Hi everybody,

Someone on the list wrote to me privately and expressed the feeling that I had been pretty intemperate in tone . It was never my intention to put down those who do not agree with me, I was only hoping to stimulate some critical thinking and discussion.

If anyone was insulted by my tone or words I apologize. I will be the first to admit that my opinion is just that--an opinion, and I have most probably been as selective as anyone in building an edifice to support it. There are lots of things science can't explain, and scientific dogma changes every day as new discoveries are made.

If anyone does find any evidence supporting the other side of the materials debate I would love to hear about it.

Here's a little tip that I have found useful in judging rail evenness. All you need is a piece of flat glass and a bit of oil. Put a very thin coat of oil on the glass and lay the mpc table flat against the glass. The places where the mpc touch the glass (and the oil) have a different index of refraction and you can easily see any unevenness by looking at the bottom of the glass. Once you have confirmed that the table is flat you can judge the rails all the way up to the tip if you have a flat and even wedge that you can progressively slide under the table, watching the height and evenness of the "oil mark" moving up as the rails roll up on the glass.

Best wishes,

Toby

Not at all... no apology necessary.  You and others of us were doing
EXACTLY what this forum is for... that is, engaging in lively
discussion.

You stated your opinion, clearly, logically, and then backed it up, not
with more opinion, but links to papers supporting your statements.  What
is there to apologize for in that?

I have argued this before, about finishes with saxophones... and even
more, well, silly, "Mr. Coats, will changing from a silver ligature to a
gold plated one make my tone warmer?  My band director says my tone is
too buzzy."  Or questions about finishes.

It has been my experience that other variables far override any effects
that may be there due to materials.

We have all seen this:  Take one sax, mouthpiece and reed, and let 10
players play it... and you will get 10 distinctly different sounds.

And you can do this, line up 10 (not quite) identical saxophones, same
make, model, finish, etc.  You can even use the same mouthpiece and reed
on each.  You will find that they play similarly, but not identically.

And even if there are some subtle differences, while they may be
noticable to the player, 999 out of 1000 listeners cannot tell the
difference.  And so what if one mpce, reed, sax, whatever, is slightly
darker or brighter?  Does that mean it is better?  Or just different?

Paul

Toby wrote:

> Hi everybody, Someone on the list wrote to me privately and expressed
> the feeling that I had been pretty intemperate in tone . It was never
> my intention to put down those who do not agree with me, I was only
> hoping to stimulate some critical thinking and discussion. If anyone
> was insulted by my tone or words I apologize. I will be the first to
> admit that my opinion is just that--an opinion, and I have most
> probably been as selective as anyone in building an edifice to support
> it. There are lots of things science can't explain, and scientific
> dogma changes every day as new discoveries are made. If anyone does
> find any evidence supporting the other side of the materials debate I
> would love to hear about it. Here's a little tip that I have found
> useful in judging rail evenness. All you need is a piece of flat glass
> and a bit of oil. Put a very thin coat of oil on the glass and lay the
> mpc table flat against the glass. The places where the mpc touch the
> glass (and the oil) have a different index of refraction and you can
> easily see any unevenness by looking at the bottom of the glass. Once
> you have confirmed that the table is flat you can judge the rails all
> the way up to the tip if you have a flat and even wedge that you can
> progressively slide under the table, watching the height and evenness
> of the "oil mark" moving up as the rails roll up on the glass. Best
> wishes, Toby
>
>
> Got a Mouthpiece Work question?  Send it to
> MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
>
> Visit the site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MouthpieceWork to see
> the Files, Photos and Bookmarks relating to Mouthpiece Work.
>
> To see and modify your groups, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

--
Link to Paul's articles from Home page of "Sax on the Web":

  http://www.saxontheweb.net

or directly to Paul's articles at:

  http://www.saxontheweb.net/Coats/

Listen to Paul's MP3's at:

                http://briefcase.yahoo.com/tenorman1952

and view photos.

No apology needed as far as I'm concerned (but I'm thick skinned).

Here's what I do to judge rail evenness (probably more long winded):
Put the mpc on a flat glass plate, and slide the 1.5 thou feeler 
under one rail (sliding it so it's flat on the glass) - sliding from 
the tip end toward the shank end until it has gone past the point 
where it is supposed to stop, then sliding it out, in, out, in, etc 
for a bit. Then I do it on the other side. Where the feeler touches 
first, there should be a slight line (looks sort-of like a lead 
pencil mark) that starts cleanly where the feeler first touches the 
facing, and then progresses further back. If the line starts in the 
same place, it's even for that feeler size, otherwise, it isn't. Then 
I go to another (larger) feeler size, and do it all over again. I 
repeat the process until I'm at the tip. If the feelers don't "rub 
off" on the mpc, try "colouring in" the feeler with a pencil (a soft 
graphite pencil, preferably) - this should do the equivalent (plus 
stop your feelers from wearing out so quickly). Since graphite dust 
from colouring in your feeler is generally extremely small, it 
shouldn't make any difference to the point where the feeler first 
touches the mpc. Of course, it's long winded, but it lets you check 
your facing specifications at the same time.

Danny


--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "Toby" <kymarto@y...> wrote:
> Hi everybody,
> 
> Someone on the list wrote to me privately and expressed the feeling 
that I had been pretty intemperate in tone . It was never my 
intention to put down those who do not agree with me, I was only 
hoping to stimulate some critical thinking and discussion.
> 
> If anyone was insulted by my tone or words I apologize. I will be 
the first to admit that my opinion is just that--an opinion, and I 
have most probably been as selective as anyone in building an edifice 
to support it. There are lots of things science can't explain, and 
scientific dogma changes every day as new discoveries are made.
> 
> If anyone does find any evidence supporting the other side of the 
materials debate I would love to hear about it.
> 
> Here's a little tip that I have found useful in judging rail 
evenness. All you need is a piece of flat glass and a bit of oil. Put 
a very thin coat of oil on the glass and lay the mpc table flat 
against the glass. The places where the mpc touch the glass (and the 
oil) have a different index of refraction and you can easily see any 
unevenness by looking at the bottom of the glass. Once you have 
confirmed that the table is flat you can judge the rails all the way 
up to the tip if you have a flat and even wedge that you can 
progressively slide under the table, watching the height and evenness 
of the "oil mark" moving up as the rails roll up on the glass.
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> Toby