Beuscher saxes

I have recently tried a Beuscher Aristicrat sax that I was intending to buy. However although it had a great tone, it leaked a little and this put me off a bit. I am curious to know though, what is the function of the small pad on the back of the horn, just on the bend? Apparently most players used to shove cork behind them as they leaked, so it can't have done much. The sax was a 1930's model in silver plate.

Conns had that, too. It's for a special alternate trill key that nobody used and has been dropped from all the modern saxes.

My Conn 10M has that key. Holding the key closed makes the F sound kind of stuffy, so I will keep it functioning. The mechanism uses a bar that slides over a lever. You will have to look at one to see what I mean. If the lever is padded with cork, I can see how the cork would wear quickly and cause a problem with adjustment. Long ago I removed the cork and replaced it with a tiny nylon flanged bushing that I found at my local hardware store for about $.35. The bushing slips over the bar and the flange holds it in place. This gives a very smooth rolling action. I have had no problem with adjustment in five years.

Darryl

On Thu, 09 Aug 2001 20:09:54 -0400, Hal Wadleigh