Having a sax serviced

[Moz]

I have never had my sax serviced although I clean and oil it regularly. I am thinking of having a complete overhaul, does anyone know how long I would be without my sax whle it's done?

Moz

[old git]

Gave Griff mine on a Thursday, his normal Croydon day although we'll have to put up with him for his Fairfield Concert on Sat 4th April as well, and picked it up the following Thursday, stripped, cleaned, re-corked, lubricated, re-assembled, regulated and I suspect he could have changed a few pads. Thoroughly recommended, You are in the next County to him, so might be even quicker.

[griff136]

Hi Moz, it really depends what you mean by service.

generally there are 4 levels of repair that most repairers offer. I offer the following

1. Tweak - e.g a minor adjustment to sort a leak out. priced on an hourly basis

2. Thorough checkover - check all pad seating, adjust where necessary, check and adjust spring tensions where required, check all linkages,remove any double action form keys, replace cork and felt as necessary,lubricate, general wipe clean and set to good working order. £50 ish - same day service if booked in advance.

3. Service - strip the instrument of all its constituent parts, clean body bore and keywork. remove any play from keys in between their posts, clean and check all pivot/barrel screws, rod screws, clean all hinge tubing. check and adjust fitting of the crook, check the pads for wear and tear, clean and replace as required ( I include a max of 5 in the price) usually a few palm keys, low Eb, G# maybe. Re assemble, adjust and regulate linkages fitting cork and felt as necessary, lubricate the mechanism and set to good working order. £150 ish 2 days. does not include the polishing of silver instruments. any additional work eg soldering priced at an hourly rate.

4. Overhaul - as service plus, adjust/level toneholes as required, remove dents replace all cork, all felt and all pads. From around £320 depending on the condition of the instrument. 1 week

I quote firm prices once I have had the opportunity to inspect the instument - prices obviously depend on the age and condition of the instrument. And timescales dependent on availablitiy of spares/pads etc.

I hope this is of some help.

[Rogerb]

That's very interesting and useful, Griff, thanks....I have occasionally wondered.

Presumably 1 & 2 are all a carefully and lightly-used new sax, like mine(!), should need for quite a few years?
I check the screws for tightness occasionally and try to keep it clean & 'dried-out' after use.

Without wanting to do yourself out of business, any other 'easy tips' on 'preventative maintenance for the non-techie'?

Another quick question: has anyone found a really good brush...or other implement... for 'dusting' behind the keys? I feel a 'giant pipe-cleaner', made of microfibre, would be ideal!

[AlistairD]

Hi,

Reading this has reminded me that mine probably needs a service... Anyone know of a good tech near me in Aylesbury?

[old git]

That's very interesting and useful, Griff, thanks....I have occasionally wondered.

Presumably 1 & 2 are all a carefully and lightly-used new sax, like mine(!), should need for quite a few years?

Not necessarily Roger. My ex demo ST8 had been re-assembled by Alastair or his tech and after just over a year's use, it was given to Griff and it came back a very different instrument that renewed my enthusiasm.

It is definitely worth having a good, non attached technician spend the extra time. The original sellers, however well intentioned, can only afford a limited set up period if they want to make a profit.

You are lucky, yours has been set up by Stephen.

[griff136]

That's very interesting and useful, Griff, thanks....I have occasionally wondered.

Presumably 1 & 2 are all a carefully and lightly-used new sax, like mine(!), should need for quite a few years?
I check the screws for tightness occasionally and try to keep it clean & 'dried-out' after use.

Without wanting to do yourself out of business, any other 'easy tips' on 'preventative maintenance for the non-techie'?

Another quick question: has anyone found a really good brush...or other implement... for 'dusting' behind the keys? I feel a 'giant pipe-cleaner', made of microfibre, would be ideal!

Roger,

options 1 and 2 are not exclusively for new/newish instruments. as long as the instuments don't need a service then usually the checkover will suffice. option 1 is used when a customer comes in and says something like " I cant get my bell notes to speak clearly" or "my low d is stuffy" etc

as for handy tips on maintenance --

1. regularly use cork grease on your crook cork. - it helps the mouthpiece slide on and off but more importantly it seals and protects your cork.

2. remove mouthpiece from your crook once youve finished playing.

3. if you get a sticking pad get some lighter fluid ( sold in newsagents) put a small amount on £5 note - place between the pad and the tone hole - close the pad and gently pull the note out.

4. always undo your neck screw before removing your crook.

5. I prefer to put the mouthpiece on the crook before putting it on the sax.