmer solid silver neck and the selmer copper neck(not barone). I find the copper is more plain, but ina way it's darker, but I found the Solid silver neck was exactly what you said.. " freeblowing respone with a warm sound and a velvety smoothness." The neck is much free blowing than the copper neck and it's very warm due to the silver material, and every notes connects smoothly and I think velvety is the word for it. Also, I recommend if you get anyone of them take it to a tech and get it cutom fitted for you. Mine was fitted by Jeff Peterson at horn Improvement in CA, and it's been nothing but wonderful.

 

[BigHunk]

I bought Both for my Ref54 tenor,barone copper and Selmer Silver.
I got the Silver fitted first and after playing it I have been trying to sell the barone ever since,never even got the barone sized.No way it can beat the Solid silver....never

Anyone want a good deal on a barone solid(not plated) copper Tenor neck

 

[awholley]

I have had two Barone necks and a Selmer silver neck for my Ref 54 alto. I play the Selmer neck.

 

[LeftySaxDude]

Thanks for your replies. I will get the silver neck based on your recommendations.

 

[martinm5862]

I have a reference alto sax and am in the market for a new neck. What are the qualities and trade-offs of silver vs. copper? Anyone try both of these necks? I like a freeblowing response with a warm sound and a velvety smoothness.

Why???

 

[DaveR]

Warning. Try before you buy. The Solid Silver Selmer neck is a Ser3 neck, not a Reference neck; it will change the intonation of your Ref 54 alto hugely.

 

[Dr G]

Have you considered Gloger or Boesken necks? Either of them should be able to fit a neck with your choice of materials, choice of underslung or top octave key, and most importantly, made for the Ref horn rather than something else.

I concur that Series necks may not be a great match for your horn - not just regarding intonation but for maintaining the character of your horn. The harmonic balance of a horn is often set by the neck.

I had a silver Gloger on my Ref 36 tenor for a while - great intonation, wonderful overtones. I tried another Selmer neck too. In the end, I learned, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, that there's no place like home. My Ref is great with its original neck (and a few tweaks from Randy Jones).

 

[Randall]

I used the Series III sterling neck on my Ref alto and the intonation was not a problem in any way..it was a perfect match. I FAR preferred the Sterling III neck on the Ref to the regular neck.

BTW, the sterling Ref tenor necks now being sold as "Reference" necks are reported to indeed be III necks. One of these days if BigHunk and I can get together, we'll compare his "Ref" neck to my III neck and the verdict will be in....

 

[LeftySaxDude]

Have you considered Gloger or Boesken necks? Either of them should be able to fit a neck with your choice of materials, choice of underslung or top octave key, and most importantly, made for the Ref horn rather than something else.

I didn't even know about these brands. So the selmer silver neck is for a series III eh? I wish I knew that before Saxquest shipped it. I might return it when it arrives and try to acquire one of these Gloger necks from musicmedic.com if the selmer neck doesn't work right.

What real difference is there between an underslung octave and a standard one? Will an underslung octave have any issues on a reference alto?

 

[Markus]

I play a Gloger solid copper neck on my Ref 54 tenor. It has improved intonation with a sound not completeley different compared with the original neck, but a touch more overtones. I like it very much.
The neck was originally made for a Mark VII, as Karsten Gloger told me.
Try as many as you can to find out what fits your needs best.

Markus

 

[DaveR]

LeftySaxDude, don't reject the SS neck before you try it; as Randall says, it can work well for some people, my point is that you should not expect the octave relationships to be the same, they may feel a lot wider. The bottom will be much improved however and the Ref will feel much freer to blow.

(IMVHO)The big mistake we all make is thinking that changing one element - mouthpiece, reed, ligature, neck, whole instrument - will necessarily just sort out one problem and leave everything else hunkydory. Not so. Change one thing and everything else shuffles around too.

 

[playitfunky]

I like my Barone Copper neck. It's more centered then my original Yamaha neck, Darker, better on the bottom end, good intonation.

 

[awholley]

Warning. Try before you buy. The Solid Silver Selmer neck is a Ser3 neck, not a Reference neck; it will change the intonation of your Ref 54 alto hugely.

Agreed. In my case it was for the better (particularly for section playing). The Barone neck was more similar to the Serie III neck than to the Ref neck.

 

[Dr G]

BTW, the sterling Ref tenor necks now being sold as "Reference" necks are reported to indeed be III necks. One of these days if BigHunk and I can get together, we'll compare his "Ref" neck to my III neck and the verdict will be in....

That shouldn't take long - the differences are very apparent. The III has a much higher arch to it and the octave mechanism at the tenon is in a different location.

 

[Randall]

G did you compare a tenor sterling III neck and the sterling "Ref" neck?

 

[Dr G]

G did you compare a tenor sterling III neck and the sterling "Ref" neck?

No, Randall, but I have had both a Serie III tenor and a Ref 36. And, when a friend of mine with yet another Serie III and a Ref 36 wanted to compare response and character of the various horns, we did the requisite neck swapping comparo. The III has a very characteristic high arch to its bend when compared to the Ref, which actually is similar to the Mk VI in that regard.

Perhaps we could get Swampcabbage to weigh in on comparing the Mk VI to the Ref 54 necks.

 

[Randall]

G what I am talking about comparing are the Sterling III tenor necks with what is now marketed as a "Reference" sterling neck- specifically for Reference horns.

This is what I wanted to compare and what I spoke of being "reported".

 

[Steve J.]

A III neck will also noticably change the angle into the mouth compared to a ref neck.

FWIW and IMO. Necks are very individual. Trying to judge based on other's one neck happiness is futile. Its very different from mouthpiece characteristics. Its more like finding the best reed in boxes of a like brand.

I've had the priveledge of being presented a box full of necks after a shipment to Randy Jones (If he reads here I'm forever grateful) on my ref 54. There were obvious noticeable differences between the 54 necks, and the copper Series III. The 36 necks were consistent ..... I tried three..... a fourth could be different and I would not be surprised.

On another occasion I met with a ref 54 player and we swapped his favored silver neck with my favored copper neck. He sounded better on his silver neck on his ref and on my Ref. I sounded better on my copper neck on his Ref and my ref. It wasn't a sound style preference... we both agreed of this determination. There are other factors in influence.

I learn a lot from this board. I like to read about equipment and do think it is somewhat of a shortcut and a leading direction. As far as necks.... the combination of inconsistentcy or uniqueness and expense make someone's experience with a single neck that helped them meaningless, in regards to helping what would be advantageous to another.

 

[Dr G]

Thanks, Steve. Great to see you again.