KB Saxophone Necks
Handcrafted by Kim Bock
Superior Sound, Intonation & Altissimo Control
“I’ve always been skeptical about replacing the original neck on a vintage Selmer… but after spending time with Kim, learning about the research behind his designs, and trying the different models, I can honestly say this: his C69 Canyon bare-brass neck plays better than my Mark VI neck.“
Joe Lovano
“I find the added Buzz, Clarity and Dynamic range the KB Sax ‘Redwood’ Handcrafted Necks gives me a New Vibration in the body of my various horns. Try one and you’ll feel what I mean!!!”
“I really love the Vanguard model neck. It has a great balance of timbre and plays easy. It has a nice free blowing feeling and I get a bit of that top end sparkle which I love.”
Ravi Coltrane
“Wow! Great neck. It blows away my SBA necks and it is a step up from the No.5 prototype – tonally very happy with it.”
“I love your necks! I couldn’t wait to play again this morning – Your hand hammered copper neck feels and sounds perfect to me. It transmits what I say and imagine without resistance or impedance, reflecting my vowels and consonant choices. It is resonant – and allows me to sing freely. The rest is my responsibility.”
"I love your necks! I couldn’t wait to play again this morning- Your hand hammered copper neck feels and sounds perfect to me. It transmits what I say and imagine without resistance or impedance, reflecting my vowels and consonant choices. It is resonant - and allows me to sing freely. The rest is my responsibility."
"I’ve always been skeptical about replacing the original neck on a vintage Selmer… but after spending time with Kim, learning about the research behind his designs, and trying the different models, I can honestly say this: his C69 Canyon bare-brass neck plays better than my Mark VI neck."
"I really love the Vanguard model neck. It has a great balance of timbre and plays easy. It has a nice free blowing feeling and i get a bit of that top end sparkle which I love."
“It has the immediacy of response that I look for with a richness of all the overtones ringing!”
“I find the added Buzz, Clarity and Dynamic range the KB Sax Redwood Handcrafted Necks give me a New Vibration in the body of my various horns. Try one and you’ll see what I mean!!!”
“Wow! Great neck. It blows away my SBA necks and it is a step up from the #6 prototype – tonally very happy with it.”
Why choose KB saxophone necks?
Dedicated Craftsmanship
Made by Kim Bock
Every single custom KB saxophone neck is handcrafted by Kim Bock. He playtests and fine-tunes each KB neck to consistently meet his standard – a high standard that encompasses thoughtful feedback and years of experience from many top sax players.
This standard is what separates the handcrafted KB sax necks from other saxophone necks.
Developed together with Top Players
Made by saxplayers, for saxplayers
The KB saxophone necks were developed with extensive ‘on-the-road’ play testing by some of the world’s foremost top sax players including Ravi Coltrane, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Lovano and more.
Their generous input and feedback helped shape and create what the KB sax necks are today.
Improvements from a unique design & process
True upgrade
Our unique ‘mirror-twin’ build process allow KB saxophone necks to have consistent wall thickness throughout. It significantly improves the sound, response, intonation and projection.
Our signature KB hand hammered copper and hand hammered bronze necks offer far more than just their stunning visuals.
Handmade + Tech
Precision engineering
Handcraftsmanship balanced with modern technology is how KB saxophone necks are made. They have a high level of consistency, precision and quality control.
Countless players have switched from their original necks and consider the KB neck one of their best upgrades.
Custom Fit
Proprietary gauges
Precision fit to your saxophone to an accuracy of 0.001″ using our proprietary gauges that come in 42 different sizes.
Using the precise measurement, each tenon is then custom made and fitted to your KB saxophone neck.
Changing saxophone? No worry.
Re-fit your neck
We can custom fit your KB sax neck to a different saxophone. We will install a new tenon based on the precise measurement using our proprietary gauges.
This custom refitting service is currently only available to US domestic customers.
Take a deep dive into KB Sax necks and learn more!
Sax Neck Models
Choose from:
- Models: Canyon, Redwood, Vanguard
- Type: Tenor or Alto
- Materials: Hand Hammered Copper, M-61 Brass, C-69 Brass, Hand Hammered Bronze, Hand Hammered Solid Silver, Hand Hammered Double-Alloy
- Finishes: Brushed Raw, Lacquer (dark vintage or light tint), Silver Plate, Gold Plate
- Custom options: Custom Angles
- 14-day trial Worldwide
- Free shipping in the US
14-day trial period for all customers worldwide. Free shipping and returns within the Contiguous US. Discounted shipping worldwide ($29 to most countries).
What saxplayers are saying about KB Sax necks
Video reviews – from Ben Wendel, John Ellis, Nick Biello, Jerry Bergonzi, and more.
The results really do speak for themselves, and I recommend anybody looking for a better neck for their horn would be well advised to contact him for an appointment. I can’t say enough how playing his necks on your horn will change how you feel about the horn itself. Just incredible!"
Thank you so much for your attention to detail. I have tried SO many things out there in the saxophone world that were advertised as being the 'best thing ever' but ended up being awful. This has been a very happy surprise. Thank you so much Kim!"
FAQ
Where did you get the idea of making these saxophone necks?
While running KB Sax, Kim Bock was in the enviable situation where he had hundreds of saxophones passing through his hands. It didn’t take him long to notice that different necks play differently and that so much of the sound and response of the entire saxophone is already created in just the neck itself.
An SBA neck on a Mark VI would make the horn play much more like an SBA. A late Mark VI neck on a first year Mark VI would drastically change the tonal color, intonation and level of resistance/back pressure to make that first year Mark VI feel and sound more like a late Mark VI. Even two Mark VI necks in the same serial number range would always play a little different from one to another.
He also noticed that, a lot of times, a neck will have one sound color in the low range, but change in the mid-range, and change again in the palm keys and above.
His curiosity drove him to start researching what might cause all these differences. He began measuring necks and from this started gleaning valuable insights. This inspired Kim Bock to figure out how to make a neck with an even and consistent timbre/sound color throughout the range of the saxophone, while retaining, or perhaps even enhancing, the resonance, colorful sound and the tonal flexibility of the legendary Selmer Super Balanced Action and the early Mark VI.
Do you make these saxophone necks in the US? Are they imported?
Yes, we really do make these necks right here in our workshop in New York City and we source our metal from suppliers in the US.
So no, we do not import our saxophone necks. If we compare our saxophone necks to the the generic factory saxophone necks made in Asia and branded under different saxophone shops’ names (be it American, European or Asian saxophone shops) – in our view, they are in a whole different category.
Our saxophone necks are made using a decidedly different fabrication method – the “mirror-twin” process that Kim Bock originated – and we make them to our own specifications. They are unique in so many ways.
Obviously they can be used as a replacement or aftermarket saxophone neck but they are not merely that – many players agree our KB necks offer considerable improvements over the original neck of any given horn, modern or vintage.
These are also some of the reasons why our prices are higher than most saxophone necks in the market. There is a very labor intensive, time consuming element involved in hand making these saxophone necks locally in the US.
Plenty of time is also allocated to playtesting and fine tuning each KB neck. We always strive to maintaining the highest level of quality control on both the exactness of tolerances as well as the actual craftsmanship.
How did you start to figure out how to make a saxophone neck?
It took a good bit of curiosity and a lot of perseverance. Being a handy person who loves to create, Kim Bock was eager to take a piece of sheet metal and begin experimenting.
Initially, Kim Bock was planning to make a saxophone neck in the traditional way – a brass cone that you bend into the shape of a neck. But upon reflecting on that actual fabrication method, he realized that it would be difficult to achieve the “evenness” and consistency of both sound and dimensions that he was seeking. So he was inspired to try something new.
Kim Bock continued to experiment and re-imagine how a sax neck can be made. After a lot of trial and error, the first neck prototype made with our “mirror-twin” process and bearing the distinctive benefits of KB necks took shape.
What saxophone neck models do you have for sale?
The Redwood was our first tenor saxophone neck model, which we still offer in our signature hand hammered copper. Canyon was our second model but that line was discontinued after we added the Vanguard model.
Over the years, we expanded into a number of different metal options and have since narrowed it down to our 5 most popular tenor sax neck options.
Our alto sax necks are available in the Vanguard model in both our signature hand hammered copper and C69 brass.
For those seeking something extra unique, we offer the Double-Alloy Custom neck option.
While all KB saxophone necks share the same distinctive benefits in terms of intonation and the general richness in sound and projection, each individual KB neck option offers something different in terms of sound and tonal feel.