How to design a new saxophone with Jamie Straker

So, there are loads of new saxophones on the market these days. Do we need another one? And how can you make something new that’s significantly better anyway?

Well, to talk about how to design a new saxophone, I’m talking with Jamie Straker for this episode of the Sax School Online Podcast. Jamie is the head of Europe’s biggest saxophone retailer, Sax.co.uk. And they’ve just released their Atlantic saxophone range.

So, we’re going to be chatting about the whole design process, What inspired them to even make another brand of saxophone, and why their Atlantic saxophones are different. It should be an interesting conversation, so I’m glad that you can join me for it.

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Okay, let’s get stuck in. 

Meet Jamie Straker

Nigel: So, Jamie, we’ve got thousands of people learning with us at Sax School. And there are hundreds of them in the UK here. And I’m always saying to them that if they get the chance, they should go and check out your sax.co.uk shop in London because it’s just brilliant. You’ve got so much stock in there. There’s so many different saxophones, so many different finishes and brands to check out. 

However, it also makes me think with so many of them on the market now, what inspired you guys to go and design a new saxophone?  

Jamie: Yeah. So I’ve been working in music retail now for about 20 years. And throughout the years I’ve done the marketing for sax.co.uk, and nothing excites me more than seeing a new instrument. I think that’s the same for a lot of us, right? People tell us not to get too excited. People say you should focus on your playing, which of course is the most important thing.

But I also believe that an instrument can inspire you. You know, if you’ve got it hanging up on the wall or somewhere around and it’s looking at you saying ‘play me’, ‘pick me up, give me a go’. I feel like that makes you practice more.

And so to answer your question, I felt like there weren’t too many unique instruments on the market.  I feel like a lot of saxophone manufacturers nowadays try to focus on replicating something from the past. And there’s which is nothing necessarily wrong with that.

But I feel like there’s a lot more to be said about creating something newer and potentially different, that has its own character, that has its own vibe. 

N: Yeah, I mean, that sounds exciting to me. And I completely agree with you. It’s something I talk to our Sax School members about a lot, actually finding a saxophone that makes you want to pick it up and play it. So when you walk in the room, it’s exciting. And you get a buzz every time you blow through it.

It could be the sound, it could be the way it vibrates. Or it could be the way it looks. But either way, it needs to be something that inspires you. 

J: Yeah, absolutely. As I was saying, the most important thing is practice – practice is number one. But I do think equipment is very important. Not only that it facilitate you to play to the best of your abilities, but inspires you as well. 

How do you start making a saxophone?

N: Yeah, absolutely. So you mentioned that you want to do something different to what other people, other makers are doing. So where do you start? How do you start that process to design a new saxophone?

Because I agree with you. I get to test a few new saxophones here as well, and for the YouTube channel, and a lot of saxophones tend to be kind of the same, right? To me, it seems they are either Yamaha derived or Selmer derived. So, where do you start the whole process?

J: Okay, well, this has been the hardest part of the project, and the main reason it’s taken so long. This first model has actually taking me about five years from start to finish.

The problem being is that when you approach most factories to make you a saxophone, they give you a catalogue with a load of product codes on there and they say, ‘which one do you want? Okay, send us your logo. What lacquer do you want? Right, there’s your new product’.

And I think this is part of the reason why a lot of modern, mainly Taiwanese – instruments are so similar. It’s because they’re picked out of a catalogue, they’re branded, and they’re sold.

But it was important for me to start with a blank page and choose elements from different component designs that work together to create something a little bit different and new and fresh.

Saxophone manufacture in Taiwan

After a lot of searching through different factories I finally found one that was willing to work with me to try different things out to design a new saxophone. And to create things that not are only aesthetically pleasing, but that also plays slightly differently and it has its sound and character.

And I mean, Taiwan‘s an interesting place. I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to get out there, have you? 

N: You know, I haven’t, but there are so many amazing saxophones coming out of there these days. And it’s funny, I think there’s a little bit of a stigma that some people have of, ‘Oh, it’s not made in America’, or ‘it’s not made in France’ or ‘it’s not an artisan handcrafted saxophone from Italy – it can’t be as good’. But actually, they’re amazing.

And not only are they amazing, but am I right in saying that so many of the manufacturers now, that you may not even be aware of, are actually producing their saxophones over there, right? 

J: Yeah, absolutely. And what was so interesting the first time I went out there, was the pride that they have in saxophone manufacturing. So there’s a city outside of Taiwan called Taichung,  and they have a long, rich history in saxophone design and manufacturing.

And there’s a certain area called the Huli District. And within this district, everything is saxophone-themed. It’s absolutely amazing. So you go down the streets and all the street signs have got saxophones on them. There’s a big statue in the middle of the district. So they’re so proud of this history and it’s evident to see in the quality of their instruments.

And so what was so interesting was visiting different factories and meeting different people, so many of the factories are run by what they call their third generation. So you have people running these factories that are still in their seventies or eighties. And they’ve been doing this for so many years.

Designing a new saxophone

But the problem I had in terms of creating something new is that these folks would very often not want to do anything different. They had their set formula, and it worked for them. Of course, they’re creating amazing instruments, but they weren’t willing to do something new.

So I managed to find a younger, more dynamic team of people who are willing to take on this project, take on my ideas and run with it, which has been exciting.

And even though I found these guides, the whole process has taken so long. There’s been so many different models coming back and forth. Because when you design a new saxophone, you can make the smallest changes – maybe it’s the angle of the neck  -and  you can make a big difference.  Have a look at some products on the market – these tone enhancing tools. They can be a tiny bit of metal which people are saying make a huge difference.  So if you think about the fundamental design of the saxophone, you can change it tiny amounts and it can make a big difference.

N: Yeah, absolutely. It’s fascinating, actually, that you’ve approached it in this way. I think it’s it’s inspiring. I’m excited to actually get one of these in my hands and have a blow and see what you’ve been up to.

So you mentioned that there were loads of elements that you wanted to change. And I can understand why that would be a challenge talking to a factory that is used to producing things in a certain way.

The elements of a new saxophone: Keywork

N: Were there certain elements on the saxophone that you wanted to combine? Where did you start that thinking process to design a new saxophone? 

J: Yeah. So the thing we actually changed the least was the keywork, funnily enough. And I mean, the keywork on the saxophone is an interesting thing to me.

I mean often I’m in the shop I’m looking at [a saxophone] thinking ‘how has this happened? How has it evolved into this?’  It’s amazing, and it hasn’t changed that much since the Selmer Mark VI. And I am sure there are more logical ways, and more intelligent ways, of laying out the saxophone. Because when you look at it, it looks quite archaic, doesn’t it? It looks like it makes no sense.

And I think especially when you’re starting the saxophone, you look at it and it looks so daunting. If you compare it to a piano or a guitar, everything’s laid out in a very linear fashion. You think, ‘wow, am I ever going to learn this?’

But the thing is, is that on most student saxophones, most of the keywork is laid out similar to the Selmer Paris design. That’s what people are familiar with. And so often when we have instruments in the shop that have slightly different keywork – Keilwerth is a good example – they have a different key layout – and people often don’t actually get on with it that well because it’s not familiar to them.

So although I wanted to create something new, I wanted to design a new saxophone that had enough levels of familiarity for the players. They want to get on it and feel at home almost straight away.

Having tested out different keywork designs with different players, it was actually the Selmer Paris kind of design that seemed to work best across the board.

Testing the saxophone

J: Something else that was important to me was actually to test the instrument with a wide variety of players. What you’ll find that most manufacturers do is they give them to professional players who of course are incredible. They sound amazing on anything.

And the thing is with pro players, they, they could play something that’s beaten up and hasn’t been serviced for a couple of years and sound fantastic.

So actually the beginner and intermediate market – them playing your instrument  – is almost more representative, or better representative, of how well it plays.

N: Yeah, that’s a good point. That’s something that I actually see amongst our Sax School members. Because we’ve got a lot of people, adult learners, who are maybe starting their saxophone journey, who are a bit more mature as well. So they maybe have the facility to go out and buy lots of different types of saxophones, but they’re still developing their skills, right? We see people who get frustrated because they’ve got what they think should be a brilliant vintage saxophone, but actually find it quite difficult to play.

So it’s got to be easy to play for somebody at the beginning. And that’s also important for their learning development because if you’ve reached that roadblock earlier on in your journey, it can put you off.

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Easy to play

J: Absolutely. So the saxophones are all set up in our workshop in the shop. And my technician, Lewis, is very, very particular. He needs to make sure that everything is perfect. And something that we find with a lot of brand-new saxophones is the key work feels quite heavy. Of course, you can have it lightened by a technician. Or over time, it does tend to bed in and play a little bit lighter. But what we’re trying to do is from day one for it to feel light. It feels a bit more nimble to play than other saxophones on the market. So that was very important to us.

So the keywork is very similar to the Selmer Paris key work, just because we want people to pick it up and just instantly feel happy. But we have adjusted the table keys ever so slightly, just to feel a bit more ergonomic as well. Because that’s an area that can be a bit troublesome for some people.  So that was a key (sorry!) area of concern.

N: Yeah, I got it. Well, it makes sense to keep the keywork familiar and consistent. 

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Experimenting with other elements 

N: So what other elements did you experiment with to design a new saxophone? I mean, there’s the neck, there’s the bell, the type of material it’s made from. 

J: Yep, exactly. So a lot of people ask  in the shop for a dark sound that’s bright. And I know that it almost sounds ridiculous saying it. Because they’re two different things. But there is actually something to be said about that. Whereas I think you can sort of cover certain harmonic frequencies where you do almost get both. 

And I think it was very important to me to design a new saxophone that had an underlying base warm and depth because that’s almost the thing that’s instantly satisfying to you as a player. It is to me at least.  I come from a guitar background initially, and I used to play with big four by twelves. And it was that room-shaking ability that got me going. That’s also why I love the baritone saxophone.

So I thought if we can create a sound that has that underlying depth, but also with that sizzle and edge on top, and try and cover all the frequencies as much as we can, that should hopefully give us the most sort of satisfying all-round sound. And that has a nice core projection as well.

Achieving the right sound

N: How do you do that then? What, how did you achieve that? 

J: With lots and lots of prototyping. The thing is… I’m sure there is a scientific formula somewhere.  But it was prototyping different bells – the large bell versus the smaller bell.  So we found that the large bell did give you more projection as you’d think it would, which just gave you slightly more room-filling capability.

The neck

And then, the neck is something that we all take for granted really, and we just stick with whatever comes with the saxophone. And I think the reason why most people focus on mouthpieces rather than changing the neck is because the mouthpiece is a bit more exciting to buy, to be honest with you. I feel like it’s more fun having different mouthpieces and they’re all marketed in a certain way.  Whereas necks seem to be this quite boring object that we plonk on the end of our saxophone.

N: Also though, Jamie, I wonder if it’s more difficult to find a replacement neck that’s going to fit size-wise. If you go to a saxophone shop, it’s not as easy to find a bunch of different options for necks as there are for mouthpieces. I bet also part of that is because of the manufacturing and the fact that there isn’t the consistency with the sizes for necks, is there?

J: So what’s interesting is we’ve experimented with this in the shop because we know how important the neck is. We’ve made a real conscious effort in certain periods of time of stocking a huge selection of different necks. And you’re marketing them saying to people, ‘look, this makes a massive difference‘.

But whatever we seem to do, people just don’t get excited by it and they don’t buy them.  We’ve given it a good go. And that’s actually the reason probably why you won’t find a good selection of necks in shops, is because they simply just don’t sell. Of course, you sell the odd one here or there. 

N: That’s actually interesting to me because the neck does make a big impact on the sound of the saxophone, right? It’s at the top of the instrument and you can achieve a lot. I mean, I’ve actually been experimenting with a P. Mauriat silver neck on my tenor. I’m finding on my Guardala tenor it makes a difference. I like the different timbre. And I like the different necks you can get on the Yamaha saxes -I think they make a big difference. So that’s fascinating that people don’t get it yet. 

J: No, they don’t. I just think it’s because people don’t get excited by it. I think that’s mainly what it is. You don’t see a new neck coming out and go, ‘Oh my God. Wow. It’s so cool. It’s so glamorous.’ But with mouthpieces you do, don’t you? You see the marketing from Jody Jazz or Theo Wanne. They’ve got their glamorous videos and top players playing and you think ‘Yeah,  I’m going to get that’. And then you open your drawer that’s already got 50 in there and add it to the pile.  

N: That little, that little guilty feeling, but also some satisfaction. 

J: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. But we all love it, don’t we? 

Atlantic Saxophones London

N: So what did you do with your neck then? By the way, we haven’t mentioned it – it’s called the Atlantic, right? The new brand of saxophone.

J: yeah, it’s probably quite important actually. Yeah. I should probably mention that!

N: And the other thing I wanted to point out is that your target was to build a pro-level saxophone, right? This isn’t a beginner instrument. Is that the sort of market that you’re aiming at?

J: Yeah. I just wanted to initially design a new saxophone that had every bell and whistle on it possible. Basically in terms of time with its manufacturing, I haven’t held back on anything at all. I wanted to make the best instrument possible. And it’s actually something I got from Yamaha where they use what they call a top-down design process within their models. I think it was important to get this flagship model as good as possible. And as I said, it’s taken five years to get to this point. And then what I can do is utilize the designs and elements from this instrument and strip it down into a more affordable, probably intermediate instrument in the next year or two. Once I had a holiday and a break after this ordeal!

But yeah, it was important to set the foundation with an incredible instrument or that hopefully, everyone will find it incredible. We absolutely love it. And then work down from there. It’s unlikely that I’ll do a student instrument. But yeah, I will be looking at a more affordable intermediate-level instrument as well in the future. 

N: Yeah, that’s interesting. Oh, well, I love the sound of everything about what you’re doing. Now, the fact that you’re trying to do something different, that you’ve gone to such lengths to test and experiment with different combinations of things to design a new saxophone that’s exciting and stands out.

The finish

So we know it’s a Pro level instrument. You’re doing an alto and a tenor. And what finishes are you doing?  

J: Yep. Alto and tenor. So initially we’re starting with a cognac lacquer, which seems to be very fashionable at the moment. I mean, I personally love the cognac lacquer. I almost think it’s sort of the new gold lacquer in a way, you know, it has a rich opulence to it and it changes colour in the light. It looks absolutely beautiful. And the engraving pops out against it as well.

Just to touch on the engraving quickly, that was also something very important to me. I mean, I shouldn’t call out Selmer Paris, but I’m going to do it anyway. They’re moving to laser etch designs that are done by machines. And for me, I do think it’s a bit of a shame really, because I think there’s such artistry in the engraving process.  And often these engravers have been doing it for decades.  I just think it’s fantastic. I mean, I think the best engraving in the world is probably Yanagisawa. Do you own a Yanagisawa?

N: Oh no, but I’ve had a bunch through here and I agree. I think they look fantastic.

Mind you, I’ve seen the pictures of your new Atlantic saxophones and the engraving – it’s one of the things that stood out to me. I think it looks beautiful. 

J: Thank you so much. Yeah. I mean, the engraver that works in the factory, he’s been there for literally decades now. And yeah – the skill and the attention to detail are remarkable. And again, it’s just another one of those elements that, when you get an instrument and you pick it up, you just think, wow, that’s a work of art in a way.

Here’s this person that’s worked on these skills for 20, 30 years and they’ve put a piece of art on my instrument. I just think it’s really inspiring to me. And I look at laser etched designs and I feel like it’s just a bit of a shame that a robot has made that for you. And of course the aesthetic is only a minor part of the project, but I do think it’s important. 

N: So on the new Selmer Supremes then, is the engraving done by hand or is that done with a laser? 

J: No it’s done by machine.

N: So even on their the top-end Selmers. Wow. That’s interesting.

J: I think it’s just to save time. I mean, the Selmer Supreme is a remarkable instrument. It’s absolutely fantastic, and the most popular instrument that we actually sell at the moment, which is quite something. But yeah, that element of it is no longer done by hand.

 N: Maybe there’s a shortage of those older, trusty engravers. Maybe it’s a dying art, you know? 

J: No, definitely. You know, a problem throughout the last couple of years, especially throughout the pandemic, was actually finding skilled staff to work in a lot of these saxophone factories.

These are such specific skills and unfortunately a lot of younger people don’t want to get into them.Being a saxophone tone hole puller or something niche like that. So you might find in our store and other stores that stock has been difficult to get hold of. And this is one of the reasons – finding saxophone technicians and factory workers has been very hard.

The Material for Atlantic Saxophones

N: So Jamie, what about the material? Everyone’s going to want to know what material you’re making the saxophone from. Have you chosen anything different here? 

J: Yeah, so actually it might sound boring, but we settled with brass in the end. We did try bronze, we tried silver plating, and it is quite a hot topic in terms of what the material does. Everyone seems to have a different opinion. And my opinion is, is that the material doesn’t necessarily change the tone as much as you might think. I think it’s mainly an aesthetic thing, to be honest, the way the saxophone looks.

And also mainly the way the saxophone projects, I think especially when you’re recording them. We’ve done some tests again, just through the shop. And it is the reason why we’ve never put a video out actually saying what’s the difference between bronze, silver, brass and solid silver – lining them all up. Because when we’ve done these tests and recorded them, is they all ended up sounding almost exactly the same through a microphone.

So my theory is, I think it changes the way it projects ever so slightly.  And in my opinion, I feel like the only one that makes a big difference is solid silver, to my ears at least.

So it’s better to listen to someone else playing it, I would find, to sort of try and work out the differences. With solid silver there’s an instant room-filling quality.

But we didn’t have the budget for solid silver instruments quite yet. So it’s brass, and I think there must be a good reason why – going back to Selmer Paris, –  they only make brass instruments.

I think brass had the best balance in terms of this projection I’m talking about.  But it’s, it’s a funny one because everyone seems to have a different opinion on it. 

N: It’s a hard topic.  

J: Yeah, mine seems to be it’s about the way the saxophone projects rather than the actual tone. But I’m sure you’ll find someone else who says that’s absolutely rubbish. It’s what makes it quite interesting in a way. 

N: It does make it interesting because everyone does have an opinion. And there are so many different elements to go in there. It’s not just about the sound, as you say, it’s about the way it makes you feel and the vibrations you even get back from the saxophone. But yeah, from an audience listening point of view, it’s not always apparent.

The Atlantic Saxophone Range

That’s interesting. So you’re doing an alto and a tenor at the moment. Are there plans to do soprano or baritone as well? 

J: Yeah, I think I’m going to focus on the alto and tenor  intermediate models first and then move over to the soprano and the baritone. I think because I have the foundation of this design now, I can utilize that within these alto and tenor models. And then when I start with the soprano and baritone – because fundamentally there are such different instruments – that’s probably going to have to be a whole other separate project of prototyping.

I could go down the easy route of just putting our name to a saxophone from a manufacturer’s catalogue. But it’s just not what it’s all about. And it’s been very important to me, todesign a new saxophone that’s got its own vibe and is a bit more interesting.

N: Look, I think it sounds fantastic Jamie. Something that bugs me when I look at pro saxophones and more expensive ones are that some of them are built to appeal to people who are looking at it just from an aesthetic point of view. They’re not thinking about the way they actually play. To me, a saxophone is a tool.

I mean, I’ve had my saxophone for a long time. This one I’ve had it for like 30-something years – my old trusty [Yamaha] 62 and I love it. It works for me. I’m familiar with it. And I can rely on it to do everything I need it to do. But saxophones can be super, super expensive. And sometimes I think a lot of that cost is down to things that they’re putting in that are just making it look nicer, but not necessarily making it play better.

And so I love the way that you’re approaching it from a different angle, where you’re producing a saxophone that’s not going to be ridiculously expensive. They’re going to be functional and they’re going to look great and they’re going to be a bit different as well. Stand out. I think that’s fantastic. 

J: Yeah. What I wanted to do was tick all the boxes really, because I think both sides of it are important. You know, the aesthetic’s important and of course, most important is the playability and the way it sounds. I think all of them contribute to the general way it feels and the way it makes you makes you feel when you open up the case and you think, ‘ah, this is amazing. I love it’. And then you play it. It’s amazing. from every part of the process from just looking at it, to putting it in your mouth, blowing down it, hearing it back if you’ve recorded it, you know, all of these elements I wanted to tick.

Testing with recording

And actually, something that was also quite important in terms of the testing process was actually to record all the instruments. So many players nowadays promote themselves mainly on social media platforms. You know, there’s probably more players putting themselves out there in that way rather than actually going out there into the world and gigging. Obviously debatable, but you get my point. There are a lot more people heading in that direction. So every we also recorded single instrument as well, just to see how they sounded and how they came across through microphones. I know that isn’t going to be important too everyone, but hopefully, it just shows the attention to detail with every single element that I took over it. 

Attention to detail: Accessories

For better or worse, I’m quite particular with things and it keeps me up at night, thinking about what case I should supply it with or what mouthpiece.  In terms of that side of it, I wanted every single part of it to be something nice. Because again, so often you’ll get a saxophone within this price bracket  – the lower-end professional price brackets – and it comes out in this massive, big, plastic, horrible case. And you just think, ‘Oh,  it’s a bit disappointing.

N: Well, that’s the first thing I need to update. 

J: Yeah, exactly. When you’re spending that money, you shouldn’t need to update anything. And you open the case and it’s got some strap in there which you just throw straight in the bin. The mouthpiece – you think ‘Oh, what’s this? Like that’s a waste, isn’t it?’ It goes straight in the bin again.

So, every single element, every single thing that comes with the saxophone should also be useful and should be nice and you’d like having it. So it’s coming with a lovely leather strap,  the mouthpiece I’ve designed in conjunction with Syos. 

I thought the Syos mouthpiece worked particularly well because it runs in line with what I’ve been trying to do with the saxophones, that it’s something again, unique and bespoke. So with the mouthpiece we actually created a totally new mouthpiece using their 3D printed technology that’s complemented the saxophone well.

And I appreciate that most people are going to have their own mouthpiece. They’ll have something that’s specific to them that they enjoy. But I at least think it’s nice to open the case and have something you can use and it will give you something maybe slightly different.

Or if you’re a beginner and you’ve still only got your Yamaha 4C, you’ve got a nice mouthpiece to use as well.

So yeah, it was important to me that when you get the saxophone, every single thing that comes with it is something nice and not something crap you’re going to throw in a bin. 

Where to get Atlantic Saxophones

N: That sounds great, Jamie. So look, I’m excited. I can’t wait to get hold of one myself and to have a play and experiment with it and share it with our Sax School people as well.

So when are the Atlantic saxophones going to become available? 

J: Yeah, they’re going to be available mid-April from the shop. So sax.co.uk or Sax as we’re calling it now. I’m also looking for other saxophone retailers to hold them. So if you have a preferred shop get in contact with them, get them to send us an email at Atlanticsax.com. You can also purchase them directly from there. Yeah, and I’m excited to get them out into the world and excited to send one to you as well.

Check out Sax.co.uk here

And find out more about the Atlantic Saxophone range here.

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