Review of Repair Kit from My Musical Equipment Closet

Review of Repair Kit from 'My Musical Equipment Closet'

By Richard Fenno

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Avoid Getting Stranded: MusicMedic.com Saxophone Repair Kit

At a shade under a hundred bucks, MusicMedic.com has a kit that will keep you playing, no matter how far removed you are from civilization. You're not going to rebuild your horn, but you can change a neck cork, pop in a pad, replace a sprung spring, and a host of operations that would have blasted you right out of the ensemble otherwise. With complete instructions you can locate leaks, regulate combinations that may have wandered out of regulation, replace a fallen cork, and lots more.

MusicMedic's Curt Altarac, one of the brightest guys in this business, is known for his experimental and commercial successes in the alternative pad leather area, has put together every tool, every replacement part, and every instruction required to go out on the road (or the sea) without fear of being far, far away from your favorite repairperson. All of these items fit into a cigar-box sized unit which can fit among your socks. (Curt is also hell on wheels as a legit baritone player, with some aspirations he's working out toward jazz.)

If you go down on the road, this will be the best hundred you ever spent going out. If you don't buy one, you can always call Curt and have one overnighted to you, but it's going to cost you.

I remember in the introduction to John Muir's VW repair book he admonished us to "Come to terms with the ass that bears you." Regardless of what you might think of your saxophone (kits are also made for flute and clarinet), it's still good advice. And it will help you understand what makes a good repair person a great one.

Well worth it, the MusicMedic.com Saxophone Repair Kit will supply all the battefield triage you'll need to get to the next gig.

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