Saxophones and saxophone necks can be made of various materials. The most common is brass. Less common is bronze, nickel silver and sterling silver. Rare (and expensive!) would be gold. Alloys are mixed metals. Brass is an alloy of primarily copper and zinc, and the proportions of these two metals will determine the exact alloy (yellow brass, red brass, etc). Bronze is primarily copper and was historically alloyed with tin (other bronze alloys are now available).
It is my experience that the material does make a difference.
How do we know that with certainty? We make all our KB Sax necks in-house and have 100% control. With our production method, we can ensure that all dimensions are the same from one to another. This enables us to make direct comparison of the same neck model made with different materials.
In a sample test of, for instance, 5 brass necks and 5 bronze necks, we noticed distinct differences in both sound and response from the two metals. It requires a certain amount of sensitivity to notice the differences as they are sometimes subtle. However, test recordings with quality equipment using frequency analyzer and high end microphones detect and confirm the differences even between the different brass alloys.
Personally, I do believe the shape and dimensions makes a bigger difference than the exact metal used for the neck, but once you have complete control over production and can maintain exact dimensions, then the different metals will offer an opportunity to fine tune sound and response.
It can be challenging to put into words how we each hear the sound or feel the response of a given setup. We have set up 7 parameters which allow us to better convey how the various necks sound, feel to play as well as how they compare to other necks.
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