[PrezFan]

what does it all mean?
I understand re-padding, I understand relacquering, and I get the whole concept of repalcing whatever needs replacing.
However, when a vintage seller claims that the sax needs 'tuning' or 'adjusting,' what does it mean?
How do you tune a saxophone, and what exactly is an adjustment?

Oh, and how much would it cost to have a professional make 'adjustments,' or tune the instrument? I assume one can't do this one their own, otherwise all these vintage sax vendors would have done it already.

thanks,

Prezfan.

 

[bruce bailey]

"tuning" is generally misused by sellers. Adjusting a horn can be a time consuming affair. I just "adjusted" a Buescher that I got with a complete overhaul and nice pads. Half of the pads needed to be refloated (the backs hit before the fronts) and thus corks needed to be replaced to get the keywork to function correctly. It is hard to set a price, but I would usually charge about $800 for a complete overhaul (no refinishing) and an adjustment can run $50 to $400. A horn CAN be tuned (other than placing the mouthpiece in the correct spot) by moving tone holes and setting key openings but this is not the ordinary job that is asked for.