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Re: Pitfalls of out-of-town instrument repair

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-10-31 23:44

I don't believe in (or care to believe in) repair 'warranty.' If the repair is substandard, the best you can do is write it off as a loss. In a case like that it is clear the repair technician you saw was indeed incompetent.

As far as time the horn is away, a competent (and busy) repair person will set a date at some point in the future for you to send in your horn when she/he will be able to get right on it. This way the actual turn around time is only a few days (this is done for professionals that cannot be without their "number one" for very long).

And I do not wish to say all who make their living on 'mass repair' are incapable or unwilling to do superior work. One such exception is Miles Davis (not THAT Miles Davis) of Miles Ahead Music in Louisville Kentucky, an amazingly talented woodwind repair person. In his case he has various levels of re-pad and overhaul prices depending on the level of horn involved and the level of care requested. The bottom line is that you need someone who is inquisitive and willing to 'work with you' on special requests.

Now there are exceptions to that as well. Both Bill Brannen and Peter Spriggs have a specific way they prefer to set up a horn and both do amazing things ...... you just have to like how they do it (and in Brannen's case he only works on Buffets now).

I found the Rosewood instrument story interesting. I think in that case, the wood was predisposed (had some existing weakness in the spot where the crack developed) to crack (Rosewood expands and contracts more than African blackwood to begin with) at some point anyway, though that doesn't make what happened any easier to live through I know.

................Paul Aviles

Post Edited (2014-10-31 23:49)

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