A few weeks ago someone—I can’t remember who now, the last couple months really have been a bit of a blur—posted a link to a PDF version of an old instrument repair manual on the Bass Sax Cooperative.
Unfortunately there is no front cover or introduction in this manual, so we don’t know who published it and when, or what its title really is. However, the blurry photos contained in the manual are obviously quite old.
Furthermore, a reference on page 69 to Selmer’s then-current production model Mark VI as “so far superior to anything put out in the past by the Selmer Company that it is not worth discussing”, indicates that the publication is at least post 1954.
If you’re a DIY’er, which I’m not, you might find some of the information in this manual useful. Although this manual appears to have been written for owners of small, one-man repair shops, and/or those working in them, some of the techniques and supplies discussed might still be relevant today.
Source: thesax.de
That said, obviously there have been major advances in instrument repair over the past 6+ decades, and places like Music Medic make the newest supplies available to your average DIY’er. I now more than a few players who order parts through Curt’s company, and work on their horns themselves. (Some with better results than others, I might add.)
With the above disclaimer in mind, let’s take a look at what the saxophone section of the instrument repair manual covers…
Chapter 4 starts on page 68, and is dedicated to the saxophone. The author covers the following topics:
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- Saxophone Explanation and Description
- Selmer
- Buescher
- The Conn Saxophone
- Martin Saxophone
- King Saxophone
- Other Makes
- Order of Disassembly
- Tone Hole Refacing and Soldering
- Dent Removal
- Soldering Posts, etc.
- Post Alignment
- Straightening Bent Rods
- Rusted Rod Removal
- Rod Replacement
- Spring Removal
- Key Swedging
- Norton Springs
- Neck Fitting
- Guard Repair
- Pearl and Socket Replacement
- Automatic Octave Replacement from Double Octave
- Straightening Bent Keys
- Key Corking
- Padding with Regular Pads
- Padding Special Pads: Conn Reso, Buescher Snap On, Tonex, Etc.
- Inserting Selmer Tone Booster
- Spring Alignment
- Corking of Necks
- Pad Seating
- Saxophone Assembly (Order)
- Upper Stack Regulations
- Lower Stack Regulations
- Removal of Lost Motion
- Octave Spring Regulation
- Octave Key Regulation
- Saxophone Bumper Application
- Improving the Middle D on Tenor Saxes
- General Information on Specific Makes and Models of the Saxophone Buffet
- Holton
- Buescher Saxophone
- Conn
- Martin
- King
- Selmer
- Strasser, Marigeaux and LeMaire (SML)
- Kohlert
- Saxophone Pad Chart
Source: thesax.de
Seems quite thorough doesn’t it? Reading through the nearly 30 pages made me chuckle. Since we don’t know who the author was, we don’t even know if he was a saxophone player. However, it’s pretty clear that the author loved the Selmer Mark VI; valorized many of the advances of the US horn makers; and with the exception of a couple of European brands for which he really had very few kind words to say, he disregarded some of the biggest names in the European saxophone industry. (Julius Keilwerth being an obvious example.)
The author makes absolutely no attempt to hide his bias or personal opinions. Take for example the following comment about Holton saxophones:
If ever there were changes made on saxophones, the Holton Company made them. What would normally seem to be changes for the better. made this saxophone in the past seem like a farce. The high Eb trill key put out by the Holton Company with the advent of their Rudy Weidoft Model was a museum piece. Their attempt of clarification of the mid- dle D by the insertion of the C auxiliary tone hole was. without question, the worst key arrangement that could possibly be conceived by the minds of men.
Lest you think that he singled out Holton, he basically called out every saxophone company for one thing or another.
This was his view on Martin:
For many years the Martin Saxophone was nothing more than a student line instrument. By comparison to other instruments, it was old fashioned and out-dated. In recent years, when the Martin Company made its first major change in its saxophone styling, by bringing forth the Martin Committee Model Saxophone, the Martin Company took its place as one of the leaders in the field.
And on King:
The King Saxophone for many years had a reputation of being a soft sounding sweet tone instrument that no professional would use… For many years, the King Saxophone was not even considered by musicians. However, on today’s market the King Super 20 is, in the opinion of the writer, the only saxophone that can compare to the Selmer and it does this rather easily.
And SML lovers are really not going to like this:
The SML put out by Strasser Marigaux LeMa ire [sic] is one of the heaviest saxophones that was ever built, and its tone and make up are certainly not in comparison with the price of the horn. We do not place this instrument in a comparative category of either of the better American brands or the Selmer.
Source: p.71 of Instrument Repair Manual
The author’s personal opinions about the various brands aside, there is a lot of really good historical information in this repair manual. If you’re interested in vintage saxophones, even if you don’t fix them yourself, this might very well be a resource worth saving on your hard drive.
I own a Frank Holton C melody saxophone and it is very old about a 100 yrs old. I have tried many ways to loosen the screws but to no avail. They are stuck. I have even frozen the instrument. I have put heat to it. I have us Pb blaster. And mixture of transmission oil and acetone. I have added heat to each one of these and by itself. I am trying my best to be patient.
Take it to a tech.
Hi Helen,
Thanks for posting this. It is both historical and hysterically amusing.
All I can say to the budding DIYers is: don’t try this at home, kids.
I looked through this and found some really useful tidbits of information, but much of it is sloppy, and some of it is dangerously ill-informed. An otherwise good instrument could be ruined if the advice proffered here were followed to the letter, and without critical thinking or the benefit of a sound apprenticeship. That whole rant about stripping gold plating to achieve a “more modern” appearance is an abomination, in my humble opinion, although the chemistry is quite interesting.
Peace,
paul
Very true Paul. Very true. The same can also be said whenever some well intentioned, but not suited to the task, takes on a repair. I’ve seen a fair of those in my day as well. I suspect any qualified, repair tech who has been in the business a long time, could regale us with story after after story of horns that they have seen damaged beyond repair, or even just permanently damaged, by DIY repair jobs.
Over the years my techs have told me stories of pro horns that have been worked on by their owners, and then eventually brought into the shop when the repairs didn’t work. Some of the damage they described was just awful. It’s enough to make a person cry.