Matthew Chiasson

The science and art, for it is certainly both, of repairing woodwind instruments has always been a subject of interest to me, and recently I've made it more than a passing hobby.  In November, 2018, I decided to build my own workbench.  You should have seen my roommate's face when he walked in from work one day to see it in the living room...priceless.  Since then I've been slowly purchasing special tools and materials as the need arises, teaching myself, with the aid of many a YouTube video and no small amount of indulgence in the form of many phone calls with my guru Bill Singer, how to overhaul saxophones.  To start anyway.   

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For those who are not professional musicians, the word "overhaul" when applied to instruments is not too dissimilar from how it is applied to anything else: gut it and redo everything from scratch, hopefully better.  Assuming the body of a horn with its tone holes and keys, has aged well without being bent or otherwise corrupted (a big assumption of course, and I am skipping over a whole range of subjects), there are other inherent issues with woodwind instruments, revolving mainly around the fact that the materials age.  The metals or woods of which they are made get tarnished and dirty, sometimes even moldy, the leather pads wear out, and the corks get dry or simply worn down; sometimes falling off for no apparent reason.  Yet if some wooden violins can stand the test of time as they have, then one would reason these often-metal instruments could last a few hundred years if not for those elements mentioned.  It's not uncommon to find old horns, such as displayed here, that are truly great instruments in ways modern horns cannot seem to match, but in disrepair simply because they are old and perhaps unused, or maybe overused, and can still be brought back to a modern standard of excellence.

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I think it also important to note that in the grand scheme of the "History of Instruments," the saxophone as we know it is fairly new, going back to just 1846.  Not that you will find any from that time, most worth really saving come after the 20's, yet it is with no small amount of reverence I approach revitalizing these horns.  I'm simply hoping to shepherd some of these instruments along a life that will hopefully outlast my own. 

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It's been a very interesting learning process, and I've relearned other lessons that can always be reiterated: patience, ingenuity problem solving, and the discipline to finish something you start.  All of it in the hopes of not just selling some horns as a sideline, but becoming a more rounded musician; so far it's been a blast and incredibly satisfying.  I've saved some money already on repairs to my own horns, learned even more about my art, and frankly, having a workbench around the house like when is was growing up is pretty awesome (I've got a number of my father's, and even some of my grandfather's, old tools!).  I hope you all enjoy this page and please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or to simply talk about the whole thing.  I'll go on forever :)

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-Matt