OFF TOPIC: BARITONE SAXOPHONE REPAIRS
Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2023 3:08 pm
A band director was going to order a BRAND-NEW baritone saxophone from us. 
After talking to them, I realized that their second "marching use" bari is a SEMI-NAME BRAND instrument (Antigua - very sturdy, not as in-tune as Yamaha 62, but OK and actually sturdier), but was ONLY missing the friggin' NECK.
Most bari saxes made today are very similar to Selmer-Paris, Yamaha, and feature short necks which are very similar in taper and no on-board octave keys.
I actually found a vendor that offers the SAME NECK - yet with FIVE tenon sizes (in half-millimeter fit increments). After measuring the receiver of the Antigua, I ordered blah-blah size.
The neck arrived today (after a couple of weeks - not too long...) and was only slightly loose.
The entire neck and the male tenon were made of a high-copper alloy (perhaps - based on color - even more than 80:20, as the brass is more the color of a Conn 8H/88H trombone bell (85:15...?? ...something roughly in that alloy range...??)
Anyway, I inserted an expander into the male tenon, very carefully "worked" the tenon (just once) and ended up with the male tenor (rather than about 5/1000ths too small) being only about 1/1000th too large...and the calipers told me that it was remarkably round and remarkably consistent (diameter) from one end of the tenon to the other after being expanded (ie. no amateurish "bulge" at the bottom/exit). I believe I had such an easy time due to the alloy.
Anyway...These necks are NOT expensive and (rather than hoping that Antigua might have a damaged-in-shipment bari - from which they could harvest a neck), I now HAVE a neck that FITS and PLAYS THE INSTRUMENT WELL.
Further, the band director is happy, because he didn't blow $1800 - $3500 on a new "pretty good" low-A bari...and only paid $200 - $300 for us to supply a new neck, fix a few solder/dent issues, and replace a few pads/corks, and affect a few adjustments on a "pretty-good" instrument (again: this is their "marching" one) that he already had. 
After talking to them, I realized that their second "marching use" bari is a SEMI-NAME BRAND instrument (Antigua - very sturdy, not as in-tune as Yamaha 62, but OK and actually sturdier), but was ONLY missing the friggin' NECK.
Most bari saxes made today are very similar to Selmer-Paris, Yamaha, and feature short necks which are very similar in taper and no on-board octave keys.
I actually found a vendor that offers the SAME NECK - yet with FIVE tenon sizes (in half-millimeter fit increments). After measuring the receiver of the Antigua, I ordered blah-blah size.
The neck arrived today (after a couple of weeks - not too long...) and was only slightly loose.
The entire neck and the male tenon were made of a high-copper alloy (perhaps - based on color - even more than 80:20, as the brass is more the color of a Conn 8H/88H trombone bell (85:15...?? ...something roughly in that alloy range...??)
Anyway, I inserted an expander into the male tenon, very carefully "worked" the tenon (just once) and ended up with the male tenor (rather than about 5/1000ths too small) being only about 1/1000th too large...and the calipers told me that it was remarkably round and remarkably consistent (diameter) from one end of the tenon to the other after being expanded (ie. no amateurish "bulge" at the bottom/exit). I believe I had such an easy time due to the alloy.
Anyway...These necks are NOT expensive and (rather than hoping that Antigua might have a damaged-in-shipment bari - from which they could harvest a neck), I now HAVE a neck that FITS and PLAYS THE INSTRUMENT WELL.
Further, the band director is happy, because he didn't blow $1800 - $3500 on a new "pretty good" low-A bari...and only paid $200 - $300 for us to supply a new neck, fix a few solder/dent issues, and replace a few pads/corks, and affect a few adjustments on a "pretty-good" instrument (again: this is their "marching" one) that he already had.