Warburton Modular Sax Neck System - The Ultimate Sax Neck - Retail Pack
Available for Alto and Tenor Saxophones in Brass, Bronze, or Copper
Polished with silver plating available on request.
US Patent # 8,502,054
Each Retail Pack comes with one neck, one tenon, and three initiators in a metal display box.
Intiators for Alto:
- F47, CA48, and S48
Initiators for Tenor:
- F50, A50, and S50
What is it?
Saxophone players are all too familiar with the trial-and-error method of purchasing and fitting traditional one-piece necks to their instruments while searching for a particular set of playing and sound qualities. It can get really expensive in a hurry - and you still might not end up with the desired result. As a result, most players find a one-piece neck that plays "well enough" and learn to like it.Those days are now over. The Warburton Ultimate Sax Neck puts you, the player, in control of how it fits, plays, and sounds.
- Want more or less resistance?
- Want to use your favorite neck on multiple instruments (but you can't because the tenon sizes are different)?
- Want to use different mouthpieces (but you can't because the cork on your neck doesn't fit the other mouthpiece properly)?
- Want a bright sound for lead jazz work - and then easily switch to classic dark sound for a different gig?
The Warburton two-piece mouthpiece system has allowed trumpet and trombone players to fine-tune the feel and tone of their playing for the past 35 years - Now the Warburton Modular Sax Neck system provides that same luxury to saxophone players!
Players quickly realize several things when using our Ultimate Sax Neck:
- They're putting less energy into their sax, but they're getting better than ever sound from it.
- Because it's more responsive they have a noticeably greater level of control throughout the range of the instrument.
- They can easily adapt a single instrument and mouthpiece to a wide variety of playing situations.
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They don't want to play their old neck anymore.
How Does It Work?
In a nutshell, there are three pieces:
-
Initiator - screws onto the mouthpiece end of the neck - available in sizes to fit ANY mouthpiece.
- Tenon - screws onto the instrument end of the neck - available in sizes to fit ANY instrument.
- Neck - looks just like any other saxophone neck, however, we've installed our threaded mountings on each end to accept all of our Initiators and Tenons. We can also convert your existing neck to accept the Warburton Initiators and Tenons.
Initiator
- The first thing most players notice - NO CORK TO WEAR OUT AND REPLACE! In fact, many players notice this and think we've simply eliminated the cork and that's all it does. KEEP READING - the real benefits come from your ability to choose the INTERNAL SHAPE and BORE SIZE.
- Four rubber O-Rings have replaced the cork for a solid mechanical and acoustical connection to provide the most efficient transfer of sound energy from your mouthpiece into the initiator.
- Choose the EXTERNAL SIZE to fit your mouthpiece (we've got all the popular sizes covered and we can accommodate other sizes on an as-needed basis).
- Choose the BORE SIZE based on how much resistance you prefer.
- Choose the INTERNAL SHAPE to obtain the desired sound characteristics - Learn more about the Initiator INTERNAL SHAPES here
- Each combination of bore size and internal shape provides different resistance levels and sound characteristics - none of which have been possible until now using the Warburton Ultimate Sax Neck!
Tenon
- Warburton Tenons correct the misalignment problems often found where the neck meets the body.
- Traditionally, the sax neck tenon has been a cylindrical section of thin-walled metal tubing that often times requires excessive clamping force due to being slightly out-of-round. Warburton tenons are precision machined and available in many sizes to provide a perfect fit for your instrument.
- During our research and player testing we discovered yet another area for improvement to the traditional design - whereas the inside shape of a traditional neck tenon is cylindrical (and thus interrupting what would otherwise be a continuously tapered instrument), our player testing revealed that a slight taper from smaller to larger works better in all playing situations. As a result, the inside shape of all of our standard tenons is tapered.
- By choosing from easily interchangeable tenons, your Ultimate Sax Neck can be compatible with all makes of saxophones!
Regarding Initiator and Tenon sizing: all of the well-known standard sizes are available and we can produce any size needed to fit the occasional "oddball" sized instruments or mouthpieces we encounter.
Our patent-pending Modular Sax Neck system works equally well for all sax players from recreational to professional – from classical to modern
The Warburton Ultimate Sax Neck System consists of:
- 1 Neck Body - satin finish raw brass (satin finish Silver plating is optional)
- 1 Initiator - polished silver plated brass
- 1 Tenon - polished silver plated brass
- Additional Initiators and Tenons are available as desired to maximize the flexibility of your setup to fit multiple instruments.
The Warburton Modular Sax Neck system allows saxophone players to choose the Initiator shapes and sizes best suited to their styles of playing. It's a well known fact that the tonal qualities and air resistance of the Trumpet and Trombone (as well as the other brass instruments) can be favorably manipulated through the use of specially shaped and sized mouthpiece backbores - and the Warburton two-piece system for Trumpet and Trombone has been doing this with great success for 35 years - Now it's time for sax players to start enjoying that same level of freedom!
The Initiator internal shapes are illustrated and described below:
A - continuous Arc - The Arc shape is the brightest and most powerful shape. It shares the uniform timbre of the “CA” while adding brightness and more center to the sound. The resistance and timbre are especially even at full volume. This is an excellent choice for jazz lead playing and more contemporary playing styles when projection is needed.
CA - Cylindrical first 1/3 of length then Arc - (alto only) – This shape provides a warm and uniform timbre across the full range of the instrument. Soft dynamics are especially stable and the player isn't forced to subtone in the lower register. This is an excellent choice for classical, pit orchestra, or any situation when control is of extreme importance.
F - cylindrical first 2/3 of length then Flare - The Flare shape is the warmest and most flexible shape. The lows in the sound are more prominent and the timbre is easily changed. The lower register is big and warm with an excellent subtone and the upper register is fluid and singing. This is an excellent choice for straight ahead jazz and classical where the use of all possible sound colors is desired.
RT - Reverse Taper large to small - (tenor only) – This shape helps players who have too much middle in their sound. The RT emphasizes the highs while balancing out the mids and lows. This quality allows the player to push a lot of air and not have their sound become harsh or brittle. The palm key notes have a special character to them that none of the other shapes provide.
S - Straight cylinder - The Straight initiators are the most balanced in terms of lows, mids, and highs in the sound. When pushed this shape will hold its center and not break up even at extreme volumes. This is an excellent choice for more contemporary styles.