Specifications of product sound qualities may contain both perceptual and acoustical descriptions. The perceptual descriptions are most helpful when they contain adequate detail and utilises understandable wording. To facilitate the product design process the descriptions should also be interpretable as acoustical quantities. The objectives of the study reported upon here were to investigate how musicians use verbal descriptions of sound and to interpret these descriptions in terms of commonly used acoustical quantities. Musicians' use of verbal descriptions of saxophone sound was investigated through interviews. The most frequently used words were evaluated through listening tests. The subjects were asked to judge how well the words described the timbre of test sounds. To find the most significant perceptual dimensions for the test sounds Principal Component Analysis was used. Four significant dimensions were found and described by 9 words. To interpret the perceptual dimensions in terms of physically measurable indices, models for how acoustical quantities relate to the perceptual dimensions were developed. Dimension 1 was described by full-toned/warm/soft. The psycho-acoustical quantity sharpness correlated negatively with this dimension. Dimension 2 was described by the term [o]-like. Sharpness and specific roughness (9-11 Bark) correlated negatively with this dimension. Dimension 3 was described by sharp/keen/rough. Sharpness and roughness correlated with this dimension. Dimension 4 was described by the term [e]-like. No model for prediction of this dimension was found. To validate the models the effect of a changed design of the tone holes of a saxophone was predicted with the model and validated with new listening tests.