Saxophone Lab: Will a heavy neck screw improve your tone? 

This is such a beautiful example of how science should be used. He made his prediction, and then set up a test which was sufficiently robust to overturn his expectations. Proof that science is for everybody, and makes a difference in the real world.

Im really surprised that this channel has only 527 subscribers at the time of me writing this. The video and audio quality is on par with channels with at least 10k. Hope to see more content from you in the future!

This was awesome! Seeing your reactions in the moment and your commentary after the fact was really cool. You had me cracking up 😂

Awesome video, thanks!

Great way to do a blind test. When I first heard about the big screw thing I thought it was silly but I saw so many top players insisting it made a difference. I chose not to waste my money on one. Glad to see that I chose well 😀

Yeah, I don't notice a difference either. Though I do like that it is bigger and thus easier to tighten and stuff.......

Great video! The results were very interesting indeed! If I may suggest some ways to make the testing better - 1. Have your fiancée hand u the sax with the same screw while u remain blind-folded. Repeat this step for maybe 5 times. Then switch out the screw and repeat the process 5 times. This is so that u know u are playing the same screw, but u just don’t know which one :) 2. Do the coin flip random test like u did and try to objectively decide which screw is which. The purpose of the first test will be to allow u to get a consistent feel of each screw (without knowing the identity of said screw) and to see which you objectively prefer. The second test like you did would be to see if u can differentiate the one u prefer or not. Obviously as you have shown, that one was a real challenge! Thanks for making this video! Reviewers should really do more blind tests like these :)

I used to think that a heavy screw might at least subtly change the balance of the horn, because of the extra weight at the neck. But apparently even that is not the case, since you were unable to tell which screw was installed by handling the sax.

Your sound is so interesting. It sounds like a bass clarinet

Thanks for the interesting video. Creating a random run with coin flips is a scientifically sound way to test if the player can hear the sound difference with or without the heavy neck screw. The placebo effect indeed. You have great sound and you can't hear the difference, no one will be able to. Reminds me of the '80s baseball movie "Bull Durham" in which "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher coaches a rookie pitcher Ebby, "Meat" to wear a garter belt under his baseball uniform to improve his pitching stance. Ebby thought it was kind of kinky but worked for him. 🤣 If adding extra weight to the horn improves the sound, why not a lyre for the marching band? It's uncool but adds weight. 🤔

I like how every hobby a person can get into is just rife with scam products, or scam advice looking to drain your wallet. Gotta have one of those stupid tone bridge things going from the massive screw to the neck for the best results btw; oh, also you'll need a Sennheiser 441 mic, mogami xlr cables, NEVE preamps, a Chandler TG12413 limiter, Fairchild 670 and UA 1176 compressors--plus whatever mouthpiece Theo has tweaked 5% this week--to truly get the best sound that only money (and more money) can buy.

I broke a knuckle years ago punching a wall (dumb), and the bigger screw is easier for me to turn, as I can't pinch well anymore (I have an old horn with a very thin screw) but everyone assumes I have it for the sound, it's kinda interesting to see how many people get a bit weird/snooty about it, like it's a screw, I paid $9 on ebay for it, calm down.

Do you have a blind test with ligs ?

I am a bit surprised by the superficial approach to this test. OK, while you're playing you can't objectively judge which neck screw you're playing. But, but... Let's look again at example 8/9 (heavy neck screw). You immediately noticed that the sound is good. And it is! With the heavy neck screw you have a big and full, warmer tone. Clear win, for me. I'm sorry, but for the audience, that's a huge difference!

I couldn't care less about the stupid neck screw. What I *DO* want to know is where you got that waving cat in the background!! Stupidity aside, you have a very nice sound sir!

The only reason I use heavy mass neck screws is because I named my horn Frankenstein.