Flex Repair Services
Occasionally small issues pop up with instruments that need to be addressed quickly, but waiting 5-6 months for an open spot is not reasonable. To meet this need, Jeff created the Flex repair times he offers. Originally focused on Fridays (for the great use of alliteration), Jeff’s Flex repair times are now predominantly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Flex times have a one hour minimum charge and a maximum of 2 hours may be booked on a particular day. More complicated repairs may require more time spread out over more days and/or emergency pricing if other customers are bumped out of the way.
Clean/Oil/Adjust (COA)
A COA is the standard annual service for woodwind instruments. It is required to protect the mechanisms and mechanical components of your instrument from premature wear, and also addresses faults that creep in over time from soft materials like pads, corks, and felts compressing.
The C for Clean refers to the cleaning of the mechanisms, not a cosmetic polishing. All instruments are chemically cleaned to remove organic buildup and light oxidation may be removed from silver.
The COA service is recommended every 12 -24 months under normal circumstances. Some players who are particularly discriminating about how their instrument behaves choose to have the service done every 6 or even 3 months. Players may choose to stretch the interval to 2 years if necessary. Time spans longer than 2 years often require extra work and the standard COA price should be considered a starting point.
Custom Set-up
A custom set-up is a step beyond a COA and instruments that have not had service for more than 2 years may require this as a starting point. This service is also often requested by players who have a new or new-to-them instrument. The replacement of bumper materials to something more stable is often a main focus.
Overhaul
In this service, every mechanical, dimensional, and material consideration is addressed. Key geometry, key fit, hinge condition, alignment concerns, bore condition, tone hole precision, padding, and more are part of this exhaustive service. Overhauls from JWS are routinely measurably better mechanically than a factory new instrument.
Jeff’s overhaul process on saxophones, flutes, clarinets, and oboes is in such high demand from discerning players that he is often booked out for a year or more.
*Jeff’s mechanical overhaul does not include any lacquer work. Extra charges for extraordinary tarnish removal, polishing bare metal saxophones, and mildew mitigation.
Repad
Many repair shops offer both an overhaul and a repad option with the repad being “standard” and the overhaul being an elite level service. At Jeff’s Woodwind Shop the only Repads offered are on instruments previously overhauled at JWS.
Jeff wants to make sure the expected standard of precision is maintained if he is just “throwing in a new set of pads”. There is no way he can do this following someone else’s work and prop his reputation on someone else’s standards.
