Alto Saxophone Care Tips

Assembly:

Maintenance:

• Use cork grease as little as possible, but make sure you use it when you need it. To apply it properly you must rub the grease into the cork.
• Do not use Chap stick.
• Do not leave your reed on your mouthpiece, or your mouthpiece on your neck. The reed can cement itself to your mouthpiece and you can destroy your neck cork if you leave the mouthpiece on. It is also very unsanitary; just think of all the germs that can get trapped there.

The use of a tenon plug is essential for the safety of your body octave mechanism. If you do not have one please find one that makes your sax fit snugly in the case.

Please do not leave your neck strap attached to your instrument when you put it away.

Please do not use lotion silver polishes on your instrument. The lotion can make a mess and harm your instrument. If you use a treated polishing cloth for any finish make sure it is for the proper finish. For example a brass polishing cloth can scratch silver plated keys and destry their finish. One of the best ways to keep your instrument finish looking nice is to wipe off your fingerprints after every use. A clean non-treated cotton cloth works well for this.

It is recommended that an instrument is taken to a professional repair technician at least once a year for general maintenance and cleaning. Doing so will prevent costly repairs that arise from the lack of professional repair attention. A qualified technician can often discover a problem that you have learned how to overlook, play through or are not aware of.

Case:

Do not set anything on top of an instrument in its case. This means sheet music! Damage occurs easily when items are set on the instrument and the case closed. We often see bent Alto Sax bells where the owner has closed a lesson book inside the case. Woodwind keys bend easily when anything is set on the instrument when the case is closed.

Make sure the case is secure. Check all the hinges, latches, and handles to see if they are solidly fastened to the case and they close the case securely. Make sure that the instrument does not move around inside the case.

Please do not sit, rest your feet on, or otherwise apply pressure to the outside of an instrument case. This can damage your case so that it does not properly protect the instrument.

Carry the case so that if it does open, it will open toward your body, not the ground.

Emergencies:

Also a word of caution, rubber bands can eat silver plate, so it is best to avoid any use of rubber bands on silver instruments.

Broken solder joints should not be ignored, have a qualified technician repair it properly as soon as possible.

Never use pliers or hammers on your instrument. Improper use of household tools is a common cause of unnecessary damage to an instrument.

The Final Word: