How It All Started

My father is a very technically minded and resourceful man. One of the ways he passed this on to me was through auto repair. He did most of the work on the family vehicles and had me help him from a young age. When I came of driving age we naturally did all the work on my car (a ’79 Honda Civic) ourselves.

Besides tune-ups and maintenance the car had a number of issues that came up over time. Carburetor, timing, steering and head gasket to name a few. All of the issues had to be diagnosed and trouble shot, which was an education in itself. Thank God for Haynes and Chilton as this was about a decade before the internet and a couple decades before Youtube.

My father lead me along the process but after a while I was doing all the diagnosing, trouble shooting and repairs myself and have continued that for the past few decades. Thanks Dad!

Fast forward a few years…

Dream Horn

Like many, I play a Selmer Mark VI tenor. I got mine in the late 90s, which was overhauled by a tech in B.C. Canada. The tech had done a very good job with the horn overall and had done the best he could with the neck, which likely was crushed/pulled down at some point in its life.

The horn would play great and free blowing for a number of months but then it would play very resistant and dull for some weeks/months. This experience was far more severe than a box of bad reeds and happened every time I played at high elevation. It went back and forth like this for 20 yrs and I had attributed it to personal “peaks and valleys” or the weather. My adoration for the saxophone and music got me through the though times.

Portland

I moved to Portland, Or the summer of ’99. After getting to know some of the local players, I always tried taking my horn to the tech they had work on their horns. He did a great job and the horn would play well for some months after I got it back but then would play “dead” and the cycle would continue.

After some years I realized the neck had “play” in the receiver (would rock back & forth slightly) when the screw was loose. It would come and go over time, intermittently. I mentioned this to the tech one time I brought my horn in. He got very flustered and declared “I Don’t do saxophone necks.” I took it that he previously had a bad experience with the subject and I left it at that. This and a few experiences with others led me to be a repair tech.

Apprenticeship

In fall of 2013 I took a job at a music store and apprenticed with the repair tech. My first lessons were with the rental stock. Disassemble, clean, replace torn pads, replace missing/damaged corks and springs, oil, reassemble and regulation.

Because of my experience playing woodwind instruments and my knack for trouble shooting. I was able to accurately diagnose an instrument’s issues pretty quickly early in my apprenticeship. There were a variety of different brands in the rental stock and which exposed me to the different designs of mechanisms between them. Instrument rental was one of the biggest revenue streams for this music store. There was plenty of work and customer satisfaction was of high importance.

I quickly earned the trust of the repair tech and was allowed to use the shop to work on my Mark VI after hours.

First New Instrument Ever

It wasn’t until I had received a new Yamaha Custom Z tenor with a V1 neck from an endorsement in 2017 that I realized how testy and inconsistent my Mark VI was. This was a revelation as the Custom Z is modeled after the Mark VI. The biggest differences between the two were 1) all new pads and 2) the neck fit of the Z had no “play.”

The horn responded a bit better and was mechanically quieter but the low register (D and below) still needed to be forced to speak and was inconsistent. It didn’t have near the “zing” that the custom had and the issue of intermittent deadness was not solved. I put it back in its case, disappointed that I hadn’t solved the horn’s key issue and played my Custom exclusively.

Everybody Stop and Pivot

The Pandemic hit hit in March 2020 and like most my life was upended. A whole year of bookings with two high profile bands cancelled, no chance for recording session and sub work, and my personal studio of students closed. I was only able to convince a few to continue online through lockdown. The experience of taking on-line lessons pails in comparison to in-person. I was grateful to those who made the switch but don’t blame the rest.

I qualified for the pandemic unemployment and invested some of the money in tools for horn repair and mouthpiece refacing. Some of the tools I bought from Ferree’s were specifically for neck tenon/receiver fit. That was the last avenue that I hadn’t tried with my Mark VI, as well as an older Yamaha Custom alto I had picked up for a VERY good deal. I had suspicions about the fit of my Custom Z tenor as well. Many an hour were occupied during this time refurbishing my Mark VI tenor and Custom alto, clarinets and flutes aided by Reg Thorp’s Complete Woodwind Repair Manual.

A Pro Instrument Should Work For You

It’s a wonderful experience to play a professional level sax that is responding like it’s designed to. To have more control and influence of the timbre, intonation and volume throughout the entire range of the horn, not to mention having the horn speak when you want it to, this is what you pay for. A well designed horn that is mechanically sound is capable of this. However I believe the deciding factor of a great many new and used horns is the proper fit of the tenon/receiver. This is the trickiest to diagnose and the most difficult to correct.

Currently I switch between my Mark VI and Custom Z tenors depending on the gig or session. The Selmer plays darker and the Custom plays brighter, I consider this their personalities. I also perform and record with my Custom alto and a Yamaha 52 bari. The clarinet and flute are doubles.