Woodwinds
Brass
Repair and
Maintenance
Beginners
Percussion
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TRUMPET OVERHAUL IN PICTURES
Before you look at these pictures, please read this:
We
are not publishing these pictures so that we can get more trumpet
overhauls. Rather, we just want to let folks know the
difference
between good musical instrument repair work and bad musical instrument
repair work. There are lots of bad repair technicians out
there,
and our industry does not do a very good job of policing
itself.
So, it is a case of buyer beware.
To answer your questions that we know you are going to have, here goes:
* Yes, Johnny Paul sometimes does do
brass overhauls. But never if you are in a hurry.
* Yes, they are expensive. This job would have cost a
customer
about $500.00. So, don't call us if you are not serious.
* Yes, he takes his time. That
is why he is a good brass repair technician.
* Yes, you can probably buy another horn cheaper than have this
done. But, it won't be your old favorite.
* Yes, we MUST see the instrument before
we can give you an estimate.
* Yes, we can furnish all the references
you want. Professional musicians, not just good ol' boys.
When
we first published these pics, we were flooded with emails from folks
wanting us to overhaul their trumpets. We pulled the pics; we
were already a very busy shop. We are going to try to publish
them again, and hopefully with the above explanation we won't get
swamped with questions. Here goes....
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The Bach Strad
before JP began working on it. |
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The
bell. Some dumb freak had tried to work on it with a
hammer. Dents in the bell flair MUST be taken out by
burnishing,
not with a dent hammer, you fool. This looks like a leaf of
lettuce. |
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An
example of some really bad repair work. Whoever did this
needs to
buy stock in the solder company. There is no need to use this
much solder. |
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Another picture of
the bad soldering. |
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Clear photo of the
serial number, for all of you nonbelievers. |
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Dents in the 2nd
valve slide. |
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OK,
I have to admit, we just about died laughing when we saw this
"brace". We have never seen such bad repair work in all of
our
lives. To make it worse, we think the person who did this is
a
bonafied member of NAPBIRT. Wow. And they wonder
why they
can't get good repair technicians around here to join. |
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JP at work, doing what he does best.
Making things right. |
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Beginning the buffing process. |
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More buffing. |
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The serial number again. |
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Here's the ugly 3rd slide "brace" removed, and
restored to its original form. |
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Another
shot of serial number, right before shipment to the plater.
We
use Anderson's for our plating services, where 90% of all domestically
produced brass instruments are plated. They are the best. |
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The entire trumpet just before shipment to the
plater. |
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The final chapter in the trumpet overhaul
saga. So many people
mistakenly think that overhauls ruin an instrument. Well, it
is just
not so. What really ruins instruments is BAD REPAIR
TECHNICIANS who
TRY to do overhauls. Thankfully, whoever had previously
butchered this
instrument did not do anything bad to the valves, so Johnny Paul was
able to restore it to its original glory. What a beauty now! |
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Another view. |
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The serial number, once again for all of you
unbelievers. |
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The second slide WITHOUT dents. |
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Now, what a joy to see this third slide lovingly
restored. The ugliness is gone! |
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Now the bell flair is beautiful again. |
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The
final product about to find a happy home. By this time, this
instrument was already sold, to a very satisfied customer.
So,
don't call us about it. OK? |
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