Klarinet Archive - Posting 000281.txt from 1995/08

From: John Baetens <JSBtens@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Any cure for sticky saxop...
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 23:14:46 -0400

Stephen writes:

>Does anyone know of a successful treatment for sticky
>pads on saxophones? A colleague has a pupil with a
>new alto which is causing him problems: the G# key
>keeps sticking.

Aha! The case of the sticky articulated G# key. This seems
to be a common problem with alto saxes. The key sticks
when saliva on the pad causes it to stick to the body. The
"cool" way to fix it is to run a $20.00 bill under the pad and
then pull it out with the pad closed. I have heard that a better
material is a piece of ultra suede.
My daughter's old Bundy used to do this all the time. It's
interesting to note that since she got her new Yanagasawa,
it has never stuck. Is it a better mechanism, or is she just
taking better care of her new instrument? Maybe if you had
a stronger spring installed on the mechanism it would not
stick so much. How about it, all you repair people?