[Meatballfoot]

I have a couple of general questions for you saxophone repair-folk:

1. What repair/ adjustment do you perform the most often? (Be as specific as possible)

2. What is the most difficult repair/ adjustment you have ever had to perform?

Thanks for your tremendous service to the saxophone community!

 

[hornfixer]

What adjustment do you perform the most often? (Be as specific as possible)

Straightening the "bridge" key on a clarinet.

What is the most difficult repair you have ever had to perform?

Burnishing a sousaphone bell by hand.

 

[Meatballfoot]

Straightening the "bridge" key on a clarinet.

Meaning the pieces that bridge the top and bottom joints? Is the G#/Bb bridge on saxophone similarly problematic?

Burnishing a sousaphone bell by hand.

Congrats on that one!

 

[hornfixer]

Is the G#/Bb bridge on saxophone similarly problematic?

No.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

1. What repair/ adjustment do you perform the most often? (Be as specific as possible).

Deal with a leak. (It would definitely not be straightening a bridge key on a clarinet. Here in NZ, clarinet students are taught by clarinet players, who teach them correct assembly!)


2. What is the most difficult repair/ adjustment you have ever had to perform?

Make utter junk playable for a budget price.

 

[Meatballfoot]

Thanks for the responses guys

Deal with a leak.

Any in particular that come up the most? I would guess Eb, but do others come up repeatedly?

 

[hornfixer]

Any in particular that come up the most? I would guess Eb, but do others come up repeatedly?

I would say the neck key.

 

[simso]

What repair/ adjustment do you perform the most often? (Be as specific as possible)

Strip / clean / re-assemble / repair

2. What is the most difficult repair/ adjustment you have ever had to perform?

Dent work tubas, reskin djembe heads, repair busted guitars from people jumping on them, repair flutes from kids who use them for sword fighting. Plenty more, but that will do...

 

[Dog Pants]

1) Bent Flutes, Broken bridge mech on Clarinets, bent neck octave key on saxes, adjusting key height back down from vertical to normal on all wind instruments (kids will pull at any key they can get their fingers under), remove trumpet mouthpiece, re-round neck tenon on saxes.

In the school system you get a long list of common repairs.

2) Trying to get Aldi flutes and Clarinets to play and keep them playing. A bent Artley flute with ruined chimneys, grommets and tone holes, that we should never have even bothered with. Only to have the child drop it and bend it again within ten minutes of getting it back from us.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

Thanks for the responses guys



Any in particular that come up the most? I would guess Eb, but do others come up repeatedly?

Yes, all of them! They're pretty good at taking turns.

For a horn that does not get cleaned, and which has sugar, cigarette smoke, saliva and dead mouth tissue blown down it to make a felt with the lint from the substandard swab or pull-through, yes, Eb may be common, but in a locality where horns are reasonably cared for, it is not especially problematic because it is one of the pads that is normally sprung closed, which assist in overcoming imperfections of seal.

 

[Meatballfoot]

Interesting stuff. I'm mostly curious from a personal maintenance standpoint but also for my students.

 

[slausonm]

I have a couple of general questions for you saxophone repair-folk:

1. What repair/ adjustment do you perform the most often? (Be as specific as possible)

2. What is the most difficult repair/ adjustment you have ever had to perform?

Thanks for your tremendous service to the saxophone community!

#1 Leaking pads.
#2 Complete disassembly of a double wall metal Conn clarinet to re-solder all of the tone holes and posts. The solder had deteriorated and it leaked badly. This is the one and only double wall metal clarinet I have ever seen or worked on.

Hand burnishing sousa and tuba bells ain't nottin

 

[hornfixer]

#2 Complete disassembly of a double wall metal Conn clarinet to re-solder all of the tone holes and posts. The solder had deteriorated and it leaked badly. This is the one and only double wall metal clarinet I have ever seen or worked on.

I bow to you sir.
My first repair job was a metal clarinet repad.
I have been turning them down ever since, that was in 1968.

 

[slausonm]

I bow to you sir.
My first repair job was a metal clarinet repad.
I have been turning them down ever since, that was in 1968.

I generally avoid them as well. This one however was very rare. I avoid burnishing tuba and sousa bells too.

 

[hornfixer]

I avoid burnishing tuba and sousa bells too.

One was enough for me. It sure made trumpet bells seem easy after that.