|
It's a fact of life that even
the most pampered saxophones develop leaks. By allowing air to escape at
unintended spots along the body tube, leaks silently degrade your horn's
performance, affecting tone, response & intonation. The most effective
method to locate leaks is to place a light source inside your sax, then
carefully look for light escaping around the pad/tone hole interface. With
a leak light players can routinely check their saxes out & learn to
make some minor adjustments to keep them in top shape between visits to
the Tech. More on those adjustments in a future topic . . .
|
|
Fluorescent "Stick" Light
 |
This technician's standard is composed of a 6 to 12 inch low wattage
fluorescent bulb, controlled by a transformer box equipped with on/off
switch & starter button. A pair of small gauge wires run along bulb
length to complete the electric circuit. Excellent brightness & slips
easily into alto & tenor neck openings -- though care is needed to
avoid hanging the circuit wires on the octave vent. A handy person can
make one of these from parts available at electrical supply stores, or
they can be purchased ready made from instrument repair suppliers for about
$105, plus shipping.
|
| The fluorescent stick is a workhorse in the shop. It's
strength is brightness, but there are applications it just won't handle.
Fixed-neck curved sopranos & bari's, in general, are problematic with
this tool. Some models come with an alternate single round bulb, small
enough to insert into a tone hole (after removing a key, of course). This
option illuminates one tone hole at a time, which complicates adjusting
the stack key combinations. Care is needed on the bench to avoid entangling
the various wires in your work -- and the bulbs are fragile, though inexpensive
to replace. These are best suited to a permanent bench installation. |
|
|
|
Alternative Leak Lights
If you're willing to put in the time & energy to search there are
many 'off-the-shelf' items that will function to some degree as a leak
light. We've seen slim-profile commercial light strips, like the 8" model
below, designed to attach under a shelf using double-sided tape. These
are thin enough to go into an alto or tenor neck cleanly. Such items are
quite light weight, but care is needed to avoid damaging your sax with
the sharp edges & corners. Brightness of many such products is marginal,
and the broadcast range is usually to only about 90 degrees -- but the
prices are cool!
Note: Be very cautious sticking things into
your sax that carry full house electric current. Brass is a fine conductive
material, capable of delivering you quite a shock should your make-shift
light short itself to your instrument. 'Nuff said . .
|
|
|
Kudos to Bill Singer for developing this extremely simple, cheap
& functional light from standard electrical components. This is the
actual light supplied with Bill's sax repair videos. It will go almost
anywhere (in a saxophone), and illuminates one tone hole at a time. The
6 volt lantern battery is fairly expensive, and a bit of a hazard to store
in a sax case because of its weight. The light is reasonably bright, but
these single bulbs lack the saturation needed to check all angles around
the pad edges for small leaks. This rig is useful, though there are better
travel alternatives.
|
This is something adapted from a string of battery powered (2 size
C's) Christmas lights. Colored bulbs were replaced with white & the
length cut back to about 3 feet. The light is quite dim & requires
working in a fairly dark area, but then most gigs meet that requirement
reasonably well! Can be snaked almost anywhere -- even into a fixed-neck
curved soprano.
Cheap ...
|
|
The
"Rope Light"
Product
inserts into bari
alt C tone hole ...
|
|
to illuminate entire lower stack
|
The "Rope
Light" is of rugged plastic
construction -- quite flexible & practically indestructible. The light
tube on the model shown is 18", which will illuminate either stack of a
tenor or baritone (yup, finally a stick you can slip into a bari!), but
the 36" version is imminently practical, as well. The power cord plugs
into a standard receptacle -- no need for a transformer. This very useful
design will bend completely around the bow of most saxophones, giving good
illumination of the C#, low C & Eb tone holes. Don't try this with
your fluorescent stick lights! Single bulbs will also illuminate these
areas, but just one tone hole at a time. Note "Rope
Light" has no loose wires (like the flourescents) to snag
the octave vent or other hazards around a saxophone. Not quite as bright
as a fluorescent stick, but plenty bright none-the-less -- especially where
you can control the ambient lighting. Very handy fold-up for storage in
your sax case or small tool box.
. . . more penetrating "Rope
Light"
applications
|
|
|
|
gets in tough spots
like bari crook
|
fixed-neck
curved sopranos
|
around C-Melody bow
|
totally flexible & exceptionally bright
|
|
You can purchase an assembled "Rope
Light" product
from many sources, or you can purchase the light kit produced by the manufacturer
along with either an 18" or 36" length of the light tube and assemble it
yourself. If storage space isn't an issue we recommend you go ahead &
do the 36" model. Those of you in a larger metro area will find that
stores like Builder's Square often carry the "Rope
Light"
line. Many local lighting distributors carry it, as well, so make a few
calls before you pay up for an assembled light. It's really all the same.
If all else fails, the Tulsa lighting distributor, Garbe's,
will ship you the light kit & tube -- and may even assemble it for
you if you talk to them a bit -- that's if you're not into having such
fun yourself ....
|
|
|
|
Caution: Always practice Safe
Sax! Never force anything
into the body tube of your saxophone. Objects of near the same diameter
as your neck opening WILL NOT go into the body tube because of the octave
vent located a few inches inside your horn. Should you dislodge this vent
-- or bend it -- a qualified Tech will have to repair it for you. Also
use caution with sharp-edged objects that might cut pads, or smaller diameter
objects which may become lodged between a pad surface & tone hole rim.
|
|
