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Saxophone Neck

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I was speaking with a veteran saxophonist last night and he told me of a time he was speaking to a top notch flute head joint maker and when he found out that he was a saxophonist the head joint maker said, " Ya know what I don't get about saxophonists? They always talk about the mouthpieces but they don't realize its all in the neck." Now, I think that is definitely a hyperbole, but point made. I know I have tried a few other necks on my horn and heard a definite contrast with the tone. Under equipment forums there is listed Saxophone, Mouthpiece, reeds and accessories. Maybe we should give one to necks:D This is somewhat new to me. I just thought someone got a new neck if the old one got pulled down too much or bent. Anyone have some good information on this?

One more thing. The man I spoke with said he bought a Selmer silver thin wall neck and it made a big difference in the response of his horn. Has anyone else had experience with these necks.

I have found that replacing the neck on a saxophone with a different one will often fix some major issues. I play a Yamaha 82z that had beautiful tone, but very sharp upper register, other Yamaha necks made no difference, but I replaced it with a Ponzol neck and now everything is in tune. I have taken those stupid cheap $200 unplayable by student chinese horns and replaced the necks with a beat up old yamaha student neck and suddenly they sound better and are actually playable. So, I think replacing the neck can make a big difference. You need to try different necks in order to figure out which one works for your horn.

Please see my article "A Saxophonists Guide to Necking" which appeared a few issues ago in [I]The Saxophone Journal[/I].