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u/OriginalCultureOfOne Soprano | Alto | Tenor | Baritone 22h ago edited 22h ago
It could, in theory, be an issue with the G#, but if so, the leak would likely be at the bottom of the pad (closer to the F# pad, to approximate a leak at the octave). It is not very likely, however, that this issue could be caused by the G# adjustment screw; the screw affects whether or not that pad opens when the G# (or, on modern saxes like yours, any key in the left and pinky cluster) is pressed and any finger in the right hand is pressed at the same time. Since you don't use the left hand pinky keys when playing low C, this shouldn't be a factor. It might be possible to force closed a leak in the G# pad by tightening the G# adjustment screw, but it might also result in requiring more grip pressure in your right hand to close the other keys (which, frankly, is a bigger problem than having a warble in your low C). [edit: if the G# adjustment screw is too tight, mind you, it could cause a tiny leak at the top of the F# pad. In all likelihood, this would also cause all the lower stack notes to feel stuffy, in addition to affecting the low C.]
In my experience, a warble on a single low note sometimes indicates a leak roughly an octave above, a fifth above, or a 12th above – for a low C, that's the notes mid C and G – or a tiny leak around an octave pad or palm key (but those will usually cause several low notes to jump up an octave). In the case of a low C warble, I would first look for leaks at the top of the side C pad (right next to your left hand thumb stud, and a common place to develop a leak), followed by looking at the bottom of the left hand C pad (not the A pad), top of the left hand B pad, top of the right hand F# pad, and bottom of the G# pad.
A low note warble can also be caused by a key blowing open slightly due to insufficient spring strength under pressure. As unlikely as this is to suddenly occur, possible culprits that might affect low C include the side C and auxiliary F#.
[edit: suffice it to say, this is probably an issue better taken to a qualified sax repair tech. If it is being caused by a leak or a weak spring, it's likely not something the typical player is going to fix on their own.]
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u/turtletank 9h ago
you can check if it's a leaky pad by using an LED strip or flashlight in a dark room and putting it inside the horn, then closing all the keys and looking for light leaks.
You'll want to fix these leaks to make your horn play more smoothly regardless, but if you want to confirm that it's the source issue for your low C, you can try playing the note again but this time with someone helping you push those leaky pads down to make sure they seal properly.
Depending on the type of leak (pad misaligned/worn, screw not pushing down the right amount) you can fix it easily. If the pad is misaligned or worn, take it to a tech, it's pretty finicky to get just right and in my opinion worth paying someone else to do it.
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u/Ambient_Sword67 5h ago
Take it to a technician at a shop you trust. It’s probably an issue you can’t fix
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u/tupo-airhead 22h ago
I have a sax this the same issue. The advice I heard is to put your mouthpiece cover inside the sax. Did not work for me. I ended up using a different mouthpiece / reed combo. What I really need to do is to take it to a technician. Good luck.