Saxophone Forum


by Captain_Superman
(3 posts)
11 years ago

Saxophone Repair advice

Hello Saxophone Forum! So glad to have found a place to talk saxophone with other people. So here's my story:
I currently play on a Jean Baptiste 480 T/L tenor saxophone, which I got more or less brand new back in the early months of 2007. Only reason I say more or less brand new was because it was a display model at the local music shop and the guy said it may have very minor weathering conditions. Nonetheless, it played well and has lasted me ever since, taking me from: Midlle School Band to the School District Honors Band where we performed at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, High School Concert Band/Marching Band, High School Jazz Ensemble, and a saxophone quartet some friends and I made, all of which have thankfully taken me to perform at fantastic locations such as the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, an out-of-state trip to Las Vegas, and many more. Now, I have reached a new peak at my musical career. 
So right now I am a freshman/rising sophmore at my university and have decided to pursue a chance at declaring a double major in mathematics and in jazz studies. This year, I'll be auditioning for the school of music to see if I can get a spot in the school. 

Now, here comes the real sax talk:
Through the years, my saxophone has taken quite a beating going from place to place. While I've always treated it well, it is still succeptible to damage. Here is a list of problems I have with the sax:
- the cork that holds the mouthpiece to the neck is wearing away, just barely holding on.
- lower register notes (starting from F and downward) play really muffled and require more wind than necessary to get the notes to come out.
- some of the hardware and bridges are beginning to fall apart.
- handful of cushioning pads have fallen off or are basically  done for.

Over the years, I have done everything that I could to keep the sax up and running and in as tip-top shape as possible. I know eventually, I will have to upgrade to a better saxophone, but for the sake of the audition and practicing, I plan on sticking to this one for the time being. Also, since I'm kind of on a budget, I need to know approximately what needs to be fixed, what unecessary fixing can be avoided, and how much would I be looking into spending on repairing it. 

I guess I can generalize down the questions:
- For the lower register notes problems, would that be a pad factor? If so, would I need to replace all the pads or just a certain amount of pads?
- Which would be the best course of action to take on repairing this old saxophone?
- Would it be better to invest in another saxophone now rather than invest on this one?
And a side question here, kind of apart from my sax:
- I recently found a vintage HN White King Voll-True tenor sax that needs some new padding for about $800. Would that be a better investment than repairing my old sax?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. I hope to hear from you all soon and am excited to find out more about this great website.

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  1. by GFC
    (842 posts)

    11 years ago

    Re: Saxophone Repair advice

    What exactly do you mean by hardware and bridges falling apart?  That sounds like a potentially very expensive, maybe even fatal, problem with the horn.  Has it been damaged in accidents or is it just falling apart under normal use?






     

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    1. by Captain_Superman
      (3 posts)

      11 years ago

      Re: Saxophone Repair advice

      Sorry, maybe the wording I chose wasn't the best. Nothing extreme has been damaged. Aside from some very minor falls that it has taken (I can count only three falls that have happened where it doesn't really count as a fall because I've been able to catch the horn before it made full impact with the ground), the only damage it has is a missing screw or two that hold down the keyguards for the low C and B/B-flat, a replaced cork from the octave key which was terrible, some padding that holds up some of the keys, the octave pin is missing the plastic wrap it normally has, and the neck screw doesn't hold the neck tightly in place even if fully tightened.

      Actually, this is a question that I have regarding the octave pin. I've seen the same problen happen with other saxophones in which the octave key doesn't close properly due to the plastic wrap thing that goes on the octave pin. My horn had that problem so to eliminate that I simply removed the plastic wrap and it fixed it, aside from the metal clicking sound it makes when it hits the octave piece, but I removed that with tape cushioning the surface. What causes this problem to happen that the octave key doesn't close properly? I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to remove the plastic wrapping in the first place.

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  2. by saxgourmet
    (127 posts)

    11 years ago

    Re: Saxophone Repair advice

    It is absolutely impossible to give an estimate for these problems without seeing the horn, and hence it is impossibe to calculate the costs. One pad could be leaking or many.....given that it's had five years od use, it is reasonable to expect that many things will show some wear and need to be replaced. Take it to someone who knows what they are doing.

    STEVE GOODSON
    New Orleans
    www.nationofmusic.com

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    1. by jhonb
      (2 posts)

      11 years ago

      Re: Saxophone Repair advice

      U are riight buddy.its really diffcult to male an estimate for this problems..batter to take some placet for repair.

      [url=http://www.saxophonehub.com/careless-whisper-sax/]Careless Whisper Sax[/url]

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      1. by saxgourmet
        (127 posts)

        11 years ago

        Re: Saxophone Repair advice

        all of the problems you describe sound pretty much like "normal wear and tear".....and should be easy to resolve at a reasonable cost.....why do you think an old Vol-True would be an improvement over your present horn?

        STEVE GOODSON
        New Orleans
        www.nationofmusic.com

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        1. by Captain_Superman
          (3 posts)

          11 years ago

          Re: Saxophone Repair advice

          Thank you for letting me know. And you were right, I recently took my horn to a shop to get it checked and fixed. I was expecting to break my wallet with repairs, when all along it was some leaks and a pad or two that needed to be replaced. Cost me no more than $100. I haven't gotten back the horn yet, but I'm waiting for another day or two to be able to try it out. 

          A different question aside, do prices for re-padding a saxophone differ? I found a vintage saxophone on Saxquest that was in good condition aside from a re-padding that it needed. If I were to buy a horn in that condition say for about $800-$900, would it be a good investment taking into consideration that it still needs a re-padding?
           

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