[wanderso]

The compelling value to me is solely ergonomic--I despise the tiny finger-contorting flat-tab neck screws. There are alternatives from Meridian Winds and Westcoast Sax and elsewhere, but the Yanagisawa lovely round knurled large-easy-grip screw has an elegantly-engraved logo, so why not use it on my Yany tenor?

But TWO accessory inserts (which each display the logo) are provided, and as-designed one will be left over and possibly discarded and lost. As I looked at my neck, I had a thought: it looked unbalanced with a finely-machined device on only one side.

Why not put the unused insert on the other side?

Unfortunately, on the Yany anyway, the screw is too long: it interferes with the collar-tightening screw and so sticks out with exposed threads which looks weird.So, it must be shortened about 3mm. You may have more elegant tools, I gripped the excess threads with pliers and used a hacksaw and then file to clean the burrs.

Now, all pieces are employed and there is lovely symmetry to the neck collar. A bit more mass too, if that floats your boat.

The end plug is hollow to permit optimum evaporation of remaining moisture from the horn bore after play and swabbing. Key Leaves provides great high-tech solutions. But I like the new-yet-vintage plugs from Morgan Mouthpieces which are claimed to be turned from 60-year-old left-over granadillo rod stock which Ralph Morgan used to make the end plugs provided with Selmer Paris horns until the 60's when they were replaced by plastic.

 

[whaler]

The color is wrong and the base looks too small. I guess I just prefer the old paddle style.
They could at least gold plate them so they match the sax better

 

[Canadiain]

If gripping the traditional winged/spade neck screw is a problem then you or your tech could just figure out the thread size of your neck screw and buy a knurled thumbscrew from your local industrial hardware supplier. Then give the $53 you saved to the charity of your choice

8-32 is a pretty common size, M4x0.7 or M4 x0.75 also mentioned in dispatches. I very much doubt any of the sax manufacturers have gone to the troubel to deviate from a recognised standard thread size.

https://www.fastenal.com/product/fa...level=3&isExpanded=true&productFamilyId=22520

Heres one for 43 cents that matches for color.

https://libertybrass.com/products/8...r5yEnNpiJs1u819tp1HzFXrvBe_W5zKBoCsGcQAvD_BwE
For 5 cents more they will Nickle plate just like the Yani one.

Lots of stainless steel or Aluminum ones available too, but I would stick to brass to limit galvanic corrosion opportunities. Then again there are lots of steel screws and springs in a contact with a brass body so Im probably overthinking things.

 

[Canadiain]

Lifted from a magical bespoke musical neckscrew webpage for reference:

(M4x.7) will fit:
Yamaha
Keilwerth
Eastman
Sax Dakota


(M4x.75) will fit:
Selmer
Yanagisawa
Jupiter


American (8/32) will fit:
Chateau
Sax Gourmet
Conn
King
Tenor Maddness
LA Sax

M4x0.75 is proving harder to find in the real world, but its very close to 8-32 in any case.

 

[turf3]

For ergonomic improvement try this:

I find it gives me an "abolitionist" tone.

All class, baby!

 

[milandro]

it was worth one cent

but now it’s worth a lot more if one tells the right story.

By the way being a 1974 this is almost all copper, gilding bronze (95% copper, 5% zinc) which has to sound (or as someone would say “ resonate” ) a lot better than the modern penny , copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper)

 

[turf3]

No, no, no! It's a '73! The '74s were total crap! Only the 68-73 cents are any good.

By the way, how I picked that one? I knew I'd have great difficulty soldering to one of the copper plated ones, so I took all the cents out of my pocket, selected the oldest, and scraped it a bit with my pocket knife to make sure it's bronze all the way through.

 

[Canadiain]

Of course, if you intended to render this coin unfit for circulation that would make you potentially guilty of violating 18 USC 333, which carries a potential penalty of a fine, or not more than 6 months in jail, or both

 

[milandro]

unless it was a fake in which case this was the right thing to do

 

[Dr G]

No, no, no! It's a '73! The '74s were total crap! Only the 68-73 cents are any good.

By the way, how I picked that one? I knew I'd have great difficulty soldering to one of the copper plated ones, so I took all the cents out of my pocket, selected the oldest, and scraped it a bit with my pocket knife to make sure it's bronze all the way through.

You don't need to scrape a penny to determine whether it is clad or solid - just flick it with your thumb, or drop it on a hard surface. The solid coin will ring, a clad penny will not.

 

[milandro]

I knew I'd have great difficulty soldering to one of the copper plated ones, so I took all the cents out of my pocket, selected the oldest, and scraped it a bit with my pocket knife to make sure it's bronze all the way through.

Ahem!

Wikipedia would have told you that until from 1944 to 1982 they were bronze

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)

By the way until 1857 they were all solid copper!

Use the search function in bronze we trust

 

[1saxman]

Tiny neck screw heads were done on purpose to help keep gorillas from stripping the threads in the clamp collar. Now with the larger diameter heads, it'll be easier to over-torque them.

 

[Hipparion]

If the argument of some people here is only about saving money, then I cannot resist to make a parallel with the thread about spending 10k on a horn (while much cheaper options for playing are readily available).

I suppose anyone pointing out that one can have a similar (if not exactly same) screw for pennies instead of tens of $ would also indiscriminately argue in favor of spending only a few k$ instead of 10k... (at least in the context of making music with it) ? :twisted:

Especially since most of the music and sound is made by the player... :twisted::twisted:

After all 'if you can afford it, go for it', innit ? :mrgreen: (a mentality with which I mostly disagree, by the way...)

 

[turf3]

Of course, if you intended to render this coin unfit for circulation that would make you potentially guilty of violating 18 USC 333, which carries a potential penalty of a fine, or not more than 6 months in jail, or both

Unsolder it and it's still good to go.

 

[Canadiain]

I suppose anyone pointing out that one can have a similar (if not exactly same) screw for pennies instead of tens of $ would also indiscriminately argue in favor of spending only a few k$ instead of 10k... (at least in the context of making music with it) ? :twisted:

OK, I'll bite
I would expect that a $10k horn is either A: Unique or limited in availability in some way, eg a vintage horn in great condition, or one with some unique history or in a sought after serial number range. A product with limited supply for the demand or B: A bespoke horn with better than average craftsmanship and attention to detail, non standard material choices (bronze or silver) and maybe some unique features or attributes, or C: a little of A and B
Personally I would never spend that on a horn myself, but I can understand why its value is 5 or 10 times more than a half decent functioning sax.

This on the other hand is a machined screw with a knurled head. There is nothing unique about it really to justify it costing 10 to 100 times what a regular brass machined screw would, beyond the fact you can screw in a bit more weight if you want, and the Yani logo. As others point out, it doesnt even match the regular color of most horns. A decent machinist could knock one up out of brass bar stock without too much fuss in whatever thread size and knob size you want and a commercial operation could churn out thousands an hour for not a whole lot more than the cost of the material and the setup time on the machine.

The OP says they use it because its easier to hold, and that makes perfect sense. The Yani logo is nice, but the original spade type screw doesnt have a logo. People can and will spend their money however they want; I'm just saying that maybe others in the same situation need not necessarily hand over their lunch money to the folk at Yanagisawa for an easy to turn knurled knob when other much cheaper options are out there, especially if you dont need the slightly trickier to find M4 x0.75 thread.

 

[Reet McVouty]

If the argument of some people here is only about saving money, then I cannot resist to make a parallel with the thread about spending 10k on a horn (while much cheaper options for playing are readily available).

I suppose anyone pointing out that one can have a similar (if not exactly same) screw for pennies instead of tens of $ would also indiscriminately argue in favor of spending only a few k$ instead of 10k... (at least in the context of making music with it) ? :twisted:

Especially since most of the music and sound is made by the player... :twisted::twisted:

After all 'if you can afford it, go for it', innit ? :mrgreen: (a mentality with which I mostly disagree, by the way...)

You can find that discussion here. https://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?365676-Is-paying-10-000-for-a-saxophone-crazy

 

[jman1977]

OK, I'll bite
I would expect that a $10k horn is either A: Unique or limited in availability in some way, eg a vintage horn in great condition, or one with some unique history or in a sought after serial number range. A product with limited supply for the demand or B: A bespoke horn with better than average craftsmanship and attention to detail, non standard material choices (bronze or silver) and maybe some unique features or attributes, or C: a little of A and B
Personally I would never spend that on a horn myself, but I can understand why its value is 5 or 10 times more than a half decent functioning sax.

This. It seems like the people who fail to understand why other people pay a premium for certain items are those who think that there is only one valid set of values and only the things that they value matter. The value of an item goes beyond just its mere functionality.

 

[Reet McVouty]

If gripping the traditional winged/spade neck screw is a problem then you or your tech could just figure out the thread size of your neck screw and buy a knurled thumbscrew from your local industrial hardware supplier. Then give the $53 you saved to the charity of your choice

8-32 is a pretty common size, M4x0.7 or M4 x0.75 also mentioned in dispatches. I very much doubt any of the sax manufacturers have gone to the troubel to deviate from a recognised standard thread size.

https://www.fastenal.com/product/fa...level=3&isExpanded=true&productFamilyId=22520

Heres one for 43 cents that matches for color.
View attachment 250676
https://libertybrass.com/products/8...r5yEnNpiJs1u819tp1HzFXrvBe_W5zKBoCsGcQAvD_BwE
For 5 cents more they will Nickle plate just like the Yani one.

Lots of stainless steel or Aluminum ones available too, but I would stick to brass to limit galvanic corrosion opportunities. Then again there are lots of steel screws and springs in a contact with a brass body so Im probably overthinking things.

Alright, aright , alright! Yes, I have to admit I've been bashing the concept of the heavy mass screw for a while now. Which in hindsight is really very narrow minded of me. I mean after all, How can one give an informed opinion without participating in the experiment. So, with the cheap version of these available I will now give it a try, cause there's no way I was going to spend 50-60 bucks for a screw. Call me thrifty.

More manufacturer specifications: https://www.meridianwinds.com/ergonomic-heavy-mass-saxophone-neck-screws.htm

Another source for purchasing: https://www.mcmaster.com/thumb-screws

 

[Canadiain]

How can one give an informed opinion without participating in the experiment.

I dont need to circumnavigate the globe or travel into space to have great confidence the earth isnt flat

But if you find a good source of commercially available knurled neckscrews please let us know!

 

[wanderso]

For comparison and contrast, here is the Yamaha OEM ergonomic mass-added neck screw developed by the LA Atelier, I believe:

It weighs 18g.