[AMASAX]

You have a very early Balanced Action alto or tenor. On those horns, the bumper stop for the low D key was implemented in the fashion as on your horn. Very poor design. Didn't last long.

Nothing special, just a crappy design experiment that fortunately didn't continue.

 

[AMASAX]

Forgot to add that my BA tenor has this 'bumper stop' for the low D key and while I don't like it, I've never had it removed or modified. Serial on my BA tenor is in the 22,xxx range; one of the early ones.

 

[AMASAX]

I'm juggling with the idea of having this modified on my BA alto.

I'm limited in my choice of fingerings for altissimo G and I can't play the F# multiphonic....

Yes, that's the biggie I don't like - interferes w/altissimo fingerings. However, I don't play altissimo on tenor, so isn't a huge deal. Would be a real problem on alto, tho. That said, I don't care much for early BA altos, so am not likely to be caught in this predicament. I have a modern alto, so am ok here.