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M. Gerarda
Waikiki
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M. Gerarda
26-90003 M Gerarda Sopranino saxophone outfit, silver plated, complete with mouthpiece, cap and ligature.
SOPRANINO - while stocks last |
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| 26-90003 | TSP-62/S M. GERARDA SOPRANINO SAXOPHONE SILVER PLATE, with Wooden case | $1,950.00 | |
SOPRANO - while stocks last |
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| 26-90005 | SSX-568/L Curved – F# Key – Deluxe Case - WHILE STOCKS LAST NEW MODELS COMING SOON!! |
$1,995.00 | |
  Left: 26-90705 Gerarda Alto Sax, lacquer finish and right: Bright Silver Plate finish |
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ALTO - while stocks last |
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| 26-90705 | M.GERARDA SX-555A/LL ALTO SAX, LACQUER, LARGE BELL, w MOULDED CASE | $1,835.00 | |
| 26-90715 | M.GERARDA SX-555ASB/BL ALTO SAX, BLACK MATT LACQUER, BLACK KEYS, LARGE BELL, w MOULDED CASE | $2,295.00 | |
| 26-90735 | M.GERARDA SX-555A/SGL ALTO SAX, FROSTED SILVER, GOLD KEYS, LARGE BELL, w MOULDED CASE | $2,295.00 | |
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TENOR - while stocks last |
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| 26-90810 | M. GERARDA SX-555T/LL TENOR SAX, LACQUER, LARGE BELL, w CASE | $2,295.00 | |
| 26-90815 | M. GERARDA SX-555T/SBL, SILVER PLATED BODY & KEYS, CASE | $2,870.00 | |
Detail of Gerarda 555 series showing double arms on low C and Low B and detachable bell/bow.
Detail of Gerarda 555 series showing Left Hand 4th finger group key stabilizer.
Detail of Gerarda 555 series showing front F spatula key.
Detail of Gerarda 555 series showing bell engraving.
Detail of Gerarda 555 series showing adjustable F/Bb/G# articulation
Detail of Gerarda 555 series showing 3-point bell brace.
Detail of bell, Frosted Silver Plate Finish.
Detail of engraving, frosted silver plate model.
This page is a resource for sales staff working in the Musical Instruments Retail sector - it is not intended to be an encyclopaedia entry. Beware, this and many other pages may contain jokes and wry comments (like this one).
The saxophone was invented in the early 19th century (patented 1846) by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian-born instrument maker working in Paris. The idea was to fill out the middle range of the woodwinds in military bands. He also invented the Sax-horns to do the same job for the brass section. Originally, a huge range of instruments in various keys including C, Bb, F and Eb was produced. Of these, only a few survive to the present day, although the tenor in C ("C-Melody" sax) was still being made up until around 1930.
The four main saxophone types are as follows:
Bb Soprano (usually straight but occasionally curved or semi-curved), Eb Alto, Bb Tenor (one octave lower than soprano) and Eb Baritone (the Lisa Simpson sax, big and curly, one octave lower than alto). Although all the saxophones other than soprano are pitched largely in the bass clef, all saxophone music is written in the treble clef.
There are a few other types still in use today: Eb Sopranino (the tiny straight one, one octave higher than the alto),
Bb Bass (huge, big brother of the baritone, one octave lower than the tenor) and the extremely rare Eb Contra-bass (enormous, impossible to play without a stand, one octave lower than the baritone - which thus should really be called a Contra-baritone rather than contra-bass).
Modern related instruments include the Bb Soprillo (one octave higher than soprano - comes with a health warning due to being so high) and the Eb Tubax one octave lower than the baritone and the Bb Tubax, one octave lower than the bass. These three last mentioned are all made by Benedikt Eppelsheim (www.eppelsheim.com), a German instrument maker also responsible for a new type of Contra-bassoon.
All saxophones are transposing instruments: this means that the player reads the note C and associates it with a particular fingering position, but the pitch of the note is Eb (in the case of Alto and Baritone) or Bb (Soprano and Tenor). This allows the player (originally thought to be a soldier with little musical knowledge or training) to change from one instrument to another without having to learn a new system of fingering or a new clef to read. The keys of Bb and Eb became entrenched because the brass instruments were already being produced in those keys, making life easier for composers and arrangers.
Though most saxophones are made of brass, the instrument belongs to the woodwind family because it uses a reed (rather than the player's lips) to produce the sound. Some modern instruments are made of Nickel Silver or Sterling Silver.
REEDS: The strength of a reed is a measurement of the force required to move the tip of the reed a certain distance. It is NOT dependent on the thickness of the tip. For example, all Vandoren reeds in the classic range (dark blue box) have the same overall dimensions, but the strength varies from number 1 (very "soft" or easy to play) to number 5 (very "hard" or resistant). The strength is measured mechanically for every reed produced (part of the reason they are relatively expensive). Reed cane grows wild in the South of France (I would too if I could) and is similar in appearance to bamboo. The shape of the reed deermines the tonal qualities rather than the strength. Students are advised to start with a relatively soft reed to make the initial attempts to play easier. Some professional players use very hard reeds for stability of tuning, but there is no progression to harder reeds that is mandatory for all players as they continue playing. Each player finds their own preferred strength and cut of reed to suit their own needs.
MOUTHPIECES: Mouthpieces can be made of plastic (these are usually lower end or student models), hard rubber or metal. There are a few glass and wooden models available. The shape of the surface that contacts the moving part of the reed (called the "facing") and the interior of the mouthpiece (called the "chamber") are the main determinants of the tone given by a particular mouthpiece. The material it is made of seems to have a minimal effect, other than that of metal mouthpieces being smaller overall which allows the player's mouth to be in a more closed position. The distance between the tip of the reed and the tip of the mouthpiece when not being played is called the "tip opening". The wider this is, the more air the player can put into the instrument at a given time. This does not necessarily equate to the instrument being louder. Saxophonists choose a mouthpiece (or several) to suit their own individual needs. The cap is used to protect the tip of the reed and mouthpiece when not in use. A properly fitting cap is essential for this purpose.
LIGATURES: There are two main types of modern ligatures, namely the rigid (metal) type and the flexible (string, leather or nylon) type. Originally, ligatures were made of string and basically wrapped around the mouthpiece to hold the reed in place. This meant that the butt of the reed could be virtually any shape and there would be no problem with fitting the ligature to the particular reed. In the days when most reeds were made by the player, this was a great advantage. With the advent of machine made reeds and higher cane production, metal ligatures became more popular. There has been a return to the flexible style amongst some players over the last 25 years or so. Again, the player chooses a particular ligature to give the best results based on personal preference.
There are literally thousands of possible combinations of mouthpiece, ligature and reed to choose from. Some players seem to dedicate their lives to this pursuit, others just use the one that came with the sax. Using the same set-up as their favourite player will give a saxophonist a tone close to one they have heard, but the individual's physiology makes each player sound unique.
The keys of the saxophone are connected to the body by posts that can be mounted in either of two ways: individual post-mounting or ribbed-mounting.
Individual post-mounting means that each post has a small plate attached to its base which is then soldered to the body of the sax. The disadvantage of this is that it can go out of proper alignment or be pushed into the body of the instrument if the sax is bumped, knocked or dropped. The advantage is that it allows the body to vibrate more freely provided the posts are located in the correct positions, since soldering adds mass to the body and therefore a "dead" spot or node. The free vibration seems to give a more rapid response or attack to the notes being played.
Ribbed-mounting means that groups of posts are attached to a series of plates or "ribs" which are then soldered to the body. The advantages of this method are that a lower temperature soldering process can be employed (which will cause less distortion of the body) and that any shocks or bumps are spread across the whole of the plate surface, meaning dents and mis-alignments are less likely. The disadvantages are an increase in the overall weight of the sax and a decrease in the vibration of the body. There is some debate as to whether this latter point is a disadvantage, since it means that the energy of the sound stays in the air vibrations, meaning a louder or more efficient note production. Again, the size and positioning of the plates is something manufacturers spend a lot of time working on to get the best possible sound. See illustration below of a Gerarda Tenor sax with plate mounting (a large plate can be seen on the lower-left, shaped a bit like a letter C. This plate is holding four separate posts in place).
