A Few Things I Believe About Saxophone Design

I had the opportunity to play a number of new, current production saxophones from some of the "big name" companies (Selmer, Yamaha, Yanigasawa, Keilwerth, and Cannoball) this past week and compare them. Frankly, I was dissapointed. What are these guys thinking? I didn't find much difference in the Selmer, Yamaha, and Yanigasawa (I thought the Yanigasawa the best of the lot), the Keilwerth felt heavy and sluggish to me, and the Cannonball was simply not in the league with the rest of them. For the sort of money these makers are asking for their products, they could all do a lot better. Here's a few thoughts about design that I try to abide by:

IT SHOULD NOT HURT TO PLAY YOUR SAXOPHONE
The keywork should fall naturally under your hands. You should never have to chase a key with your fingers. The comfort and ease of execution by the player outweighs any other consideration. The thumbrests should be comfortable. The strap hook should allow for the differences in human physique. The "alternate" keys (front F, chromatic F# etc.) should be easy to use.

THE MECHANISM SHOULD ACCOMODATE THE WAY A SAXOPHONE WORKS
There's no excuse for the different fingerings for C to have a different voice, and there should not be a big change in the tone when you press the octave key. The G# key should not stick, and the other pads should be quiet and firm. The lower stack F# pad always needs some help to prevent leaks, and this should always be addressed. It's a given that the notes above C#3 are going to be a little high in pitch, so you ought to do something about this on the design end. The large key cups tend to flex in a horizontal plane, so they need to be attached to the rods at multiple points.

ALL THE KEYS SHOULD FEEL THE SAME
I go ballistic over this. There's no reason for the keys not to have a uniform amount of resistance. None. It's all about where you place the springs and using the correct diameter and length. I wrote an article on this topic ("The Rites of Springs") which will appear in the next issue of The Saxophone Journal. It's just not that hard to figure out, folks, and based on the horns I have recently examined, nobody is thinking about this. Shame on them.

SAXOPHONES SHOULD MEET MODERN PLAYING REQUIREMENTS
Today, all saxophones have a high F# key, and all the baritones go down to low A. However, modern literature often extends above high F#. I don't see a lot of acknowlegment of this fact by most makers.

WHY SHOULD THE HORN ALWAYS SOUND THE SAME?
We all have a box full of different mouthpieces. Why not necks? The neck is where the sound is shaped, and every horn should have multiple neck options designed for that specific horn.

THE METAL MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
I am really dissapointed that other manufacturers don't generally offer their saxophones in anything other than standard high zinc content brass. Yanigasawa is a noteable exception, of course. Different materials can yeild significantly different sound results.

I'll step off the soapbox now. Thanks for listening........