Does the Instrument Finish Impact your Saxophone Sound?

As most musicians know, various finishes can definitely have an impact on the sound of your saxophone. In fact, knowing the type of finish on the instrument you’re looking at purchasing is considered a crucial bit of information. Depending on the finish you’re able to know how bright or dark the tone will be without ever needing to play the saxophone. Quite a popular option is a plated finish. Silver and gold are the two most common, and they vary greatly in tone. Let’s take a deeper look at what sax finish options are available.

Types of Saxophone Finishes

Silver Plated Finish

Silver has an extremely complex sound and has an absolutely stellar range. It offers more of a spread sound, having a darker sound when the sax is played more softly, and an enormously bright when played with more emphasis. The downside to silver though is that it is quite prone to tarnishing over time, so more care is generally involved. Often times a lacquer is added to silver to help maintain its appearance, but you’ll lose some of the character that silver is known for in doing so.

Gold Plated Finish

On the other hand, gold plating offers more of a big, full, dark sound, with more resonate free-blowing qualities. Not as spread as silver plated saxophones, the only real drawback is the lack of extended range known as Altissimo notes, as gold plated saxs are quite focused and limit the upper notes. To create a gold plated saxophone, first a coat of silver plating is placed over the brass instrument, and then gold is plated over the silver. Beautiful in look and sound, gold is a fantastic alternative to silver.

Colored Lacquer Finishes

What about the different colors in lacquer though? Well, to get straight to the answer, differently colored lacquers makes no difference at all. Lacquer is a liquid material that dries into a hard outer shell on a saxophone, offering protection and reducing maintenance costs, but it unfortunately doesn’t change the tone. There is a difference however between a lacquered instrument and an un-lacquered one.

Lacquered vs Unlacquered Saxophones

A raw brass saxophone has noticeably more projection and are quite free-blowing, earning them a reputation as more of a jazz horn. Once lacquer is applied though, the sound get more compact and centered, but it won’t play as loud. Aesthetically, instruments without lacquer will lose their polish more quickly, and potentially become discolored, but many musicians appreciate that “well-played” look, so it completely comes down to preference in appearance and sound.

The same applies to the neck of the saxophone as well. Different finishes produce different tones, and by experimenting with different necks, you’ll be able to get the exact sound you’re after.