I’ve created my own zebra sax!
You might have seen my blog where I compared this used Yamaha YAS 23 alto that I bought cheap from eBay with my pro sax. I’ve always wanted a zebra striped sax so I’ve decided to have some fun with this one. I customised my saxophone using some simple, inexpensive materials.
I wouldn’t recommend you try this unless you are experienced at taking a sax apart and putting it back together – it’s trickier than it looks!
Here’s how I customised my saxophone.
Step 1: Take off the keys
You’ll need a small screwdriver. There are lots of pieces so you need to remember where they all go.
Step 2: Spray it white
First, I wiped the sax down with some rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth.
I started with the neck. I masked the cork and the neck joint to make it easier to put back together. On the body, I taped up all the springs so they moved easily when I reassemble it. This took a few coats.
I used cheap, basic materials for this. I bought some metal primer spray and a Nissan White pearlescent spray paint, that you’d use on a car.
Step 3: Add the zebra stripes
I used black gloss paint and a fine brush.
I’m no artist but I got better at it as I went along.
It took a few hours and it was quite tricky but I’m pleased with how it turned out!
Step 4: Reattach the keys
This took a bit of time. I’m not an expert repairer (I go to Steve Crow for that) so it took a bit of fiddling to get all of the mechanisms attached in the right order, and some adjusting to get everything to seal so it played properly.
Step 5: Give it a play!
I’m playing “Zebra Funk”,. You can find the lesson and backing track inside Sax School.
I don’t think the paint made a difference to the sound.
What do you think? Let me know in a comment!
Watch out for this zebra sax in my videos in the future.
Have you got any ideas for customizing saxophones?
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