[IsaacOH]

Hey! As you may have seen in my other thread, I recently bought a Conn straight-neck c-melody from ebay that had had a recent repad. Great! However, upon its receipt, I realize that it needs a good bit of mechanical work to be in ship shape. Namely, the octave pin is bent awfully and several of the springs don't seem to function. Also, the trill G# is deactivated and the standard G# key isn't working...
I informed the seller and he offered to reimburse me a good sum for the repair work.

Where do you guys recommend I send it? I've gotten a couple of quotes from some out-of-staters (I live in Northwest Arkansas) for around $100 which to me seems a good deal, especially given the amount the seller is reimbursing.

The thing is, my local horn tech is competent but he is greatly prejudiced against vintage horns and C-mels particularly :/

Thoughts?

 

[Steve Stockham]

If your tech is "greatly predjudiced" against vintage horns, I sure as h*ll wouldn't be taking my saxes to him!! Try and find a tech within a 150 mile radius so you can physically take it there yourself. Otherwise, the shipping is murder and you stand a good chance of having something get banged up in transit. Just a thought...

 

[cvsimson]

Hornfixer, here at this forum, did a great job on my Buescher C melody.
He is in Florida, so you would have to ship the sax. If you can't find anyone close, I guess he would be a great option.

 

[FremontSax]

yep, there are a lot of techs who dig old horns. Don't let yours suffer at the hands of someone who could care less. If you lived in the sf bay area, I would have a solid recommendation for you.

 

[saxmusicguy]

Hornfixer, here at this forum, did a great job on my Buescher C melody.
He is in Florida, so you would have to ship the sax. If you can't find anyone close, I guess he would be a great option.

It's a pity he moved:

Where in AR you located?

Russellville, half way between Ft. Smith and Little Rock on I40.

 

[Mal 2]

It's a pity he moved:

Why is that a pity? He moved TOWARD the original poster! This might actually be the best thing that could have possibly happened.

 

[cvsimson]

I am confused. When he did my horn he was in AR. I checked his profile and it says FL, so I thought that he has moved to FL. Maybe it is the other way around?

 

[saxmusicguy]

Why is that a pity? He moved TOWARD the original poster! This might actually be the best thing that could have possibly happened.

Moving from Russellville, Arkansas to Florda is definitely NOT a move toward the OP, who is located in Northwest Arkansas. That is why it is a pity.

See his website:

Paul recently moved to St. Petersburg, Fl., from his hometown of Russellville, Arkansas, where he was the "go-to-guy" for the Russellville school district.

 

[Mal 2]

Moving from Russellville, Arkansas to Florda is definitely NOT a move toward the OP, who is located in Northwest Arkansas. That is why it is a pity.

See his website:

I see, I had it backwards. My apologies.

 

[csax]

I see, I had it backwards. My apologies.

This is C Sax land, wierd is normal here, I get confused going ten miles up the road...:mrgreen:

I would like to add (as previously stated) use someone that you can collect the horn from - it's OK to ship it to a repairer, but you want to try the repaired horn before/when you pay, maybe have little tweaks on the spot.

Once the horn passes from repair shop to the tender mercies of UPS or USPS, so much can happen, or be blamed on the shippers or packing !

Or you could accept the 'mission impossible' to convert the local guy - maybe you could ask him the obvious question "Well, who repairs all the vintage horns around here, if you don't or won't ?"

 

[FESTER]

I agree...he brought mine back from the dead! I would without hesitation recommend him.
FESTER

Hornfixer, here at this forum, did a great job on my Buescher C melody.
He is in Florida, so you would have to ship the sax. If you can't find anyone close, I guess he would be a great option.

 

[Grumps]

Here's where I'd take the horn:

Sorry folks... I just couldn't resist. :bluewink:

 

[dvdberg]

Grumps, you've taken a couple of yours over there already? :mrgreen:

 

[Grumps]

Grumps, you've taken a couple of yours over there already? :mrgreen:

Yeah, I didn't really sell that VII tenor.
I considered it a public service...

 

[Captain Beeflat]

Here's where I'd take the horn:

Sorry folks... I just couldn't resist. :bluewink:

Is that not Jazzbug's Studebaker I see in the crusher?

 

[saxmusicguy]

Here's where I'd take the horn:

Why, because it's a C-melody, or because of of the particular type of C-melody horn it is? Have you listened to this?

 

[old10m]

I had a great old Conn C mel repaired in Columbia MO by Butch Antal. He is an excellent sax technician and did an ultrasonic cleaning on it, overhauled, and adjust. It came out looking and sounding like a million bucks. He is very reasonable and an excellent at instrument restoration. He owns and operates Columbia Band Instrument Company.

 

[Grumps]

Have you listened to this?

Just did, but I wouldn't like that played on any sax. I have come across some very nice examples of C melody playing thanks to the good people here, but just had to take a dig. It's been a while. :bluewink:

 

[jazzbug1]

Yes.. sniff..sniff. My wife loaded all my old horns, put them in the Studebaker, and..... I can't type any more

 

[Captain Beeflat]

Yes.. sniff..sniff. My wife loaded all my old horns, put them in the Studebaker, and..... I can't type any more

Despite your inestimable loss I hope that you have as good a Christmas as is possible under the circumstances.