The saxophone was laboratory-engineered, as most instruments were not

Evidence

The saxophone is one example of such a designer instrument Most other instruments in wide use went through many stages of evolution, but the sax was engineered in a laboratory by Adolph Sax in Belgium to have new qualities: the loudness and projection of the brass family but the fast and flexible playing characteristics of the woodwinds. The result was a new branch on the musical tree of evolution. The saxophone is conical, with a clarinet-like single reed. Because it is a cone shape, the sax overblows by an octave—that is, the next harmonic. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1602

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• CANDY: The sax was deliberately designed in a lab, unlike virtually every other instrument — a fun barroom fact.

Related

• Saxophone’s cone shape makes it overblow an octave (similarity 0.88)