 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nj-tom
Date: 2015-03-02 21:13
My 1959 R13 is badly in need of overhaul. Tenon corks are worn down, pads are old and have started to come loose (thanks to the constant cold dry weather this winter), right little finger keys (E/B and F#/C#) seem slightly misaligned. The body is in good shape as far as I can tell.
From a local shop in central NJ, repadding is $275, complete overhaul is $375-425. Would it be smarter to send the instrument to one of the higher-priced places (Chadash, Backun, etc.)?
I would prefer to hand-carry the instrument, rather than shipping it, to be able to discuss the overhaul steps before work begins, and to test the result at the shop afterwards.
Is there a pro-oriented repair shop in central or north New Jersey that comes highly recommended?
Thanks for the help!
Tom
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-03-02 21:23
Hands down, Dan Sagi of O'DiBella Music in Bergenfield. 456 S. Washington Street. I'm hesitant about given Dan's mobile # out here. O'DiBella's number is 201-385-5800
If our board's Jon Moses, acclaimed musician and man who referred Dan to me read this, he'd concur.
I bear no financial ties whatsoever to Dan or O'DiBella music. I am a very happy and repeat customer. Before knowing Dan I use to bring instruments to someone on Long Island, who shall remain nameless, who use to make me think that he was doing me a favor by taking my money to work on the clarinets i brought him.
Dan has as pleasant a demeanor as he is brilliant at instrument repair--an artist at what he does. I've taken clarinets with physical trauma problems to him that he has repaired better than before such incidents. He was born into this craft, fixing school instruments from his earliest days in school music programs. Still more, at times, he's loaned me R13s he just overhauled (amazing instruments) to play at gigs (yes, for a legitimate fee) while working on my clarinets.
He's worth the hour trip on the Garden State Parkway, especially if you'd like to avoid shipping as your discussed. Top repair guys in Manhattan won't do better, and will charge you a King's Randsom for their work, to effectively help you pay their astronomical rent.
If Jimmy Yan were still alive and cost was no option, I might (might) recommend him over Dan. Short of that, this is a no brainer in my mind.
One caveat, if you ALSO wish to get your keys replated, I might suggest another great tech in Indiana who does the plating himself (most shops turf it out.) Of course that would involve the shipping you're hesistant to effect.
Post Edited (2015-03-02 22:23)
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Author: James S
Date: 2015-03-02 23:02
I would contact Bernd Schille. He'll replate everything with 20-25 microns of German silver (about double what new clarinet have on em these days) then do a full overhaul with rebuilding of parts as needed. Check him out on Facebook; his work is incredible.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2015-03-02 23:13
My take for me is that I would never send a clarinet out for an overhaul if you have a competent tech you can drive too. The reasons for me are as follows. A tech will do pad hights and spring strengths to their liking. You can't come in and play the clarinet as ask for adjuctments to your liking. There were times I'd spend an hour with my tech getting things excatly the way I wanted them, at no additional charge by the way. I know there are some techs, not mentioning names but some people know who I'm talking about, that are arrogant and tell you what you want. I live in MD and have a great tech about an hour drive from my house but if you have someone highly recommended I'd give them a try. The price seems reasonable to me. Make sure you understand the pads they will use. I always liked cork in the upper joint for me, except the 1/1 key but some people have a different feeling about that. Just make sure you know what you're getting and if there's a choice of pads ask questions about them.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-03-02 23:56
nj-tom wrote:
> From a local shop in central NJ, repadding is $275, complete
> overhaul is $375-425. Would it be smarter to send the
> instrument to one of the higher-priced places (Chadash, Backun,
> etc.)?
>
> Thanks for the help!
> Tom
It depends a lot on who runs the local shop. Unless the repair tech has a good reputation, you might do better elsewhere, but perched where you are, you could certainly find more than one excellent shop in either New York or Philadelphia. In Philly there are Mike Hammer, discussed here recently, and Mark Jacobi, both of whom do excellent work. Chadash is in New York City, AFAIK, and there must certainly be at least one or two other excellent techs there with all the professional players in the city.
I agree that it would be far better to carry the instrument in and deal in person with the repairman. Shipping adds time, cost and the possibility of damage developing in transit in both directions. You're going to spend enough on the job, no matter who does it, that you should use a well-reputed shop even if it means an hour or two of travel. I try to make appointments ahead to have the repairman schedule enough time to do the whole job while I wait, or at least in one day. I've learned a great deal watching Mike, Mark and before them, Hans Moennig and his assistant Casimir (I'm not going to try to spell his last name). If the tech you use doesn't want you watching over his shoulder, you can always find something to do in either city and pick the clarinet up when it's finished.
Karl
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-03-03 01:31
Use him or not, Dan's, who I mentioned before, is the kind of guy that you sit down with, in front of his work area, and not only discuss your issues and what you (think you) want done, but the kind of guy who, if necessary, makes a subtle adjustment and says, "try it now."
You work as a team. And if something he just changed doesn't "foot the bill," and you tell him so, (even though it usually does) he'll try something else.
Don't suprised if you get the call mid-overhaul that says, "I have 3 ways to approach this, here are their pros and cons. What do YOU want?," rather than the "I know best" techs highlighted in Ed's prior post.
Like Ed said, that beats the business by mail paradigm. Dan's prices are not bargain basement, but definitely IMHO fair market value that less competant techs would charge similarly for.
Post Edited (2015-03-03 01:34)
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Author: mankan
Date: 2015-03-11 23:38
I would not recommend Bernd Schille! I had my Buffet S1 overhauled by him in december including new silver plating. I had personal contact with him since he had his shop/study in a town not far from mine. I fetched the clarinet in late december. It seemed to be a nice work and the silver plating was excellent.
But. After christmas and new year, in january, when I took up playing again I discovered a severe leak making altissimo playing impossible. I took contact with Schille - and discovered that he had suddenly moved to Riga. He told me that he would arrange UPS transport for my clarinet for repair. But that never happened. When I kept asking him about it he suddenly stopped answering. I continued trying to make contact over FB, but then he threw me out from his contacts.
I had to make a repair, very succesfully, at Jonas Näslund in Stockholm. Five different adjustments was needed to make my clarinet playable again.
I am very disappointed and I feel that it's important to inform you all about this.
Best regards.
Magnus Börjesson/Sweden
mankan
Post Edited (2015-03-12 00:21)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2015-03-12 00:31
A friend of mine, who is very fussy about his instruments, swears by Tony Salimbene, who I believe is in Nutley. Tony used to repair at Roberto's in NY.
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Author: nj-tom
Date: 2015-03-12 08:14
Interesting coincidence that you mention Tony used to work at Roberto's shop in NYC. I happened to be in NY today for other reasons, couldn't bring the instrument with me, but I stopped in at Roberto's on 46th St to get information. He quoted me a cost of $850 for R13 overhaul, which is just too rich for me. But I did find out that Roberto makes reeds, and came home with a couple of samples.
(I wonder if the stated cost is that high because I was unknown. Maybe favored customers can do better.)
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Author: nj-tom
Date: 2015-03-12 09:03
Magnus,
Thanks for the note about Bernd Schille. Of course, it wouldn't make sense anyway for me to send my clarinet to Sweden or Riga for
repair from New Jersey, no matter how good or bad Bernd Schille is!
I see that your orchestra is located in Örebro.
Coincidentally, I will be in Sweden in June, at Mälerdalen U. in Västerås. If you are close-by it might be fun to get together and
compare orchestras and clarinet playing in Sweden and the US.
--Tom
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Author: mankan
Date: 2015-03-12 10:16
Sure Tom. Just let me know. My private e-mail is mankan57@comhem.se
Magnus
mankan
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Author: DougR
Date: 2015-03-13 07:39
I think for an R-13 I'd be tempted to try Dan Sagi because of his evidently heavy clarinet experience. But I can also enthusiastically vouch for Tony Salimbene, who, since he relocated to Jersey, is virtually impossible for me to get to via public transportation. He was originally recommended to me by a playing colleague of John Moses' and I was delighted with his work for years.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2015-03-13 15:54
$850 doesn't seen high for Manhattan. The price range for overhauls varies widely as does the time a tech puts into the instrument. I probably should be raising my prices but they are already above average. Also, the estimate you received may have taken account of the age of the instrument.
Steve Ocone
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2015-03-13 16:26
Steven Ocone wrote:
> $850 doesn't seen high for Manhattan.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Really?
I have had overhauls by one of the top technicians in NYC and the cost has been significantly lower (by more than $200).
Perhaps there are issues with the instrument the OP neglected to tell us.
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2015-03-13 18:39
I got a great overhaul from Wesley Rice. He even did more hours than he charged me for and I spent less than half of what some of these guys are quoting. It makes little sense to spend $1,000 bucks for a used R-13 and then spend that much again to fix it when for a total of $1,400 you can buy and repair one of the great R-13's. If you're spending almost $1,000 for an overhaul than these guys are charging $100 an hour for labor. Maybe it's worth it, but I doubt their labor is worth that much more than Rice's.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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