Saxophone Ribbed Construction simply means the post are soldered to a larger rib and then the rib is soldered to the body of the saxophone… This is a very common method of manufacturing since the Selmer company used it on the Mark VI saxophones… The idea being it was that it made the saxophone darker and have a richer tone color….
Again, hard to prove….
*The solder under the rib is hard to control. The amount of solder necessary to hold the rib to the body will vary… this makes each saxophone play a little differently.
*It is more difficult to remove dents from the body of a saxophone when they occur under a rib…. The ribs are very strong and hard to straighten out once they are damaged….
*Many players and manufacturers believe the rib helps the saxophone respond better and have a better tone color….. I believe they are just different and the play should choose the saxophone they like best….