Problem With New Sax.

[Linky Lee]

Is it really Bob! I'll wish you a happy birthday and another fine year of saxophone playing now since I've got the opportunity and will be busy tomorrow (babysitting - yuck, but no.1 in the dosser's guide to easy money)

 

[tengu01]

Happy Birthday Bob 🙂

 

[robaldo]

How much did you pay, Jambo, and what make is it?

Sorry to hear you got a dog.

You got a link to its original listing on e-bay?

 

[jambo]

http://tinyurl.com/2edhoa

(URL tinied by admin)

 

[Dylan]

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Bo-ob,
Happy birthday to you.

Have a good one 8)

D

 

[Bobby G]

Fanks everyone. The birthday fairy sent me a portable DAB with in-ear headphones so I can listen to theJazz while I'm fixing ATM's

Cheers, Bob

 

[Pete Thomas]

I'm really sorry to hear this jambo, when I saw the ebay ad it certainly looked like a good horn IF the seller was telling the truth.

 

[jambo]

I suppose,

But say it cost 200 hundred to get fixed, that mean alltogether (with mouthpiece ans maintenence stuff) it would have cot abot 600 pounds!

Would it not be better to just get a Hanson or something?

If I decided to keep the Horn and get it fixed, do you think there is any chance that the seller would give me a partial re-fund to cover some of the repair cost?

 

[Linky Lee]

Probably not. If he won't give you a refund now when it's broken he won't give a refund for a repair that he deems unnecessary.


You need to play on something that you feel comfortable playing on, and gives you the enjoyment you want out of the instrument.

 

[robaldo]

Looks a beauty.

 

[Bobby G]

I agree with Rob, unless it's a total piece of landfill I'd most likely get it fixed.

Cheers, Bob

 

[jambo]

Yes, but my principles say that the Seller should not get away with doing that. I want Justice Dam-It!!! lol

 

[rhysonsax]

We could do with more information about what is actually wrong with the sax.

Is this actually the same instrument that Griff had pictured on another thread and if so, have you contacted him about the work that was done and the condition it was in when he returned it to your seller ?

Rhys

 

[griff136]

James (jambo) has already conatcted me re this horn,
It was repadded my me in April 05 and I sold it on ebay on behalf of a customer and it was sent to Sweden of all places! It was in good playing order, as one would expect after having it repadded, when it was posted. It was damaged in transit (Eb key guard was crushed - not sure how it happened but I had insured it against damage (to cover my backside as i was in effect the vendor) so I paid for the repair to be carried out in Sweden - and was refunded by Parcelforce. (needless to say , it wasnt cheap!!)

It's a shame that it is now not playing as it should, and dolnets are nice vintage horns if you can overcome the left hand pinky table keys which are on the low side - and can be a bit of a stretch for smaller hands.

James said in one of his earlier posts that his ligature was too tight - this wouldnt help in getting a good sound.

He also mentioned that he could get the upper register and had trouble with G and below - which without looking at the horn could suggest that he has a leaky G# or maybe caused by a weak spring
Obviously without looking at the sax it is difficult to diagnose.

Lets hope that James doesnt get too frustrated about this horn and he takes it to a tech that doesnt mind working on vintage horns. If he was near me I would like to look it over and give him a quote.

As Peter pointed out some techs wont bother with vintage horns. There can be a lot more work compared to a modern horn and as such can not be as lucrative as the same service on a modern horn.

 

[Bobby G]

That sounds like a fair analysis of the situation so far Griff.

For a few reasons i.e. the difficulties that can be encountered using ebay, interest in old saxes, trying to work out what can be the fault, and maybe most importantly the human aspect of the story, this seems to have captured the interest and imagination of the Breakfast Room.

Keep us updated Jambo, we're all rootin' for ya! 🙂

Cheers, Bob

 

[jambo]

Good Day to All. Here is the News update regardding the sax.

Allegro were to lazy to do it (as mentioned), so my mother and I went on a quest to find another repairers- Heritage Music in Brackley-. After 3 hours of searching we finally found it.

They were really friendly and helpful, and basically said that the problem is the pads... they are not sealing. The sax will need a full re-pad (costing 170 quid), or if the pads are attached ok, they will just need treating and re-alining (costing less).

They commented that the sax will not be easy to play as it is vintage, but as im used to playing Soprano anyway, I think I am up to the challenge (or at least I will give it a go). Besides, If I dont like it I can always sell it on.... and this time it will be sold in a Good Working Order!!!

Anyway, I left the Sax with the guys and mailined the seller asking for a partial-refund to cover some of the repaire costs. If they dont want to be labelled as a 'Crook', they will comply with my demands! lol

I will update you with more info when I have some! 😛

 

[spike]

Well that's definately better news Jambers, but I'm still biting my nails and grating my teeth about that re-pad, if Griff re-padded it in April 2005 I can't see they need replacing after less than two years, I'm still very sceptical with the diagnosis, I would have sent it to Griff first off, I'm sure you would've saved yerself some headaches.

gruss and good luck - spike

 

[jambo]

Yes, Im sure Griff would have done a good job of it.

Griff looked at it in 2005 and it was then posted to Swedon, but the seller who I got it from said that they got it re-padded by Griff last year (unless they mean that they were told that by the previous owner). I dont know whats happened to the horn in the last 2 years...Its a mystery.

But then, thats the reason why I wanted a Vintage Horn, they are Mysterious!

 

[spike]

Just a thought - In that case isn't there any paperwork anywhere with serial numbers notated that you could trace? When my horns go in - even for a quick check up - come back in fifteen minutes - the serial number always gets written down.

This is certainly turning into an painful Odysee for you.

gruss - spike

 

[Bobby G]

Hi Jambo, it's a bit of an odd one isn't it? Bearing in mind Griff repadded it relatively recently, you would think things are ok in that respect, so misalignment and badly seating pads sounds likely, which I wouldn't have thought was too much for a competent repairer. The feeling I get is that either this horn has taken a bit of a biffing getting to you, or you are the victim of a less than honest seller on ebay.

Is it possible the place in Brackley is trying to get you to pay for more work than the horn really needs? Do they know it's been repadded?

For my money, and bearing in mind you know part of this horn's history, I'd try and get it back to Griff. If you're willing to go to Brackley, travelling a bit is clearly an option. If not Griff, then maybe Stephen Howard wouldn't be too far away.

On the plus side, at least it doesn't sound as if the horn is a lost cause.

Cheers, Bob