Saxophone repair in Washington DC area
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Allow me to add a +1 for Eric Beach. He just finished a major overhaul of my Selmer Mark VI Tenor, and it's perfect.
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Other options:
L & L Music in Gaithersburg
Lee Lachman in College Park
Jeff Dening at Jeff's Woodwind Shop near Baltimore
I have not used Lee but I heard good things. L & L does good work. I got hooked up with Jeff Dening when he was at L & L. He repadded my Silversonic and did an awesome job.
I have also heard good things about Eric Beach. I met him at the Navy Band Saxophone Symposium and he was a very nice person to speak with. I may use him in the future.
L & L Music in Gaithersburg
Lee Lachman in College Park
Jeff Dening at Jeff's Woodwind Shop near Baltimore
I have not used Lee but I heard good things. L & L does good work. I got hooked up with Jeff Dening when he was at L & L. He repadded my Silversonic and did an awesome job.
I have also heard good things about Eric Beach. I met him at the Navy Band Saxophone Symposium and he was a very nice person to speak with. I may use him in the future.
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Sorry, I just bumped it today because I got my horn back last night. 
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about a year ago I did a trip around this area and made videos of most of the shops there. You can see them on YouTube if you like. I visited almost everyone listed. All great shops!
Don't be sorry! I hadn't seen this thread before and would not have noticed it if it had not been bumped. I'm in the Richmond area, and as much as I hate going to Nawthun Vuhjinyuh I will for a good tech.Sorry, I just bumped it today because I got my horn back last night.
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Another bump for Eric Beach:
I just got my Mark VI back from Eric Beach for his "better-than-factory" rebuild and it's playing better than any time in the 43 years I've owned it. Really a beautiful job, quiet and smooth. I played the range of the instrument against a tuner and all of the notes are dead on. The bell notes speak easily at pianissimo.
Eric is one of the techs at Chuck Levin's aka Washington Music Center. He also does work in his home shop. Chuck Levin's is fine with this, by the way.
Eric quoted me a flat rate sight-unseen for the rebuild - with additional cost for fancy pads or expensive resos, etc. the price was more than reasonable. I don't even want to say what it was because he should really raise his prices. I didn't need dent work or parts fabrication, I assume that's priced separately. He gives a 6-month warranty on the work, so I suppose if something needs tweaking after a break-in period you can just come back.
I really liked that he seems to schedule his work. He told me when to drop it off and had it ready well within the promised 2 weeks. Since this is just his side work it looks like he doesn't allow himself to get swamped. Very civilized.
He does clarinets but not flutes. He recommends Ed Scott at Chuck Levin's for flutes.
His home shop is in Silver Spring, MD, close to the beltway at Rt. 29. He can be reached at e.beach58 {at} gmail {dot} com. If you need to arrange your repair work around your own calendar, choosing when you can part with your instrument, I'd contact him well ahead of time and get on his schedule.
Mike
I just got my Mark VI back from Eric Beach for his "better-than-factory" rebuild and it's playing better than any time in the 43 years I've owned it. Really a beautiful job, quiet and smooth. I played the range of the instrument against a tuner and all of the notes are dead on. The bell notes speak easily at pianissimo.
Eric is one of the techs at Chuck Levin's aka Washington Music Center. He also does work in his home shop. Chuck Levin's is fine with this, by the way.
Eric quoted me a flat rate sight-unseen for the rebuild - with additional cost for fancy pads or expensive resos, etc. the price was more than reasonable. I don't even want to say what it was because he should really raise his prices. I didn't need dent work or parts fabrication, I assume that's priced separately. He gives a 6-month warranty on the work, so I suppose if something needs tweaking after a break-in period you can just come back.
I really liked that he seems to schedule his work. He told me when to drop it off and had it ready well within the promised 2 weeks. Since this is just his side work it looks like he doesn't allow himself to get swamped. Very civilized.
He does clarinets but not flutes. He recommends Ed Scott at Chuck Levin's for flutes.
His home shop is in Silver Spring, MD, close to the beltway at Rt. 29. He can be reached at e.beach58 {at} gmail {dot} com. If you need to arrange your repair work around your own calendar, choosing when you can part with your instrument, I'd contact him well ahead of time and get on his schedule.
Mike
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Hello all: since this thread is relatively old I thought I would update it in case another sax player in the Washington DC, Northern VA area was looking for a great technician for repair work on their saxphone. It was certainly helpful to me when I wanted to find a reliable and trustworthy person to overhaul my vintage Mark VI Alto. Plays today like it did for me back when I first acquired it back in 1967! I give credit to Eric Beach, who was mentioned in earlier replies in this thread who is still working at Washington Music Center in Wheaton MD as being the guy that made this instrument purr like a kitten. Number is 301-946-8808. A bit pricey for a major overhaul, but if you need to have it done right and want to sleep at night after turning in your valuable vintage sax for repair, this is someone I would highly recommend.
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