BetterSax Ultimate Sax Swab Kit
Price range: $29.95 through $32.95
The last saxophone swabs you’ll ever need for your instrument. The most essential accessories for maintaining your instrument’s playing condition and value. Kit includes 1 neck/mouthpiece swab, 1 saxophone body swab, 1 pad dryer.
As a repair technician, I saw first hand what happens to saxophones that don’t get swabbed out on a regular basis and let me tell you, it isn’t pretty. In fact it’s downright disgusting, not to mention how it affects the way the instrument plays. Gunk builds up in the neck, tone holes and mouthpiece which besides being gross, has a significant impact on the sound of the instrument. Think about it, if you add a layer of material (effectively slime) to the bore of the saxophone the tuning and tone get thrown off. Leather pads coated with this sludge become hard which causes leaks.
The bottom line is that swabbing your saxophone out each time you play it is the most basic and minimal level of maintenance every saxophone player must do. If not just for hygiene then at least to keep your instrument functioning properly.
This swab kit is a small investment that will pay big dividends saving you money on repairs, maintaining the resale value of your instrument and keeping things from getting nasty and stinky. Don’t be stinky, swab your sax.
Instructions:
The large swab takes care of the main body tube. Pass the weighted end through the bell and out the neck tenon receiver. Pull the swab through 3 times or until it’s dry inside. The smaller swab takes care of the neck and mouthpiece. Same procedure, pass the weight through the larger hole and out the smaller end then pull it through until dry inside. The pad dryer can be used to absorb moisture on the pads. Check pads from G and above on your instrument. These are usually the ones getting wet. You may also want to check low Eb and C#. Close the pad dryer between the pad and the tone hole and gently pull out. This will remove moisture and clean off the surface of the pad and tone hole gently.
| Weight | 0.10 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 22.86 × 12.7 × 1.5 cm |
35 reviews for BetterSax Ultimate Sax Swab Kit
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Dave Mann –
Best swab I’ve used. I’ve been playing for 25 years after a 32 year hiatus. I’ve used other swabs that I had to cut down or the silk ones that just didn’t absorb much..
Jay Metcalf –
Agreed! Glad you dig it.
Joey Placenti (verified owner) –
Just received the swab’s for alto and tenor and they are high quality and work well. The material is better than this silk swabs replaced them with. Great produce
Cynthia (verified owner) –
My daughter recently started playing the Alto Sax and was having a hard time cleaning her sax after practicing. This is better than what she was using previously, she loves it.
James Murphy (verified owner) –
Love the Better Sax swab set. Was using a similar swab that would get stuck in the body and had to be forced out and ended up bending a couple of keys. This thicker swab absorbs more of the moisture. Great product.
Doug (verified owner) –
Received my kit this week. It’s a welcome addition to my new sax. Will help keep every thing pristine.
Catherine Hathaway (verified owner) –
This sax cleaner set is the best investment! It is well made and works really well. I have several other types but this set works the best!
Bernie Krause (verified owner) –
I ordered the Tenor Sax swab kit and am pleasantly pleased with the quality and durability of the product. The swabs absorb moisture like a sponge and dry out quickly. I’m looking forward to my next purchase with BetterSax!!!!!!
Michael McDowell –
Thanks for your swabs. I order the swabs for my Alto sax and they are outstanding. The sax swabs fills he sax and removes the moisture. I always do 3 times with no snags. Thanks again
Carol Mandra (verified owner) –
My new Better Sax alto swabs do a muich better job than the little square thing my Saxophone came with!
Carol Mandra (verified owner) –
The alto swabs work much better on my “Wayward Wind” than the little square thing that came with my saxophone. I’m glad I bought them!
Brian (verified owner) –
As per recommendation from Jason through YouTube videos I had first purchased the BG swabs for the neck and body of my alto sax and also the pad cleaner( All BG). The body swab from BG, I felt wasn’t getting enough cleaning or absorption due to its sponge like center. So I noticed that there was a “Better Sax” version for Alto sax, I liked the idea that it was more of a cleaning cloth for the inside of my horn.
The neck and mouthpiece cleaning cloth is really about the same except better material is used.
So I really do like the better sax cleaning set a lot better than BG set. I get more coverage inside my horn and more condensation out. This is definitely a “Better” product!
Charles Michael Erwin (verified owner) –
Great kit. I really needed the smaller swab to keep my neck and mouthpiece clean. Alto mouthpiece is nice! The jury is still out on the reeds.
Roman Fleysher (verified owner) –
Excellent swab! I purchased one for my tenor and one for my alto and I’m very impressed with the quality.
Gary (verified owner) –
Awesome swab. Definitely does the job. ALWAYS SWAB YOU SAX AFTER PLAYING!
Really makes a difference.
Peter (verified owner) –
This is way better than every swab set that I’ve ever used, this even beats some of my $50+ sets
Rick (verified owner) –
Great swab’s for my tenor Mark VI, high quality fabric and they work perfectly.
Kurt Hoffman –
Exactly what I needed! Nice sturdy, absorbent set of swabs with enough weight on the cord to pull through.
Robert (verified owner) –
Very good quality swabs. The only negative comment I have is that the weight on the body swab pull strap should be larger or heavier. It tends to fall back up through the bell rather than going through the body tube consistently. And that pull strap is too long for an alto. It is probably perfect for a tenor, though. Overall, four out of five stars.
MIchael Francis (verified owner) –
I have now been using the BetterSax Ultimate Sax Swab Kit for alto sax (along with my BetterSax alto, and my other altos) for a couple weeks. This is a very good saxophone maintenance kit, with not only the swab for the saxophone body, but a smaller one for the neck and mouthpiece, and a unique pad drier. To be honest, the 1st couple times using the large swab, it seemed tough to feed into the bell. But that seemed to be only because it was new, and still a little stiff. The more I used it, the easier it was to use. The Pad Drier I think is unique, as in all my decades with the saxophone, I’ve never seen one before. If you’ve got an older sax, you know that certain keys are prone to sticking, mainly because they don’t get fully dried and then dry in place when the sax is sitting in the case. Then you have to go through the process of making them work again, either with a powder paper, or the old fashioned dollar bill. But if put away dry, that’s not going to happen. All of these pieces are of an exceptional quality material, that does the job of drying and cleaning the saxophone. And they are made to last. Highly recommended.
Wally Z –
Works just like Jay said it would. I purchased the Alto swab kit for my new BetterSax Alto saxophone. Jay, was right this will last forever the way it is made.
Brett (verified owner) –
Works as intended. I like the material and appreciated having specific sizing for my type of horn so I knew I could pull it through the neck without getting it stuck.
Terry (verified owner) –
Great swabs. How about something for my curved soprano.
Jacob (verified owner) –
The swab I got in a kit didn’t do anything — this is better on every metric. Better weights, better string, more absorbent/durable cloth — and a separate one for body and neck/mouthpiece. An easy yes! Thanks for all you do for the sax community Jay!
Terry (verified owner) –
Best swab I have found. What do you have for curved soprano??
Will Cui –
Hi Terry, thank you so much for the review! Glad you enjoyed it! Sorry we don’t have swab for curved soprano yet.
Will Cui
Customer Service Coordinator
Jeremy Allen –
Good morning! Will the swabs work on my Bari? 🙂 Thanks!
Will Cui –
Hi Jeremy, here’s a video of Jay demonstrating how to swab a Bari using an Alto swab. The video was released before our current swab, but it should work with our current Alto swab.
Will Cui
Customer Service Coordinator
Joe Grillo (verified owner) –
I love this swab. Best one I have ever used. It’s nice that it comes with a separate neck swab and pad dryer. I have used other swabs that just weren’t very absorbent. This one is. Only one thing that I can think of that would improve this. I recently tried another swab that had 2 strings on it. I think this is a good idea as it allows you to go back and forth multiple times without having to re insert the swab. Well done Jay! I like your reeds too.
Michael Cuellar (verified owner) –
This swab is better than any other swab I’ve used. Better quality, Better material. I highly recommend the Better Sax swab.
Steve Belgrade (verified owner) –
Love the swab kit – I have a lot of spit when I play, and always clean my instrument well. I’d like to get some extra small pad cleaners that come with the kit.
Bruce Lange (verified owner) –
This is actually the 2nd swab kit that I have ordered. 1st one works like a charm just like to have two sets to keep things really tidy! I play a Yanagasawa TWO1 tenor sax and like to take good care of my instrument. I might add that I have also signed up for several of Jay’s online courses and you should too! (This is not a paid for advertisement) lol. Happy saxing to all!
Vince Trofimoff (verified owner) –
Been playing sax close to 45 years. This is the best swab I’ve used. Very absorbent, rugged, easy to use. What’s not to like? Works much better than the silk swab I was using.
Brian –
How do you clean the fabric when it gets dirty? Washing machine? Hand wash?
Will Cui –
Hi Brian, the swabs from the Ultimate Swab Kit can either be hand washed or machine washed on the delicate cycle. Keep in mind that if you machine wash it with a washer that has an agitator, the string can get caught up in it so the best thing to do would be wash it in a mesh laundry bag.
Will (Customer Service Coordinator)
Corey Chandler (verified owner) –
The material of the swab is superior and well made. I am using to replace the eviscerated muppet feather thing. I find the weights on the ends are not actually heavy enough for the weight of the material. I used the big swab through the bell in my tenor and it actually got stuck. I had to use a metal rod to push it down to get it back out through the bell. I am nervous to use it that way again. It does not get stuck if I start at the neck end but then it does not swab as well.
Will Cui –
Hi Corey, thank you for your feedback! We appreciate you sharing your experience. As long as the swab isn’t bunched up when you start, it should not get stuck.
Will (Customer Service Coordinator)
Timothy Pruitt (verified owner) –
Great product! Works well! Fast shipping!
Geffen Cohen –
Hi jay. This looks like a really good product, but I just wish you could buy each swab individually instead of buying both the mouse piece and body together.
Will Cui –
Hi Geffen, thanks for your comment! The smaller swab is designed for the neck and mouthpiece, and together with the body swab, they help keep the instrument clean. The pad dryer is also a great addition for maintaining pad health. We aim to provide a complete set so players have everything they need at once for proper care and maintenance.
Matthew Berger (verified owner) –
Swabs work great! Jay is the man and I’ve been using his videos for years for free so I’m happy to support his business
Will Cui –
Thank you! Really appreciate your support and kind words, glad the swabs are working well for you!