Saxophone Forum


by BreckerBrothersaregods!
(23 posts)
20 years ago

Sax repadding

The only descent instrument repair man that works around me says he would charge 3-4 hundred bucks to repad my sax. I have never had anybody else repad my horn but ths is a keilwerth and i dont know the size pads it needs. Is this a good deal? it sounds like too much to me.

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  1. by SaxMan
    (559 posts)

    20 years ago

    Re: Sax repadding

    Hard to say. I am not too sure of the quality of pads that come in ex90. If it is your basic student pad, id say you were getting screwed, unless the guy is going to do some other stuff to it. If it is a pro model, you are probably still getting screwed, there are a few things though that can make it go higher.

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  2. by sax_maniac
    (984 posts)

    20 years ago

    Re: Sax repadding

    I've never seen what I consider to be reasonable prices for simple repads ($250 and up) - so I learned how to do it myself. A set of pads (alto/tenor) will only run 25-60 bucks depending on how fancy you want them, but be wary of too many frills. The only major difference in tone will be the size of resonator you use. I believe that people with gold-plated resonators also have neon lights mounted under their car. 5 bucks for some shellac and another 10 for a butane mini-torch, and you're most of the way there - aside from taking time to talk to someone or read up on pad techniques. If the $400 gets you tone hole leveling, key rod cleaning, etc, then the $400 might be worth it. Otherwise, I'd nudge you to try to do the pads yourself. Basically, you can put whatever kinds of pads you want in the horn. If it's an SX90R, then you might want to consider Conn reso-pads as they are best for rolled tone holes. You can buy a set of cheap calipers at Sears for 6 bucks, and they will be accurate enough for you to measure and order what you need. Check out musicmedic.com for ordering pads, or call Ferree's store and tell them what you want once you've measured up your horn. Plan on taking a full weekend to do your first repad on your own. You will have to get a knack for floating them that takes time. So you can save quite a few bucks by doing it yourself, but it takes personal time and a little bit of responsibility to be gentle and cautious.

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    1. by SaxMan
      (559 posts)

      20 years ago

      Re: Sax repadding

      Finally someone else that knows that those lights are stupid. My resos are gold plated cause the horn is for pep band where I sometimes get severe condensation and might not necessarily take as good care of it, I wanted the best protection as I could get and as gold cant react to anything, it was the best candidate, if it were for anything else, it would have been plain silver.

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      1. by Balanced
        (4 posts)

        20 years ago

        Re: Sax repadding

        Good luck repadding your sax in a weekend. I think you'll be lucky if it plays at all when your done. I've studied and practiced the craft for several years and still find it tricky. If you really like to play, have a good professional tech do the work. I think you'll be much happier in the longrun. Its not a quick job to do it right. It should cost a minimum of $400-$600 for a basic mechanical overhaul. Peace, Eric at Saxcraft

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        1. by saxson
          (2 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Sax repadding

          I got my son an old Bundy to practice repairing. We took all the keys off and cleaned up the body with soap and water, dried it thoroughly etc. We want to repad it. First, should we put the keys back on before repadding? If not, how do you float them in properly if the keys aren't attached. Thanks.

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        2. by JBTSAX
          (364 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Sax repadding

          There is so much more to repadding and refurbishing a sax than just gluing in pads that the information fills dozens of pages in woodwind repair textbooks. Once the information is learned it takes years of practice to develop the technical skill and "touch" to do it at a professional level. I encourage people interested in learning repair to try to replace their own pads but on some old clunker and not a sax that is going to be played. We all had to start somewhere to learn repair. Even if the attempt is unsuccessful, at least the person trying their own repad develops a new level of respect for those who do it professionally.

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        3. by kneejerk52
          (397 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Sax repadding

          you could spend 3-4 hundred on just the pads and tools if you have everything you need. i know just the pliers to remove and replace needle springs cost me i think around 90 dollars. and good luck learning to use them. now if you break a post how much fun is that to fix. and cork is not cheap also. don't remember how much my pad irons, and like jbt said it's a skill to delveop, i have done 2 now and had a pro do adjustment and show me how and where to look but without him doing the fine tuning it would not have played too well.

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        4. by chalazon
          (547 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Sax repadding

          so...I've been doing this kind of thing for 25 years, now.A repad consists of completely dis assembling the horn, removing all the old pads and corks, aligning bent keys, straightening bent rods, removing dents, chem. cleaning the horn AND the keys, cleaning the rods and screws..replacing all the corks with the proper thickness of quality cork, floating the pads with an even coat of george's glue..re assembling the keys stacks,re seating each pad, adjusting key heights, regulating the keys that affect other keys..extensive play test and adjust..oh yeah, any springs that need placed..adjusting spring tension..etc. Have a lovely week end..and, oh yes..I've been doing this for 25 years now' and one of the things i've discovered is that there are guys who do it better than I do..jbt and steve..joe sax..there are some real artists out there who know worlds about the horn...have a nice weekend

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