Many saxophone players like what has become known as the Hollywood Tone Boosters….. They were developed by Bill Noyack (and I am guessing at the spelling of his last name) here in Hollywood … according to my friend Glenn Johnston they were sitting around one night I believe drinking heavily and got the idea from the original flash bulb backing for the press cameras in the early part of the century….. they thought if the light were dispersed evenly then so would the sound of the saxophone… the invention of the boosters….
A lot of players and repairmen say they are a bright booster….
That is not necessarily the case.
EXAMPLE: Dan Higgins has them on his alto and is featured on “Catch Me If You
Can” both the movie and with John Williams and Orchestras… great classical tone……
I believe they respond great and as we know most saxophone players sound like
themselves no matter what the play……
The other thing about tone boosters is that I see a lot of players and repairman talking about using oversized boosters for more power…. This is not a good idea….. the bigger the booster the more intonation problems the player will have…. Selmer and YAHAHA spent a lot of time and money making the right size tone boosters…. Sometimes it is may be good to use a larger booster if there I a problem with a note. EXAMPLE: a larger booster in the low C# can help the production of that note… keep in mind it does not work on every instrument…..
When I install the booster, I use a very thin metal washer
on the back side of the pad to help hold the booster in the pad and does not
allow it to fall down in the pad cup.
This helps keep the tone the same as the pads get older….
Both the washers and rivet tool can be purchased at www.ferreestoolsinc.com….
