Tech/maintenance Do you carry out your own repad?

[Pete Thomas]

How brave you are when it comes down to replacing pads? Check out the poll on CaféSaxophone

 

[mizmar]

"... Worked well"? Depends on who judges if it's well done!

 

[PiccoloPirate]

Accomplished players, tell the Techs, if it's right or wrong.
If it's just padding and basic work, no metal manipulation, it's good to have the necessary tools and skills.

 

[rhysonsax]

Option 4 seems to be a further question and not a rhetorical one at that (like option 6).

Rhys

 

[DavidUK]

Yes.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Option 4 seems to be a further question and not a rhetorical one at that (like option 6).

Rhys

Thanks, I've changed I now.

 

[SaxBoss]

Changing pads on an old beater of a saxophone is like learning to drive in an old car. One needs to try, and refine their skills. There are plenty of training videos on line to guid you in the beginning.

 

[Dr G]

"Do you carry out your own repad?" and "Do you replace your own pads?" have two different connotations to me. Performing an entire repad requires setting up the entire horn - replacing soft materials, adjusting venting, intonation, etc. versus replacing a pad and adjusting it to its previous spec. For me, it would be similar to rebuilding a bicycle wheel vs fixing a flat. I have the skills but no longer have the patience. I'd rather pay someone else to do a better job. I replace guitar strings and do setups, but stop short of refrets.

 

[LostCircuits]

I am not a tech, i.e. no formal training/certificate so you may call me an amateur but I have had quite a few distinguished / recording players come by my house to adjust regulation, find leaks, fix warbles and do complete repads / overhauls, especially of vintage horns. It all started with finding a problem that nobody else found and fixing it and all of a sudden, word started getting around.

And I just looked around here and every horn I play was repadded / set up by myself, which doesn't mean they are good

IOW, I am not a tech, you can ask me (question #7)

 

[Vetinari]

Spit valve on bari and octave on alto.

 

[Pete Thomas]

"Do you carry out your own repad?" and "Do you replace your own pads?" have two different connotations to me. Performing an entire repad requires setting up the entire horn - replacing soft materials, adjusting venting, intonation, etc. versus replacing a pad and adjusting it to its previous spec. For me, it would be similar to rebuilding a bicycle wheel vs fixing a flat

Yes I understand what you mean but I'd use those terms meaning the same thing. I'd use the term "overhaul" to mean something beyond pad replacement. Replacing and repadding in this case is one pad out, another one in so venting / intonation would be the same.

The forum software here cannot (yet) do in depth surveys based on conditional questions. Hence I suggest we take it for what it is a very simple rough poll to find out people's attitude to DIYing so it's akin to mending a tire not rebuilding a wheel.

 

[BUMNOTE]

Have enough trouble playing it, never mind fixing it,no way.

 

[Dr G]

Yes I understand what you mean but I'd use those terms meaning the same thing. I'd use the term "overhaul" to mean something beyond pad replacement. Replacing and repadding in this case is one pad out, another one in so venting / intonation would be the same.

The forum software here cannot (yet) do in depth surveys based on conditional questions. Hence I suggest we take it for what it is a very simple rough poll to find out people's attitude to DIYing so it's akin to mending a tire not rebuilding a wheel.

Thanks, Pete. Just like the patch kit tucked under my bike saddle, I have been carrying a first aid kit in my gig bag for decades - and I'm not afraid to use it. I believe every player should have a rudimentary understanding of how a saxophone works, and be able to make minor repairs and adjustments. I leave the finer fettling to my tech.

FWIW, I used to strip my horns down all the way every year for deep cleaning, polishing, and relube, but now perform such maintenance less frequently on an as-needed basis.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Thanks, Pete. Just like the patch kit tucked under my bike saddle, I have been carrying a first aid kit in my gig bag for decades - and I'm not afraid to use it. I believe every player should have a rudimentary understanding of how a saxophone works, and be able to make minor repairs and adjustments. I leave the finer fettling to my tech. I used to strip my horns down all the way every year for deep cleaning, polishing, and relube, but now perform such maintenance less frequently.

The tire analogy was a good one.

Also with a car. Who gets out on the hard shoulder, jacks up the car, takes off the wheel (or not if you can't find the new fangled security nuts) and puts the spare on?

I don't do that any more because our car doesn't have a spare 🙁 - it has a "kit" that injects some stuff and air into the tire. But the main dealer is now going to charge me £75 to replace the "kit" because it's expired.

My point is though that although I used to be able to change a tire on a car I don't. But even then, I didn't balance the wheel so that's a bit like changing a pad without fettling the venting etc.

 

[Pete Effamy]

I used to do a lot on my clarinet in my early 20's, but never transferred my skills over to the sax. Weirdly, seems more "fiddly" because the pads are a lot bigger.

 

[scotsman]

🙂🙂 Of course I do my own work!!. All it takes is a lot of research, making mistakes and learning from them. Eventually you have total confidence in your horn and makes you and your horns better. Get a cheap sax. Take it to bits and work from there..Stephan Howards book is a good start and then Youtube. Matt Storhrer etc. I started because local "techs" were not to my standard.. (You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince!) As they say!! Regards..
🙂🙂

 

[Dr G]

🙂🙂 Of course I do my own work!!. All it takes is a lot of research, making mistakes and learning from them. Eventually you have total confidence in your horn and makes you and your horns better. Get a cheap sax. Take it to bits and work from there..Stephan Howards book is a good start and then Youtube. Matt Storhrer etc. I started because local "techs" were not to my standard.. (You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince!) As they say!! Regards..
🙂🙂

For those of us that are deeply entrenched in ADHD behavior patterns, the extension of that would be buying an entire set of tools and a lathe to perform the tasks that Matt Stohrer has performed on my horns. Yeah, I've trod that path in designing and building guitar amplifiers and winding pickups, and rewiring guitars. If only I had spent that time doing other things... like playing the darn instruments I already had.

Do you craft your own whiskey and beer? Raise your meat and vegetables? Cast your own pots? Forge your own knives?

 

[greenstripe]

The tire analogy was a good one.

Also with a car. Who gets out on the hard shoulder, jacks up the car, takes off the wheel (or not if you can't find the new fangled security nuts) and puts the spare on?

I don't do that any more because our car doesn't have a spare 🙁 - it has a "kit" that injects some stuff and air into the tire. But the main dealer is now going to charge me £75 to replace the "kit" because it's expired.

My point is though that although I used to be able to change a tire on a car I don't. But even then, I didn't balance the wheel so that's a bit like changing a pad without fettling the venting etc.

I've just got a new car and it doesn't even come with a foam kit and compressor: It has 'airstop tyres' which after some Googling means that it has 'slime' type of liquid sealant in the tyre (similar to what is popular on mountain bikes) and should self seal in case of a puncture. The car does have the locking wheel nut key at least.


Back on topic:

I could probably learn to do a couple of the easy pads. I'm not above having a tinker on my saxophones, but I'm not a working musician and I can afford the services of a tech (both time and money), I'm also lucky to have a very decent tech half an hour's drive away (Paul Carrington), so why not pay a professional to do a job who would also give everything a once over while at it catching things I might have missed, especially if they're things that have happened gradually that have gone out of adjustment etc.

 

[Colin the Bear]

It's just the metal work that I don't do. Dents, soldering etc. The rest seems pretty straight forward.

 

[ghostler]

I started because local "techs" were not to my standard.. (You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince!) As they say!! Regards.. 🙂🙂

I think that @PigSquealer would fully understand. 😉

Personally, I'd prefer not to do a full repad but feel more comfortable at replacing a pad here and there. I was able to keep my clarinet in playing shape that way.