woodwind repair & vintage instruments

Repair Philosophy

Too many times, before I was a repairman, I would walk into a repair shop and pick up my horn and ask, "What did you do?" and be given an answer like "Oh, just a little something to the octave mechanism". I would walk out of the store having no idea what I paid for, whether I had paid a fair price, or how to make sure whatever was wrong didn't happen again.

One particular time, after spending over $300 to have work I couldn't detect done on a baritone saxophone of mine, I had had enough of being clueless about my horns. I decided I was going to learn about repair. Easier said than done! My local repairmen would not share any of their knowledge with me, and books on the subject at the time were less than complete.

Long story short, I persevered, and when I finally became a full-fledged repairman, I pledged to myself that I would always be free with my knowledge, and I would depend on my skills- not trade secrets- to earn and keep the trust and business of my customers.

My philosophy on repair is this: you deserve to know everything you want to know about what I am doing to your instrument. I will show you what I have done, teach you about preventative maintenance and where to get the supplies, show you the difference between different options and procedures so that you can be better educated to make your horn play like an extension of yourself. Because in the end, it is all about making music.


Wait Times

I try to organize my work so that while repads and overhauls may have a wait time depending on how busy I am, play condition repairs (getting the instrument back to playing condition, also called PC work- anything from an "adjustment" to a "tune-up" to a new neck cork to changing a bunch of pads) can always be turned around quickly.




Client List

You won't ever find one here- it's as simple as that. I don't believe in client lists; instead I choose to work hard and let word of mouth do my advertising.



Repair Procedures

In the repair world today, the words "repad" and "overhaul" have different meanings in different places.

When I repair your instrument:

-A MINI REPAD (sometimes called a repad elsewhere)
is a hand cleaning of the body and keys, replacing all pads and necessary adjustment materials. Stack toneholes are checked and perfected. On saxophones the neck tenon body seal is checked and adjusted for a perfect fit.


-A FULL REPAD (sometimes called an overhaul elsewhere)
is replacing every single pad and cork, along with a chemical cleaning of the keys and body and minor dent removal. All toneholes are checked and perfected. On saxophones the neck tenon body seal is checked and adjusted for a perfect fit. On clarinets, all tenon corks are replaced. Major bodywork/soldering is extra. Some repair shops call this procedure an overhaul.


-A MECHANICAL OVERHAUL (either not offered or called a restoration elsewhere)
is all of the repad, plus a restoration of the keywork to better-than-new mechanical condition. ALL play is removed from the hinge tubes and pivot rods. Hinge tubes are gently swedged tight using collets, with regard to the integrity of the finish, and then made square and true with hinge tube facers so that the bearing surfaces of the ends of the hinge tubes are perfectly flat, thus ensuring a long-lasting and smooth fit. The pivot screw bearing surfaces are checked and if the screw is uneven, it is replaced with an original replacement part. The pivot receivers on the pivot rods are thoroughly cleaned out, checked, and perfected to match the pivot screw exactly. Then the pivot screw post is counterbored until the pivot screw and pivot rod fit perfectly, being absolutely free with no play. Springs are assessed and replaced if needed. Minor dents are removed. Major bodywork/soldering is extra. Some repair shops call this procedure a restoration. This is the service to get if you want your sax to be as perfect as I can possibly make it.


-ALL PRICING is done by in-hand estimate. I used to offer flat rates, but this got me nowhere but in trouble as each instrument has had a different life and as such needs different care.

No matter whether the work takes 5 minutes or 50 hours, I use nothing but the best materials on every instrument I work on. Whether your instrument is worth $50 or $50,000, the same meticulous care is given. Whether you are a jazz giant or first year student, the same work is done for the same price. Feel free to call regarding repair pricing, but estimates done without the horn in my hand could easily be incorrect.

Some of the other services available:

-Full respringing
-Chemical Cleaning
-Clarinet key machine-polishing
-Engraving
-Key repair or replacement
-Pearl replacement
-Delacquering and hand polishing
-Silver and Gold plating
-Custom key modifications
-Appraisals for insurance
-Mouthpiece consultations



Repair Warranty

Every repair I do is warranteed- I hardly ever have to re-do anything I have done, but if you ever have a problem with a repair I have done, just bring it back in and I will take care of you.



Refacing

I am starting to offer a very limited refacing service, and sometimes you will see mouthpieces I have refaced up for sale on this website. As time goes on and I improve at the craft I will offer more services and update this section to reflect changes.



If you have questions, please go to the "contact" section and feel free to get in touch.