Hey, boyz…
Just got a Jazzlab silencer last week. Pretty cool device, made of strong plastic, well designed and finished. It attenuates the sound remarkably.
What I’ve noticed -and its my question to any other user- is that blowing into it demands a lot more effort than playing the saxophone normally. Using the same MP/reed combination, I have to put a lot of air pressure to sound a steady note, or two. Not to mention doing scales, which is what teachers recommend doing on the MP alone: yet impossible for me. Taking out the inner cylinder, the air-restrain is lower, pretty much like playing a saxophone, but noise gets louder, naturally.
Is it normal? Could it have been intended to strengthen the players’ breathing muscles as well?
How are you silencer users doing with it?