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Traditional Bell
The traditional sized bell has a focused projection with a compact core and lively resonance.
Hard Rubber Mouthpiece
Cannonball Mouthpieces are made of quality hard rubber and carefully crafted play easily and to create a clear, rich, beautiful tone. They are the choice of many professional saxophonists around the world.
Wood Finger Buttons
Hand-crafted exotic Cocobolo wood
Wood Bell-to-Body Brace
Hand-crafted exotic Cocobolo wood
Wood Thumb Button
Hand-crafted exotic Cocobolo wood
Hand Engraved
Artisans in our Salt Lake City facility intricately hand-engrave each Key™ Series saxophone. The Pete Christlieb models come with an unlimited, traditional-style engraving. And a concurrent Limited Edition engraving is available with a unique engraving motif; each of these saxophones is individually numbered in its Limited Edition. Each engraved saxophone comes with a certificate signed by the engraving artist.
High F#
The High F# key extends the saxophone’s range and makes high passages easier to play.
Hand Customized Key™ Series Neck
The unique Key Series neck facilitates a warm timbre, balanced resistance, and crisp response.
Ribbed Construction
Posts are silver-soldered onto metal “ribs” that are then soft-soldered to the saxophone body. This makes the instrument stronger and more rigid, which helps keep the instrument in adjustment and minimizes damage if hit or dropped.
Ribbed construction also makes the horn easier to repair if damage does occur. This means that if serious damage is done to the saxophone, your repair costs will be lower.
Detachable Bell and Bow
The bell and bow can be removed from the body by a qualified repair technician in the event of serious damage. This reduces repair costs as it allows repairs to be done quicker, easier, and more effectively.
Triple Annealed Bell, Bow, & Neck
The bell, bow, and necks go through an annealing process several times, heating and then cooling the brass to specific temperatures. This annealing process gives the horn a warmer, more even tone.
Cannonball’s hand-hammering process, which follows annealing, hardens the brass and gives our instruments superior ring and resonance.
Italian Water-Resistant Leather Pads with Wool Felt
Our Italian water-resistant leather pads have been specifically chosen for long life, excellent sealing, and the superior feel they add to the key action.
Convex Nickel-Plated Brass Resonators
Our pads have riveted nickel-plated brass resonators that are specifically chosen for optimum performance and sound.
Blued Steel Springs
Steel needle springs allow for the most precise, even key tension. The bluing process makes the steel resistant to rust and corrosion, which extend the life of the springs.
Upper and Lower Stack Adjustment Screws
Upper and lower stack adjustment screws allow for easier and more precise regulation and adjustment. Under each stack adjustment screw we use synthetic cork, which (unlike natural cork) resists compression over time, so the fine adjustments on your saxophone will last.
Power Forged Keys
Forged brass has much greater strength and uniformity than molded brass, so our keys resist bending and hold their adjustment exceptionally well over time.
Pivoting C# - Bb Table Mechanism
The “tilting spatula” rocking mechanism allows fast and fluid transitions between the low C-sharp and low B-flat keys.
Machined One-Piece Neck Receiver
Instead of soldering the post that holds the neck tension and lyre screws, our receiver is machined out of a solid piece of brass. This adds great strength and durability to the neck receiver.
Stabilizing Brace for Left-Hand Spatula
Relief Springs on G# and Low C# Keys
Relief springs help lift open the G-sharp and C-sharp keys when they would otherwise “stick” and remain closed.
Adjustable Metal Thumb Hook
Our sturdy brass thumb hook is adjustable so you can set it to the angle that best fits your own hands.
Stabilizing Brace for Left-Hand Spatula
The four left-hand table keys are susceptible to being knocked out of adjustment when their top post moves, so we have added an additional lateral brace to keep it in place, especially when the horn is hit or dropped.
Hand Acoustically Customized
The most important thing that sets Cannonball apart is the acoustical customizing that we do to every instrument. Specially trained and talented acoustical adjusters work on each saxophone, adjusting the bore, air flow, and more until they are satisfied that each horn has an open altissimo, rich lows, even timbre, full-bodied sound, and in-line overtones. When you pick up a Cannonball saxophone, we want you to enjoy it as much as our acoustical technicians do - we want you to say, "I can't put this horn down!"
