5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HOW THE SAX WORKS

[@creatingbeautifulsongs7946]

A lot a great info. After 15+ years playing, I knew about the two octave keys and the cork/felt, but the rest was all new to me!

[@davidclaro152]

I almost forgot about the extra octave key on the side. The rest was a good review for me. Not on your video, but I learned in university that the size of the bell affects the loudness of the sax sound. Just yesterday on another sax player’s video, I learned that the under slung of the sax neck with the octave hole on the bottom of the sax neck makes the sound a bit subtle compared with the octave hole on the top of neck.

[@ScottPaddock]

Yeah, I play a big bell sax (P. Mauriat 67RX) and that extra weight on the bell definitely gives it more projection and a bigger sound. Hmmm, I'm not so sure about the under-slung octave mechanism. It seems like just a different mechanical engineering to me. It would be very hard to test, as you would have to have the same neck/sax and apply both styles to see what the difference was.

[@tibebusolomon6162]

Thanx Scot. You’re doing great things for the saxophone family

[@ScottPaddock]

Thanks!

[@skprostudiotips2978]

Have been playing for a while and enjoyed this video !!!

[@tickles7757]

Been playing for 12 years and didn't know you could change the stiffness of the keys! Thanks for the info.

[@ScottPaddock]

👍👍

[@RichardArinze-s9e]

OMG so much information here God bless you sir 🙏

[@sylviewheeler6237]

As usual , a great video ! Thanks Scott !

[@ScottPaddock]

My pleasure!

[@ChrisZemdegs]

Thanks very much, useful content 🙏❤

[@josezanardi1624]

Thank you for the lecture, mate! Basics on the instrument working principle... amazing!

[@malcsvideos]

Thanks Scott. Very useful information. Any videos about mouthpieces?

[@jerryseaton5239]

Thanks Scott very informative as usual .

[@jcwilber5193]

Great information! Thanks Scott!!!

[@ScottPaddock]

Thanks Jc!

[@burgessbrian9329]

Another cracking video Scott; incredibly informative- outstanding stuff cheers 🍻

[@ScottPaddock]

THANKS!!

[@DynamixWarePro]

I usually like to have a slightly lighter key action on my saxophones since I have normal sized palms but slightly short fingers and it helps, especially with left hand pinky keys and low notes. When it comes to pad resonators, I have heard that while metal resonators are supposed to add brightness compared to plastic, which they can do, its more the size of the resonator that makes more of a difference than the material.

[@ScottPaddock]

I haven't experimented with different resonators because of the upfront cost and how difficult it would be to undo if I didn't like the change.

[@Sue20022010]

Fixn' to start learning

[@ScottPaddock]

Stop by the Sax School and I'll get you headed in the right direction!

[@abdelrahmanelgohary8461]

Love u man❤️❤️

[@GiovanniPirri]

Great

[@wojciechkordas9957]

Super👍

[@gordondennis4820]

I play Leger American Cut #3 for tenor, how are the synthetic reeds gauged.

[@ScottPaddock]

I actually reached out to Legere knowing someone would ask, because I play American Cut too. Here's what they said: "Légère reeds also use density to measure strength, but thickness is also part of it. It’s just on a very very very small level. Fractions of a millimetrer will make a difference in strength. All our reeds are tested for strength individually on a machine we built specifically for this."

[@paddylandreville8501]

Very informative, thanks for posting. I have a question, please answer as soon as you can if at all possible. What's your opinion on a new Paul Mauriat PMB 302 GL Low Bb. I have my eye on a one, is it a good instrument, I'm an amateur and a bad one at that, but I want a bari and nothing else, it's my new hobby. Thank's for reading me.

[@ScottPaddock]

Hey Paddy! I tried 3 P. Mauriat baris and really liked all 3. I haven't tried the one you are interested in, but checking out this video I did on my bari try outs might give you a good idea of how great the PM baris are:kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYmpl4lnfqp8i68

[@paddylandreville8501]

Scott, visited your site on choosing a PM bari, wow, that was awesome, encourages me to go with the Mauriat brand, also I don't have the dollars to buy the Selmers or the Yamahas of this world, with the low A and other goodies. I'm sure the sound of the Mauriat is astounding. Anxious to get my hands on one. Thanks for your interest and support. Will keep you posted. Good day. Stay cool and amazing.

[@duprea]

How about talking about pressure players.

[@bryantcooley4969]

Can someone explain the difference in sound (if any) based on the resonators? Plastic to metal? Flat to grooved?

[@ScottPaddock]

There are so many different variables - your sax, air stream, type of pads, key height, etc. BUT they will all affect the sound differently because they are reflecting it. I personally don't know. I've always just played the resonators that come with the sax, and I'm guessing that just about no one has a big comparison list, because you would have to change all of the resonators several times on the same horn to get a real play test. Most people don't switch out their resonators, because there is no way to know if you will actually like them before you do it. Some people do it, but it isn't very common.

[@bamaconald1]

How do you adjust the spring stiffness? Do you mean bending the spring so that it puts more (or less) force on the key?

[@ScottPaddock]

Yeah, the spring is bent in the opposite direction. I'd suggest having a sax repair tech do it, because you want them all to be uniform and it is pretty easy to mess up. It's a fairly cheap fix to have a repair tech do.

[@bamaconald1]

@@ScottPaddock General question: Just got a SYOS mouthpiece. Really like it. Plays the lows like no other mouthpiece I’ve used, and some Altissimo, strong up to about G, but I like to play Altissimo way up to E. I’ve got a month trial (about 2 weeks now). I’m using a Legere Signature 2.25 reed. Would a stronger reed (maybe 2.5?) get me a better and higher Altissimo, or is it necessary to further modify the mouthpiece? Thanks.

[@ScottPaddock]

@@bamaconald1 Hmmm, there are a lot of variables that could be causing this. If you put on a stronger reed, you might lose your low notes. So it is all a balancing act, but yes, when my reeds (especially Legere) start to get soft on me the first thing to go are the altissimo notes.... and at the same time, my low notes get fatter and fuller.

[@bamaconald1]

@@ScottPaddock I have been using the reed a while… Thanks Scott. I’ll try a new reed first.

[@duprea]

Pressure plates (sorry)

[@ScottPaddock]

I've never used a ligature that uses that type of plate, so I wouldn't know much about them. However, my buddy Ryan did a video about them for Theo Wanne. Here's the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGKTnpyAhZqhqM0