THE SAXOPHONE
The first saxophone that came into my shop for repair was about eight years ago. A good friend and a great Sax player had an emergency repair needed for his Alto Mark VI for a gig that night. I tried to explain to him that I was not really qualified to even touch his Sax…..he begged me to at least give it a try. Wow!!!! what a challange. Adolph Sax in his infinite wisdom had presented the world (and me) with a terrifically complicated music machine. I first asked my friend was there a particular event that caused his problem and he said, “well, it did fall off the stage last night and since then it hasn’t played well.” Now at least I could start looking for something out of kilter and soon found that one of the upper posts was not quite in its’ proper upright position. I gently pushed it back into place, re-aligned the key, checked the pad for any leaking, handed it back to my buddy and I got the most gratefull look as his Alto Mark VI was back to full playability.
Since that day and after much study and many sax fixes, I now consider the Sax and its restoration one of my stellar achievements. From the tiny Sapranino, through the straight and curved soprano, the early to present day alto, tenor, barritone and I’ve even had a bass on the table, they all have a treasured place in my shop for repair. I haven’t yet aquired the machinery for extensive dent removal, re-lacquering or re-plating but all other services are available.
