Hello all, not too long ago I became the new owner of a 1954 Selmer Mark VI alto. It sounds great and doesn't play too bad but it's on original pads and a lot of the cork on it is either gone or compressed so i've been looking into getting it sent out to be repadded/overhauled. Does anyone have suggestions on good repair techs in south-east Indiana? Also, what would be a fair price for a repad? Paiges Music out of Indianapolis quoted $700 for a repad/partial overhaul. Any help would be appreciated.
Good sax repair tech in Southeastern Indiana
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I have tried to search the forum for you but curretnly the search engine works differently than the previous one, with which I could search without too many problems, and I am not yet capable to use it efficiently.
Besides you don't ask for the whole state but a very specific area.
In Central Indiana I found this
this is in other areas of the state
anyway, prices for any kind of service or overhaul are all over the place in the US and there are frequent discussions about what is a fair price and what isn't.
$700 for a partial repad , sounds like a lot of money to me, but much depends on the labor cost and overhead , people often comment that a shop in NYC or San Francisco pays a lot for this, I am not sure that Indiana qualifies as one such place.
I can only tell you that €500 in the NL is good money for a total repad including premium pads, cleaning, undenting and some solder work and that €800 would buy you one in the best shops in the country. Labor costs, overhead and taxation in Northern Europe are generally considered very high and most shops, thrive, charging that kind of money.
Good Luck!
Besides you don't ask for the whole state but a very specific area.
In Central Indiana I found this
this is in other areas of the state
anyway, prices for any kind of service or overhaul are all over the place in the US and there are frequent discussions about what is a fair price and what isn't.
$700 for a partial repad , sounds like a lot of money to me, but much depends on the labor cost and overhead , people often comment that a shop in NYC or San Francisco pays a lot for this, I am not sure that Indiana qualifies as one such place.
I can only tell you that €500 in the NL is good money for a total repad including premium pads, cleaning, undenting and some solder work and that €800 would buy you one in the best shops in the country. Labor costs, overhead and taxation in Northern Europe are generally considered very high and most shops, thrive, charging that kind of money.
Good Luck!
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First off, lemme just say that southeastern Indiana is absolutely beautiful and one of the most underrated parts of this whole country! I have some dear friends in Madison IN and in non-COVID years we'll usually use it as a home-base hub in between gigs in Louisville and Cincinnati.
That being said: Cincinnati is probably your best bet in that general part of the country for a good horn tech. Buddy Rogers' repair shop looks pretty legit, I'll bet they serve a lot of the Cinci Conservatory folks. A good program like that will need a good shop.
That being said: Cincinnati is probably your best bet in that general part of the country for a good horn tech. Buddy Rogers' repair shop looks pretty legit, I'll bet they serve a lot of the Cinci Conservatory folks. A good program like that will need a good shop.
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Paiges Music appears to have a large repair department with several experienced woodwind techs to choose from. If the $700 they quoted for a repad/partial overhaul means a total repad in addition to a partial "mechanical overhaul" which addresses key fitting, straightening, etc. that seems to be a fair price. You could ask in an email exactly what that includes to be sure.
One place i've been looking into was Brents Bench in Lafayette. It's a little out of the way but I might be up there next month. He also quoted around $700 for a repad over the phone. I've heard good things about him before on the forum. Is there anyone else here who can attest to his work?
I've heard great things about the Henline's Instrument Repair in Bloomington. Some players I know from the Jacobs school went there to get their work done. Most repads (if they are not a full overhaul) are 500-800 in my experience, although I don't have nearly enough to guarantee the accuracy of that. Good luck!
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