Here’s where I have a problem with home repairs: they don’t stay always “at home”. Certainly every player has the right to do whatever they want with their property. And while I might not like your poorly playing and set-up horn, if down the road you go to sell it, I don’t have to buy it. A parent buying said horn for his\/her child, or an inexperienced player just starting out, might not know that there are problems with the way the horn has been set-up.<\/p>\n
Or worse yet, I think we can all think of examples of players we have run across online, who buy beater horns, fix them up, and then advertise them for sale again as “fully overhauled”. Many times these players have 0 experience with repairs, and know virtually nothing when it comes to fixing saxophones. Any knowledge they have, they have gleaned through the Internet, and perhaps through talking with a local tech or two…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A go-to book for home saxophone repairs<\/h2>\n
Esteemed repair tech Stephen Howard, has written an excellent resource manual for saxophonists. The Haynes Saxophone Manual<\/em> <\/a>was published in late 2009, and is a book I recommend for all serious players because it provides some great fixes for everyday problems (like sticking keys), as well as gives great info and advice about how to look after your horn, and keep it running well between professional services.<\/p>\n The broad areas Stephen covers are:<\/p>\n For the adventuresome types, in his Advanced Maintenance<\/em> sections Stephen covers things like pad and spring replacement. But right in those chapters he writes:<\/p>\n The aim of this manual is to show you how to maintain and service your saxophone to keep it in good working order, but because of the intricacies and skills involved in setting pads I can’t in all honesty recommend that you attempt it. There’s a huge difference between thinking a pad is set and knowing that it is, and that difference will have a very significant effect on the performance of your instrument.<\/p>\n Source: Haynes Saxophone Manual by Stephen Howard, p 130<\/span><\/p>\n Replacing a broken needle spring isn’t a difficult job in theory, but in order to do it well and without damaging the pillar it requires a suitable tool (a pair of spring pliers). More often than not the hardest part is getting the old spring out \u2013 and this again requires specialist tools to do the job without damaging the instrument. It usually also requires a certain amount of dismantling of the keywork, or in some cases an entire key stack, and as such I would recommend leaving this kind of work to a professional.<\/p>\n Source: Haynes Saxophone Manual by Stephen Howard, p 140<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n So as you can see, Stephen points out that there times when a professional saxophone technician is the person who should be looking after the repair work on your horn. Sadly, not everyone heeds his advice when it comes to saxophone repair.<\/p>\n In 2006, shortly after I became ill, I bought the 10M I now have<\/a> from a fellow on a saxophone forum. The horn was advertised as having just had a repad, but needing a final setup. Sadly this was not the case at all: the horn was in fact a train wreck.<\/p>\n The horn needed a complete restoration, major amounts of dent removal, a complete set of set screws, and ideally a new neck. And the repad job? Well it turns out the pads weren’t affixed at all. They were just placed into the key cups.<\/p>\n The guy who sold this Conn tenor to me is a clown, With that purchase I learned a lesson first hand that I had previously repeated to others ad nauseam: When you buy a horn online, unless you are buying it from a reputable vintage saxophone dealer and you know the saxophone’s true condition, count on spending money on an overhaul.<\/strong> This way if the horn doesn’t need it, you’re ahead of the game.<\/p>\n When people sell saxophones that are poorly set-up or maintained, they might not being doing it maliciously. Sometimes they honestly don’t know that what they are selling is going to need $500+ of work. Other times… Well let’s just say people do know, and just don’t care. I’d like to think though that those people are in the minority however.<\/p>\n All that aside, I believe that it is certainly every person’s right to do with their saxophone what they want: change the pads; strip the lacquer; airbrush it with crazy colours; or do whatever the f ![\"Haynes-Saxophone-Manual,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/Haynes-Saxophone-Manual.jpg?resize=750%2C956&ssl=1\" "\\"Haynes-Saxophone-Manual\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nSource: haynes.co.uk<\/span><\/h6>\n
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My personal experience with a home saxophone repair<\/h2>\n
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<\/a> yet to this day he enjoys a good reputation on saxophone forums. Why did I not say anything negative about him? Well because I didn’t want to cause any waves, and I was too ill to deal with the consequences of it all.<\/p>\nOnline buyers should budget in the costs of an overhaul<\/h2>\n
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<\/a> else they want to do with their horn. When they go to sell it though, I think the horn ought to come a big disclaimer sticker on the case. A sticker that looks something like this…<\/p>\n
![\"warning](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Saxophone-Repair-Warning-St.gif?resize=1000%2C306&ssl=1\" "\\"Saxophone-Repair-Warning-Sticker\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n