Interesting Selmer Information from Jerome Selmer

I attended a clinic where the Director General and head of Research and Development of Selmer (Paris) Jerome Selmer gave a historical presentation and graciously and patiently answered questions from the audience of saxophone repairmen (and one Taiwan-based competitor) for nearly two hours.  Some interesting things he mentioned:   – The Mark VI and Reference horns …

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Kohlert Winnenden Tenor

I recently overhauled a 1954 Kohlert “Winnenden” tenor saxophone and was impressed with its tone, ergonomics, intonation, and construction- which features rolled toneholes and relatively modern ergonomics.  The tone is dark, woody, and full- and tons of fun to play with a really dig-deep cupboard-rattling capability. Repair-wise, the design of the horn presented no special …

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Low C# Stiff on a Conn 10M

This is something I posted in a forum a little while ago.  The question was “My low C# is stiff on my Conn 10M.  What springs do I adjust to make it better?” As is often the case with good saxophone repair, the answer lies deeper and the knowledge required is greater than you might …

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How to Choose a Saxophone Mouthpiece

  Choosing the right mouthpiece for you can be a daunting task.  You’ve got an almost infinite amount of choices, and from among them you are expected to find exactly what works for you without being able to try them all and many times without the most basic knowledge as to what actually makes a …

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Vintage Saxophone Calendar!

I’ve gotten some of these for the shop every year since they’ve been made, and also been submitting pictures and luckily getting my pictures put in!  This year though I’ve got the cover, which is pretty cool.  Its a photo I took a while ago (should actually be in the gallery here) of a Selmer …

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Couesnon Low A alto, the OTHER low A alto.

Well, this is a rarity.  On eBay this week is a Couesnon alto saxophone with low A! edit: there are actually two on eBay this week.  How strange!  I’d love to own one of these some day.      

Word of the Day: Cymatics

This is pretty cool stuff. “Cymatics (from Greek: ???? “wave”) is the study of visible sound and vibration, a subset of modal phenomena. Typically the surface of a plate, diaphragm, or membrane is vibrated, and regions of maximum and minimum displacement are made visible in a thin coating of particles, paste, or liquid.[1] Different patterns emerge in the exitatory medium depending …

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Should I repad my horn?

I’ve recently started a repair column over at BestSaxophoneWebsiteEver and my first column was “Should I repad my horn?”.  Might sound like an easy question, but there is so much involved to be able to make this decision properly, and so much information that the consumer should know so they are aware and happy with …

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