# What are this trumpet and saxophone made of? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 8, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669 "2021-05-08T15:23:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/1 "2021-05-08T15:23:39Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/09phTy3sIoM/maxresdefault.jpg "Joe Cocker & Brian May - The Letter (London, Royal Albert Hall,1988)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09phTy3sIoM) Hey, it’s Joe Cocker and Brian May… and Phil Collins on drums! But I’m wondering, are the trumpet at 2:00 and the sax at 2:25 made of some kind of plastic or ceramic? Are they just painted brass? I’ve never seen “brass” instruments like that. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/2 "2021-05-08T15:36:57Z")
You can get a good look at the Trumpet at around the 2 minute mark. 2:33 for the Sax. They’re all coated in white, so hard to tell for sure. But typically painted brass instruments are still brass under the paint. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/3 "2021-05-08T15:44:22Z")
There’s a little bit of the trumpet right by the mouthpiece that appears not to be painted. It’s a bit difficult to tell, given the lighting, etc., but it appears to be ordinary metal that you would expect to see on a trumpet. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/4 "2021-05-08T15:55:17Z")
Can’t tell, but Charlie Parker sometimes played a plastic sax, so this guy’s in good company. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/5 "2021-05-08T16:00:41Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Charlie Parker sometimes played a plastic sax Doesn’t that affect the timbre or quality of the sound? Tripler Might birth the new phrase, “Plastic Yakkety Sax.” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/6 "2021-05-08T16:05:45Z")
I didn’t know that. Weird. Reading briefly into it there seemed to be a lot of issues with them. > **[Grafton saxophone | Inadequacies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton_saxophone#Inadequacies)** > > The Grafton saxophone, in spite of the notoriety gained from its use by Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman, failed to gain acceptance among professional saxophone players due to a variety of reasons. > The acrylic plastic used for the body is brittle, resulting in an extremely fragile instrument. Any component parts made of plastic can easily crack, fracture or snap off during normal use. Not only do Graftons use a non-standard spring mechanism to operate the action, but spare parts are unavailabl... ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/7 "2021-05-08T16:06:27Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > Doesn’t that affect the timbre or quality of the sound? In the hands of a mere mortal, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/8 "2021-05-08T17:13:12Z")
The important part of a wind instrument isn’t made of brass, or silver, or plastic, or wood. It’s made of air. The solid whatever-it-is is just to keep the air in the right shape. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/9 "2021-05-08T18:08:06Z")
[Mine](https://ibb.co/tH4TJ70) was an ordinary brass sax painted white (at a local weapons/aerospace company, but don’t tell anyone). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/10 "2021-05-08T18:14:23Z")
Why paint a brass instrument white, just to look different? Would it change the sound quality at all? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/11 "2021-05-08T18:17:04Z")
The white tuba I’ve seen used; sounded the same. The green sax sounded the same. Both were painted brass. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/12 "2021-05-08T18:39:32Z")
Plastic woodwind instruments aren’t uncommon; I own a plastic bass clarinet. I’ve never been able to distinguish any difference in sound, although many musicians insist that wood clarinets sound “mellower.” Metal clarinets were common in the early 20th century. I tried one when I was in college, and it sounded really obnoxious to me, but it could have simply been a poorly-made instrument. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/13 "2021-05-08T18:55:15Z")
White saxes and trumpets are generally normal brass instruments that are painted in a white enamel laquer, just as ‘silver’ instruments are brass with silver plating. Laquering a horn does change the sound. It will likely make it slightly less bright. Not really an issue for horns in large ensembles on stage. Plating an instrument with silver or gold does not have that effect, which is why you don’t see a lot of cooorful instruments but you do see lots of different platings. The most difficult thing about painting an instrument like a sax is that you have to completely dismantle it, chemically remove the old paint or plating, apply the new stuff, then you have issues like whether the grooves in the old pads match the now-painted sound holes, so you are probably going to replace all the pads. And some minor re-tuning might be required. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/14 "2021-05-08T18:59:33Z")
Thanks. Are they painted just “for looks,” then? ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/15 "2021-05-08T19:45:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Why paint a brass instrument white, just to look different? In my case - yes ! The brass was _very_ “distressed”, and i couldn’t afford to get it re-laquered. And my friend worked at the aforementioned company … > [@erysichthon](#): > > I tried one when I was in college, and it sounded really obnoxious to me, but it could have simply been a poorly-made instrument. Or just a duff reed ! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/16 "2021-05-08T19:52:34Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Thanks. Are they painted just “for looks,” then? Yup. Playability and sound are either unaffected or made very slightly worse. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/17 "2021-05-08T19:58:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Thanks. Are they painted just “for looks,” then? It looks like the whole horn section has that same look (see 2:19). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/18 "2021-05-09T02:21:49Z")
Yes, indeed. Thanks, everyone. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/19 "2021-05-09T02:59:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The important part of a wind instrument isn’t made of brass, or silver, or plastic, or wood. It’s made of air. The solid whatever-it-is is just to keep the air in the right shape. Shaped air, eh? Cool. Maybe like this: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UikPQOaJpfU/hqdefault.jpg "John Martyn - Solid Air") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UikPQOaJpfU) ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669/20 "2021-05-10T20:40:37Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The white tuba I’ve seen used; sounded the same… Just a point of information . Many white tubas, specifically sousaphones, are made of fiberglass to be lighter. Sucks the tone out of them, too, but nobody cares once it’s on a football field. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-this-trumpet-and-saxophone-made-of/941669.md?page=2)