STRAIGHTENING THE SAX BELL

Woodwind expert, J.L. Smith demonstrates the proper procedure for adjusting bell alignment on a classic saxophone.

[@petehughes9297]

Thankyou, just did this with a Yamaha yts 23 B and Bb were not sealing at the front. It worked! So happy, still going to take to tech for a setup, but thank you!

[@Bastionaute]

This video is a trully gem ! Thanks a lot for sharing this knowledge !!!!

[@chicofun4779]

just one hit and it worked for me, in my case they were separated at the front and touching at the back. Thanks

[@henryhuggins2540]

Most saxes come into our shop with bent bells because players pick up the sax by the bell and with the heavy top part of the sax weighing the sax down the bell gets pulled up and the geometry of the keys is now off. We've been teaching sax players to support the upper half of the sax when picking it out of the case and never by the bell alone. The brace appears to get stressed and weakened by wrong actions. Took me awhile to find out why so many were coming to us out of alignment.

[@GeraldThomasphotojunkie]

Our local Tech did this repair to our grandsons Sax and now it sounds 100% better!!

[@thatsmetube]

Thank you so very much for this tip. I had a 5 mm (!) gap on the other end, when pad started to touch in one end (B and Bb). Gently tapping and they came together! Still going to the shop, but now it’s not an emergency and I can plan the visit in the near future. 🙏

[@jlsmithco]

So glad this helped!

[@jonniewadd56]

I am assuming that the pad or the tone key itself wasn't the issue??

[@TheQuijote76]

what could I do if keys on both sides on the upper half have leaks? Which side should I let fall the sax? It is a Conn New Wonder Alto sax.

[@SchwuppsLP]

What to do, if just the Bb key leaks a bit on the upper front? If its was just the front, I'd do it the other way around, you did in this video. But it does not work for me like that

[@michaeldean9338]

Nifty video. I'm a bit pissed when I reflect on service charges, but nifty.

[@brianmcconnell81]

yes it was to realine the bell and i think the pads of witch i just had them do work on it after i bought it used they did all this just at the beginning of the school year it cost me $300 that time

[@DANDALLAROCHA]

Helpful , thanks !

[@ChrisWestMusic]

Wow, never thought of trying that. Thanks for posting. BTW, was that music from Project Trio?

[@camoproductions5931]

How much does a repair cost?

[@ghopkins2052]

Not to be overly picky, but you still have a leak in the back. The reflection of the light on the bell indicates you still have a significant leak. Just sayin'.....

[@deirdrevilla]

Cool!

[@Saxophonelady]

I have an annoying vibration on higher notes like G and A after my repairman adjusted and alligned the bell on my alto. Any ideas? Maybe lube the horn ? I took it back to him a second time and he adjusted everything again. Not sure what to do next. The vibration is very subtle but comes thru on my recordings.

[@jlsmithco]

I'm sorry you're having this issue but it's very positive that you're sensitive to the vibration. It may indeed be a lubrication issue, but it can also be a clearance issue between two metal parts. If your tech hasn't spotted the problem, you can partner with someone who can touch various areas of the instrument (particularly the keywork) while you are playing the horn. If the vibration stops when a certain place is touched-look further at this area of interest. I hope this helps!

[@Saxophonelady]

Thankyou...I finally took a chance and bumped the bell a bit against the palm of my hand, and that fixed it. Prob. a little vibration from when he adjusted the bell angle. Hope it stays this way. :)

[@brianmcconnell81]

really its that simple why did the music store charge me $160 to do that gheez i feel riped off

[@jlsmithco]

Hi Brian, I'm not sure what the store did. It would be a rare occasion when aligning the bell is the only work done on a saxophone repair job. In a typical scenario a technician would diagnose, estimate the work, explain to the client and get approval before work is done.

[@Finiero]

The paid skill is knowing WHERE to hit it.

[@rodrigocabrera4490]

What if I dropped my saxophone and the bell crooked up?

[@tastelesssoperatatouille4396]

Rodrigo Cabrera I Did the same thing 😭😭😭😭😭. How much did it cost to fix

[@DorienHerremans]

Awesome! This totally helped!

[@jlsmithco]

Glad to help. Thanks for watching Dorien!

[@brianmcconnell81]

i don't have money to keep paying for repairs we barely get by as it is but my son is a wonderful well deserving kid who tought himself how to play happy birthday for his mom in less then 30min go him

[@olimphus26]

So I payed 100 bucks for the technician to bang the thing on a bench a couple of times? Wow