Question:
Sax care & maintenance
As an amateur player, I am very concerned about providing proper care and maintenance to my [new] sax. I've read Paul Coats' article located on the site and have browsed the often very specific posts in the Maintenance section of the forums. However, are there any other general guides to proper saxophone care and maintenance available online or provided in books? I'm primarily concerned about methods of drying, cleaning and preserving the quality of the instrument and its parts. Also, there are so many items for drying, cleaning, disinfecting and storing the parts that I'm left a bit confused over which ones to purchase.

Answer:
Here's a routine I've been using that has had very optimal results over the past couple of years.
I recommend the H.W. pad savers, and the cloth pull-through swabs from musicmedic.com. It's also good to have a standard wash-cloth handy. After playing, I hold down the left hand stack and push the pad saver in with my other hand, twisting it both while putting it in and pulling it out. This soaks up pretty much all the moisture from the pads. Do the same while holding the right hand stack down. It's important that you don't let go of a key while moving the pad saver, or else the fibers might get caught between the pads and toneholes, ripping them out of the pad saver and getting them stuck on the toneholes. It's also important to DRY the padsaver with the washcloth after EACH time you put it in the instrument. I usually have to repeat this 3 or 4 times until I'm satisfied that I've gotten all of the moisture out of the bore and off of the pads. If there is any moisture in the bell, stick the padsaver in and tip the sax upside down so that it soaks up the moisture. The most important thing, though, is getting the moisture off of the pads, and most of that is going to happen in the upper left hand stack and the palm keys.
Then I rinse off the mouthpiece, and use the cloth swabs to clean out the mouthpiece and neck. Be sure to wash the swabs and the padsaver every couple of weeks in warm soapy water.
I do NOT store the padsaver in the instrument unless I'm satisfied that it's completely dry. I still usually just place it atop the saxophone inside the case (with a form-fit case like Walt Johnson, Bam, etc. this wouldn't be as practical). At first I had some problems with this, as it looks like the padsaver being atop the sax causes the low B and Bb keys to be pushed down just about all of the way, and this could cause some adjustment problems, but I've never had any real issues from that.
The only reason I don't recommend silk swabs for saxophone is that they don't seem to accomplish much. They aren't poofy enough to get inside the toneholes and take any moisture off of the pads.
Sometimes, after a particularly long session, I'll take some standard looseleaf paper, place it under the palm keys, and pull it out with the palm key shut. This takes off any excess moisture and saliva that may be remaining, and these pads the most moisture accumulation on the saxophone so it couldn't hurt to take extra precautions with them.
That same washcloth that I mentioned before is wrapped around my reedcase to protect its finish. It's a wooden case that I purchased from Roger Garrett. Search for his name on google and you should find his site. These cases are great for storing reeds and keeping them flat and dry. No more reed warping problems, until it gets really cold, then you may counter a FEW. On the whole, however, reedcases based on the angled plate of (plexi)glass opposite a felt coating inside a wooden frame are probably the best idea for storing reeds.
I know it's beyond the reach of your question but it's probably worth mentioning... care of the flute and clarinet are a bit different. I use ONLY silk swabs on these instruments because the bore of the clarinet is more delicate (being made of wood) and the pads of the flute are more delicate and don't respond well at all to cloth brushing past them.
In the case of the flute I'll take the silk swab and blot it under the pads which I feel have taken on the most moisture. For this I recommend the Gem brand of swabs. For the headjoint I use a La Voz "neck saver" but have been looking into getting something less abrasive. Again, the music medic's cloth swabs are probably your best bet here. I wipe the flute down with a washcloth after every playing session, and after every other session or so, I gently use a silver polishing cloth purchased from WeinerMusic.com. I use #3 rubber stoppers in the footjoint and body tupe of my flute to keep them from moving around in the case. I had to cut a piece out of the stopper on the footjoint to allow the G# key from the main body to fit in the case properly. The stopper on the footjoint bumps up against the headjoint, keeping it from moving around also. I'm sorry but I'm not sure where to get these rubber stoppers. My tech gave me some. He also gave me some 3M tarnish strips to place in the case of the flute. These are good for about 6 months. They can also be purchased from musicmedic.com.
If the clarinet has more cork pads than skin pads, you could probably get away with using a cloth pull-through, but I'd still use silk just to be safe. After you pull it through the entire assembled instrument, take the clarinet apart, dry off the swab, and wipe out both ends of each joint, including the barrel and bell. A lot of moisture accumulates here and this is where most of the grime forms on ill-nurtured clarinets. Care of the clarinet mouthpiece is just the same as that of the saxophone, since they are both made of hard rubber. Clarinet facings, however, seem to be more delicate than those of saxophone, so you should be careful if you're pulling swabs through it. Again, on the clarinet, I blot the skin pads at the top of the instrument with the silk swab after playing.
Back to saxophone... If you don't want to spend too much money on a decent case, the ProTec for saxophone seems to provide a nice tight fit for most saxophones. Walt Johnson is probably the #1 best protection and best fit on the market (you can have them custom-fit). I currently use an (old-model) Pro-Tec for my alto and a Bam "Classic" for my tenor. If the tenor saw more use, I'd use either a ProTec or a Walt Johnson. In terms of flute and clarinet cases.... the standard cases usually work fine, but with the flute you might have to add those rubber stoppers to prevent it from banging around a lot in the case.
It's a good idea to store clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces with the ligature and cap on the mouthpiece, covering an old reed so as to protect the mouthpiece from being scratched by its accompanying hardware. Store the saxophone neck either in the slot provided, or in a Kiwi neck bag, placed in the bell of the saxophone. When I used my Yamaha alto case, I lined the "mouthpiece hole" with some wadded up thick paper towels to prevent it moving around. If you already have the lig and cap on, that's a little anal but what could it hurt :)
As you can see, I'm SEVERELY protective of my instruments and am getting moreso all the time (saving up for the Walt Johnson as we speak!) The main common sense rule to keep in mind is to drink some water and rinse out your mouth before playing, even brush your teeth mildly before each session if possible. If you do that, and avoid drinking and eating very acidic foods just before playing, you'll prevent a lot of potential problems and extend the life of your pads tremendously.
Good luck and I hope all of this info helped you out in some way.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Razzy Here's a routine I've been using that has had very optimal results over the past couple of years.
I recommend the H.W. pad savers, and the cloth pull-through swabs from musicmedic.com. It's also good to have a standard wash-cloth handy. After playing, I hold down the left hand stack and push the pad saver in with my other hand, twisting it both while putting it in and pulling it out. This soaks up pretty much all the moisture from the pads. Do the same while holding the right hand stack down. It's important that you don't let go of a key while moving the pad saver, or else the fibers might get caught between the pads and toneholes, ripping them out of the pad saver and getting them stuck on the toneholes. It's also important to DRY the padsaver with the washcloth after EACH time you put it in the instrument. I usually have to repeat this 3 or 4 times until I'm satisfied that I've gotten all of the moisture out of the bore and off of the pads. If there is any moisture in the bell, stick the padsaver in and tip the sax upside down so that it soaks up the moisture. The most important thing, though, is getting the moisture off of the pads, and most of that is going to happen in the upper left hand stack and the palm keys.
Then I rinse off the mouthpiece, and use the cloth swabs to clean out the mouthpiece and neck. Be sure to wash the swabs and the padsaver every couple of weeks in warm soapy water.
I do NOT store the padsaver in the instrument unless I'm satisfied that it's completely dry. I still usually just place it atop the saxophone inside the case (with a form-fit case like Walt Johnson, Bam, etc. this wouldn't be as practical). At first I had some problems with this, as it looks like the padsaver being atop the sax causes the low B and Bb keys to be pushed down just about all of the way, and this could cause some adjustment problems, but I've never had any real issues from that.
The only reason I don't recommend silk swabs for saxophone is that they don't seem to accomplish much. They aren't poofy enough to get inside the toneholes and take any moisture off of the pads.
Sometimes, after a particularly long session, I'll take some standard looseleaf paper, place it under the palm keys, and pull it out with the palm key shut. This takes off any excess moisture and saliva that may be remaining, and these pads the most moisture accumulation on the saxophone so it couldn't hurt to take extra precautions with them.
That same washcloth that I mentioned before is wrapped around my reedcase to protect its finish. It's a wooden case that I purchased from Roger Garrett. Search for his name on google and you should find his site. These cases are great for storing reeds and keeping them flat and dry. No more reed warping problems, until it gets really cold, then you may counter a FEW. On the whole, however, reedcases based on the angled plate of (plexi)glass opposite a felt coating inside a wooden frame are probably the best idea for storing reeds.
I know it's beyond the reach of your question but it's probably worth mentioning... care of the flute and clarinet are a bit different. I use ONLY silk swabs on these instruments because the bore of the clarinet is more delicate (being made of wood) and the pads of the flute are more delicate and don't respond well at all to cloth brushing past them.
In the case of the flute I'll take the silk swab and blot it under the pads which I feel have taken on the most moisture. For this I recommend the Gem brand of swabs. For the headjoint I use a La Voz "neck saver" but have been looking into getting something less abrasive. Again, the music medic's cloth swabs are probably your best bet here. I wipe the flute down with a washcloth after every playing session, and after every other session or so, I gently use a silver polishing cloth purchased from WeinerMusic.com. I use #3 rubber stoppers in the footjoint and body tupe of my flute to keep them from moving around in the case. I had to cut a piece out of the stopper on the footjoint to allow the G# key from the main body to fit in the case properly. The stopper on the footjoint bumps up against the headjoint, keeping it from moving around also. I'm sorry but I'm not sure where to get these rubber stoppers. My tech gave me some. He also gave me some 3M tarnish strips to place in the case of the flute. These are good for about 6 months. They can also be purchased from musicmedic.com.
If the clarinet has more cork pads than skin pads, you could probably get away with using a cloth pull-through, but I'd still use silk just to be safe. After you pull it through the entire assembled instrument, take the clarinet apart, dry off the swab, and wipe out both ends of each joint, including the barrel and bell. A lot of moisture accumulates here and this is where most of the grime forms on ill-nurtured clarinets. Care of the clarinet mouthpiece is just the same as that of the saxophone, since they are both made of hard rubber. Clarinet facings, however, seem to be more delicate than those of saxophone, so you should be careful if you're pulling swabs through it. Again, on the clarinet, I blot the skin pads at the top of the instrument with the silk swab after playing.
Back to saxophone... If you don't want to spend too much money on a decent case, the ProTec for saxophone seems to provide a nice tight fit for most saxophones. Walt Johnson is probably the #1 best protection and best fit on the market (you can have them custom-fit). I currently use an (old-model) Pro-Tec for my alto and a Bam "Classic" for my tenor. If the tenor saw more use, I'd use either a ProTec or a Walt Johnson. In terms of flute and clarinet cases.... the standard cases usually work fine, but with the flute you might have to add those rubber stoppers to prevent it from banging around a lot in the case.
It's a good idea to store clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces with the ligature and cap on the mouthpiece, covering an old reed so as to protect the mouthpiece from being scratched by its accompanying hardware. Store the saxophone neck either in the slot provided, or in a Kiwi neck bag, placed in the bell of the saxophone. When I used my Yamaha alto case, I lined the "mouthpiece hole" with some wadded up thick paper towels to prevent it moving around. If you already have the lig and cap on, that's a little anal but what could it hurt :)
As you can see, I'm SEVERELY protective of my instruments and am getting moreso all the time (saving up for the Walt Johnson as we speak!) The main common sense rule to keep in mind is to drink some water and rinse out your mouth before playing, even brush your teeth mildly before each session if possible. If you do that, and avoid drinking and eating very acidic foods just before playing, you'll prevent a lot of potential problems and extend the life of your pads tremendously.
Good luck and I hope all of this info helped you out in some way. Yep. Razzy pretty much summed everything up. I'd definately agree on the leaving the pad saver out of your sax, but I disagree on the swab idea
I use a swab to clean out my saxes, and I think it does a great job of removing the moisture. While it doesn't remove all moisture, it removes a good amount of it.

Answer:
"As an amateur player, I am very concerned about providing proper care.... "
Don't blow saliva down it. The condensing water vapour from the lungs does quite enough damage to the pads, without the destructive enzymes etc of saliva as well.

Answer:
Thanks for the great advice!