What really is a saxophone overhaul?

Updated July 2026

This post was originally published in December 2013, and was inspired by a conversation I had with my friend Kevin. He used to buy and sell horns regularly, and enjoy fixing up beater horns. He learned a lot over the years, and used to enjoy keeping his own horns in playing condition. These days Kevin prefers to have a professional tech keep his Martin Committee III tenor in tiptop shape.

Why words matter more than ever before

I was having a discussion with a sax playing friend the other day, and it became apparent that we were operating under two quite different definitions of what a saxophone “overhaul” is. While this difference could simply be written off as semantics, the difference, I feel, goes much farther, into the core of the Internetization of how we’ve come to view the world around us. Let me try and explain.

Since I got my first used, pro horn in 1980, I have had my horns professionally serviced at only a handful of shops, by only a handful of techs (6 to be exact). Throughout this time, all the instructors, profs, pros, and techs that I’ve studied/worked with have all operated on the same basic definition of what constitutes an overhaul.

The Bassic Sax definition of an overhaul

FWIW, this is the basic definition of a saxophone overhaul that I’ve been using for just over 30 years now. (BTW, the things are in no particular order, since I’m not a tech.)

• The horn is completely disassembled and cleaned in a chemical bath. Then it is rinsed with a mild dish soap. All existing oils and grease are removed at this point.
• Body work is done as required: straightening where necessary; dent work; checking the tone holes for levelness; repairing the posts etc. that are loose; those kinds of things in general.
• Refitting and swedging the keys as necessary.
• Straightening the key cups as necessary.
• Springs checked, and replaced only where necessary.
• New lubrication added to all mechanisms.
• New cork and felt added.
• New rods made if necessary.
• All the pads are replaced and properly seated. The player is given a choice of pad/reso combo, and often also what type of adhesive. Although many techs who work on school horns use a glue, pro horns usually are done using shellac. When I take my horn to a new tech, I always ask him what kind of adhesive he uses.
• The fit of the neck tenon into the receiver is checked to ensure that it is smooth and leak-free.
• Key heights are set to the player’s liking.
• Play testing period varies according to the shop and the instrument. I’ve had some techs that have kept my horn for more than a week to keep coming back to it to tweak it until it finally stops suffering from “metal memory”. Other times the horn comes back to me in only 3 days after the overhaul.

What reputable repairers and repair shops define overhauls as

I searched Google to see what I could find about saxophone overhauls online, and sure enough, for the most part, the basic steps I thought of when I thought of overhaul, were what was outlined on the pages of some of the most reputable repair shops in the US. Matt Stohrer, Tenor Madness, Music Medic, the Selmer Pro Shop, Kessler & Sons Music, PM Woodwind, Sax Quest, and Worldwide Sax, all list more or less the same things.

A few more criteria for the overhaul definition

That said, what most of these sites don’t say, but a couple of extra unwritten criteria that I have always held to be truisms—and this is perhaps where my definition differs from that on the Internet—are as follows:

1.  Saxophone overhauls are performed by a person who has learned his craft (either formally in school, or informally through on the job training), and has years of experience.
2. The techs that do this work have usually gone through an apprentice program—either formal or informal.
3. After the overhaul, the saxophone has to be “professional performance” ready. In other words, a Yamaha, Selmer, etc. clinician should be able to pick up the horn and play it at a performance.

Do I have high standards? Perhaps. But those are the standards that I grew up with, and that I still have for my horns when they leave the shop after an overhaul. When I play on stage, I put my horns through a lot, and demand a lot of them, so they have to be working 100% correctly, 100% of the time. That’s why the overhaul job has to be perfect as well.

I know for a fact that I am not alone in this comprehensive definition of what constitutes a saxophone overhaul. The pros I work with, and the instructors/profs I have studied with over the years, all operate with the same definition. It is not just a case of simple semantics.

Thoughts about a saxophone overhaul by a learned repair tech

Something I came up with during my Google searches was this thread on the SOTW, which was started by the late jbtsax. I miss my conversations with John. He was an interesting guy, who was on a constant quest for knowledge about saxophones and their acoustics. I still have the custom sax mute for alto that he made and sent me.

Grading your repair tech’s work on a complete overhaul

These are some things that you can check yourself both before and after you pay to have your sax overhauled. The definition of that term in this instance is that all of the pads have been replaced, the keywork has been tightened, the keys have been regulated, and all of the necessary body and dent work has been completed.

 

Key noise
Without playing, finger some scales on the sax using every possible key going both fast and slow. Listen to the noise individual keys make—especially the side keys, low Eb and the fork F#. Record this sound if you have the set up to do so.

 

Key play
Beginning with the palm keys, try to “waggle” each key from right to left, and then try to slide the key back and forth on its rod or between its pivot screws. Make a list of the keys and mark the ones that have any movement at all.

 

Pad seating
For this you will need a bright leak light (or a dull leak light in a pitch dark room). Check all of the independent normally closed keys first to see if there are any leaks. Then go to the normally open individual keys such as low C, B, and Bb. Close each of these with the lightest possible pressure on the key and see if the light eclipses at exactly the same instant all 360 degrees. Next do the same with the upper and lower stack keys, closing each key individually with the lightest pressure. On the C and F# you will need to press the key cup to get the key to close by itself. Remember, the lightest possible pressure and instant closure 360 degrees is the standard.

 

Key regulation
This is the critical area in saxophone repair and involves many variables that are all interrelated. These are key tightness, pad seating/level keys and tone holes, spring tension, and the adjustments themselves. If one or more of the variables are lacking then perfect regulation is not possible. First check the B to C key closing. Again, with the lightest possible key pressure both keys should eclipse the light completely at exactly the same time. Next check the A to C and Bis closing using the same standard.

 

Go to the bottom stack and check the F to F# and Bis key closing. Then hold down the G# key and check to see that key closes with the other two. Perform the same check pressing the E key. It should also close the F#, Bis, and G# perfectly at exactly the same time with the lightest possible pressure on the key. You can also check the same key regulation when you press the D key by itself if you like. Some techs adjust this firm, and some leave the D to F# closing light or even open.

 

The bell keys regulation is next. Press the low Bb key and check with the leak light that the lightest possible key pressure closes the Bb and the B keys perfectly around their circumference at exactly the same time. Then hold the low C# key down and press the low B key. Using light pressure, the B and C# should close together at exactly the same time.

 

Neck tenon fit
The neck tenon should go in smooth and feel very snug without tightening the screw. Without tightening the screw, gently try to rock the neck up and down by holding it near the opening. The movement, if any, should be minute. Next tighten the screw just 1/4 to 1/2 turn. The neck at this point should not rotate right or left.

 

I’m sure others can add to this list. I left out key heights and spring tension on purpose because those areas can be subjective depending upon the taste of the player.

 

Summary

Making a check list of these things both before and after an overhaul will give not only a way to measure the quality and thoroughness of the work, but will also give the player or novice repair person some idea of the detail that goes into a quality overhaul on their saxophone.

 

(this is a reprint of a post I wrote on SOTW a few years back)…..

 

In my use of the term, “restoration” of a vintage instrument includes restoring the cosmetics as well as the mechanics to the state that it came out of the factory, (or in some instances better).

 

Since I have dealt mainly with silver plated vintage saxes, my shop’s “restoration” would include touching up areas where the silver plating has been worn away with brush plating, and then polishing the body inside and out along with the keys.

 

Since re-lacquering (buffing) has such a negative reputation in the saxophone marketplace, I have leaned toward stripping the remaining lacquer on lacquered saxophones and giving the sax a “brushed brass” finish to develop an even patina over time. I would call this a “mechanical overhaul” with a new finish and not a “restoration” per se.

 

Different terms are used by different techs and in different parts of the country. This is why good communication is important to prevent misunderstandings about the work to be done.

What the heck is Internetization, and what does it have to do with a saxophone overhaul?

IMO, the Internet, and to a large part forums like SOTW, have added to the multiplicity of meanings that certain words like “overhaul” have taken on. This is what I refer to as Internetization, meaning that if enough people on the Internet say something is a certain way, then it can influence how something is defined or perceived.

Since “saxophone overhaul” does mean different things in different places, having sax players from all over the globe participate in a forum—in a language that may not have been their first—it only makes sense that they will be speaking about different things. Without clear, concise clarifications on meanings, it is quite likely two players will be talking about slightly different, or even quite different things when using the same term, without even knowing about it.

As forums like SOTW become an integral way for players to obtain information, over time the new Internet definition of what constitutes an overhaul becomes part of the saxophonist’s vernacular.