Low B drives me mad

[William Cingolani]

Sounds like a leak. If you have a sax tech close by let the sax tech listen to you

[Michael]

yeah, that sounds like a leaky pad for sure, can literally hear the air leaking out. It’s not very expensive to fix either. Your local repairman will have it fixed in no time at all.

[Pete]

Hi Eugene
Must say , it does sound like a leak but before you spend
any cash, check there are no return springs that have ” jumped”
off also check for pads leaking, by putting a piece of paper under
then, close the pad and gently pull the paper away if there is
no resistance that could be the leak. Eugene just a thought
if you are a beginner, is your mouth piece tip opening to large ?
Hope this helps.

[Pete]

Eugene
Forgot to mention one of the most important things
for the low notes= plenty of air and a looser embouchure.

[Eugene Pefti]

I have no idea, William, why the forum page just doesn’t show the link but embeds the actual recording from soundcloud. I uploaded it normally and pasted the URL into the forum posting 😉 Anyways, thanks a lot to all of you again for steering me into the right direction. Will inspect my horn later today and if leak found will bring it to the Long McQuade shop in Vancouver.

[Eugene Pefti]

And yes, Peter, I’m still a beginner 😉
I use Meyer mouthpiece number 5 and wouldn’t say that the opening is too large.
Just made few pictures of it, links are below.
https://file.io/wuGHEI
https://file.io/ZTVjPa
https://file.io/g8SCSj
Interestingly enough, I just changed the reed and then bent the spring of low C key to be more tight and tried to pay low notes.
Almost no vibrating sound. Still, will take the horn to the shop anyway to have it looked at by professionals

[john]

Hi Eugene
Forget about sh tones for now
I approach low notes much like the highest notes…
The full and strong air supply from the diaphragm must be there
It’s actuall more work physically to play those low notes than the high ones.
I also may loosen up slightly on the embouchure when down low

[Mark Kiziuk]

One way to find leaks in a saxophone is to remove the neck, then shine a flashlight down the top into the saxophone with the lights off and see if any light shines out of the tone holes. Mind you, some pads are in the open position when you do this, so on these pads you will need to find the correct key to close the pad using normal pressure on the key and not excessive pressure. Also you may need to shine the light into the bell to see if any light shines from the very bottom pads as well. Also the neck pad might be leaking, so to see that you would need to shine the light into the neck. If you see nothing leaking, then the regulation on your keys is out of adjustment. And if you do see a pad leaking, this DOES NOT necessarily mean you have a bad pad! It could mean you need recorking or felt. I fix saxophones on the side.

[Eugene Pefti]

thanks, Mark! I wish I have a good flashlight that can enter the tube from the top with the neck removed. I’ll drop it to the technician anyway for a regular check 😉

[William Cingolani]

Hi Eugene,
I sometimes use one of those pen flashlights. It’s narrow like a ball point pen. I tie it on a string and drop it down the bore, Hardware stores or office depot might have them.

[Author]

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