Problem With New Sax.

[rhysonsax]

I agree with others - it can't need a full repad this soon, if it's the same horn that Griff worked on only a year or two ago.

Has the seller told you the whole story about how the horn got to him and can you be sure that it is the same one Griff worked on in 2005 ?

I would have thought that any decent repairer can tell the difference between misaligned pads that are new, and a set of shot pads. I don't understand why Allegro or Heritage couldn't tell you this within 5 minutes of seeing the horn.

All the best

Rhys

 

[Pete Thomas]

Jambo wrote:
or if the pads are attached ok, they will just need treating and re-alining (costing less).

I don't get this. Treating pads doesn't really help, whether it's taking them to Chucky Cheese's for the afternoon or applying a liberal coat of Skunk oil.

Re aligning makes some sense though.

 

[griff136]

can confirm that this sax was repadded by me (the serial number was confirmed by jambo in a private message)

I cant understand why so much work is needed on this horn.

the repairers that jambo took it to said "if the pads are attached ok then they will need treating or re aligning"

I dont understand that either!!

re seating or replacing a few pads possibly if the instrument was used by a pro on a daily basis and then only the palm key pads, the bar key pad and G# and low Eb.

One thing I do know - I posted it to Sweden where it was damaged in transit and I paid for the repair - maybe it wasnt done correctly - who knows.
maybe it was kept in the owners boot - not ideal for the pads if you live in sub zero temperatures 6 moths of the year!

This thread is of great interest to me as it is to others. Having a personal contact having done work on the instrument in the recent past i am agog at why it needs so much doing to it!

lets hope Jambo gets to the bottom of it.

good luck mate and keep us posted.

 

[griff136]

oh and for what its worth

 

[griff136]

rhysonsax wrote:

I would have thought that any decent repairer can tell the difference between misaligned pads that are new, and a set of shot pads. I don't understand why Allegro or Heritage couldn't tell you this within 5 minutes of seeing the horn.

I agree

 

[Bobby G]

I guess by 'aligning' they mean leak-curing? Is there another meaning that I don't know about.

I also guess that if any pads need to be replacd they are the ones whose home position is sprung against rather than away from a tone hole. How can you tell if a pad needs to be replaced, unless it's starting to split?

Cheers, Bob

 

[griff136]

Bobby G wrote:
I guess by 'aligning' they mean leak-curing? Is there another meaning that I don't know about.

basically thats it in a nutshell commonly known as re seating a pad. applying gentle heat to melt the shellac/glue inorder to get a better all round seal on the pad to the tonehole rim.

Bobby G wrote:

I also guess that if any pads need to be replacd they are the ones whose home position is sprung against rather than away from a tone hole. How can you tell if a pad needs to be replaced, unless it's starting to split?

Cheers, Bob

generally the pads closest to the crook are the ones that go first. and yes mainly the sprung shut keys.

reason being is that underneath the leather (and often the plastic membrane on some types of pad) the felt compresses to a stage where it gets hard and becomes less spongy and therefore less likey to seal. thats one way how leaks appear and pads need changing, sometimes the leather is torn, and sometimes just so shot away it crumbles when pressed with the fingers (only seen this a couple of times on really old instruments.

 

[jambo]

When I put about treating the pads, that was my words not thiers.

Basically what happened was, Allegro said that the Upper and Lower stacks were not sealing properly. They used a leak-light on it and it looked terrible. They also said something about the bar that holds the bell to the body. Apparently the screw or whatever is loose or something..... dont ask me what those guys in Allegro were babbling on about

Heritage said that at worst senario it will need a complete re-pad, but if the pads are good (they could tell that it had been re-padeed, and I told them it was done by a guy that I trust did it well) then they will need work doing on them to get them to seal or watever (I dont know exactly what they will do).

The guy also said that the sax could have been padded well, but if it was then sitting in its case for a year or two, they could need work doing on them now.

Thats all i know. They seemed really helpful though. I dont think im being ripepd-off, they are going to phone me in a couple of days to tell me exactly what it needs doing.

Its Just a mystery as to how the sax got in that state! Maybe some guy who owned it got pissed off one day and lobbed the horn out of a window! lol

 

[tris]

Jambo wrote:

Its Just a mystery as to how the sax got in that state! Maybe some guy who owned it got pissed off one day and lobbed the horn out of a window! lol

Was it sent Parcelforce.. mate I could tell you 1,00's of stories... Posties riding motorbikes they were supposed to be delivering etc.. do a web search you would not believe the things that they do!

 

[Bobby G]

Don't get me started on courier companies. If they treat saxophones like they treat spare parts for ATM's it's a wonder either work. Even parts (we're talking here about something like a presenter unit, which as its name suggests is the bit that presents you with your cash) which are fairly chunky and robust, and have been packed well, can come out of the box battered or bent. You have to assume that it went into the box in a good state, after being fixed, tested and packed at the workshop (you're always going to get the odd DOA, though) so the same could be true of a saxophone.

Unless the horn has been seriously bent out of shape, curing leaks on the main stacks shouldn't be too hard, should it?

Cheers, Bob

 

[Linky Lee]

Sounds like the keys are all bent slightly open or something crazy like that!

Hope it all comes back sorted!

 

[jambo]

I rang up the quality old boy from Heritage for a chat.

I explained about the pads and everything being re-done 2 years ago, and the guy said that was obvious as they are fitted well and in great condition and they wont need replaceing, however they will need tinkeing with (re-alining ect). He thinks that whats happened iot that in the 2 years the sax has been away, it has hardly been played, thus the pads have not 'bedded in' ect. Also the temperature conditions in swedon could have added to this problem.

There could also be other stuff wrong with the sax, but they wont know what until they have taken a proper good looking at it. I think the are going to take it apart and start from scratch. Thats fine by me as I know that whne thay have finished with it I will have a nice-playin vintage sax!

😛

 

[Bobby G]

Sounds good Jambo , have they given you a price?

Cheers, Bob

 

[jambo]

I thinks its gunner be around 170 quid!

 

[griff136]

[No message]

 

[Bobby G]

Y'know, I've got a bit of a thing about this sax, I really hope it ends up being a good player. I'd love to physically see it before, during and after repair,just so I can maybe know what to look out for if my own start acting up, and see how they get fixed.

Shouldn't be too long before it's done now, maybe?

Cheers, Bob

 

[jambo]

Nah, Should be about a week or so.

I will takes some pics and post them on here if you want.... Although I dout that will show you what you were wanting to see

 

[Linky Lee]

these guys sure take their time. I got an overhaul done in 1 day, though I did have to wait three days until they had a spare repair man. It's quite a good booking system really, you put it in for a booking and they tell you exactly when the work will be done and who by, or you can ask specifically if you care to wait longer, and then you can drop it in the day before, and collect the day after. Marvelous.

 

[Bobby G]

I don't really have anything to add, other than I notice I have the 100th reply in this thread 🙂

This saxophone is almost like the Breakfast Room mascot now, I expect to hear a soundclip once it's all working.

Cheers, Bob

 

[jambo]

Linky_Lee wrote:
these guys sure take their time. I got an overhaul done in 1 day, though I did have to wait three days until they had a spare repair man. It's quite a good booking system really, you put it in for a booking and they tell you exactly when the work will be done and who by, or you can ask specifically if you care to wait longer, and then you can drop it in the day before, and collect the day after. Marvelous.

I dont know exactly how long it will take, but I wont be able to collect it for a week or so