Clarinet and Saxophone Repair Shop

SHOP PHILOSOPHY

NYC Woodwinds is always ready to work with the customer. Whether your instrument is new or old, clean or dirty, in need of an overhaul or just a tweak, we’ll work with you to make it work for you.

We are a full service shop for all clarinets and saxophones and work at the highest level with the best quality materials. Together, we will figure out the best way possible to meet your needs and expectations. We always do our best to cater to the busy lives of musicians at any level from student to professional by providing our services in a timely manner.

  • All repair work is done by appointment only
  • Estimates are always free of charge

Check out some of our services below...

Repair Services

Repair Bench Photo

Clean Oil, Adjust (COA)

Clean, oil, adjusts (COA) include complete disassembly of the instrument to clean out old, abrasive, black oil from keywork, rods and posts. The body of the instrument will be cleaned by the least aggressive means possible. Pads and bumpers are inspected and replaced if necessary with high quality materials. Minor polishing and body work will also be completed as well as a play test.

Clarinet Overhaul

Overhauls include a COA plus the complete replacement of all pads, corks, felts, and teflon or other synthetic materials. Keywork will be refit to remove both lateral and radial play. Tone holes will be resurfaced to allow optimal pad sealing with your pad(s) of choice. Springs are checked and cleaned or replaced and regulated. The wooden body is oiled and tenons are re-corked and checked for tight and proper fit. The instrument is reassembled and play tested to give a broken in feel upon completion of all work.

Saxophone Overhaul

Overhauls include a COA plus the complete replacement of all pads, corks, felts, and teflon or other synthetic materials. Rods and cups will be straightened, flattened and refit to remove both lateral and radial play. Springs are checked and cleaned or replaced and regulated. Tone holes will be leveled to allow optimal pad sealing with your pad(s) and resonators of choice. The neck is fitted and re-corked to insure an optimal seal. Minor dent work is done, the saxophone is reassembled and play tested to give a broken in feel upon completion of all work.

New Instrument Setup

Unfortunately, even the highest quality instruments need some attention from an experienced technician when they’re fresh out of the factory. Issues often include poor pad sealing, self stick corks and bumpers that peel off easily, neck or tenon fits that are too tight or too loose, springing that is too heavy and key heights that are set improperly which can cause pitch or timbre issues. With our new instrument setup service, you can rest assured that your new baby will function optimally and feel great right off the bat.

General Repairs

General maintenance repairs can be scheduled by the hour for same-day or drop off service.

Emergency Repairs

For emergency drop everything same-day repairs there is a $100 rush fee.

Some Other Services

  • Voicing and Tuning - Undercutting and overcutting of tone holes, bore polishing, pad height adjustment and selection of materials to help you achieve a truly customized feel for your instrument.
  • Crack Repair - Crack work techniques include pinning with threaded steel rod or carbon fiber rod, carbon fiber banding, gluing and tone hole replacement depending on the location of the crack. All crack repair costs will be estimated upon inspection of the instrument.
  • Clarinet Tenon Sleeve - This service will get rid of rocking or wobbling joints. The existing tenon is turned down and a wooden, metal or ABS sleeve is fitted to ensure a snug connection.
  • Custom Clarinet Barrels - The finest handmade barrels for Bb, A and Eb clarinet. Choose from existing stock or have something custom made especially for you. Available woods include African blackwood, mopane, cocobolo, rosewood, and others.
  • Palm or Side Key Risers - Epoxy, wood or cork risers will be built for your saxophone to help with ergonomics.
  • Custom End Plugs - Wooden end plugs can be made from a variety of woods and fitted to your saxophone with either a cork tenon or O-rings.
  • Plating - Plating services offered in gold, silver, rose gold and platinum. All of our plating is done by a specialist jewelry plating company and we can assist in restoring keywork, ligatures, mouthpieces and anything else metal with fresh plating.
  • FREE CONSULTATIONS - Have a conversation with one of our team members about your ideas, needs or wants and chances are, even if they're not listed above, we can help you overcome your challenges and create a truly customized experience for YOU!

Shop Rates

Our bench rate is $125/hr with a 1/2 hour minimum.
All prices are estimated at the time of inspection. No estimates can be given over the phone.
Appointments cancelled without a 24-hour notice will incur a $100 cancellation fee. 

Service Guarantees

  • All COA services come with a free adjustment within 30 days.
  • All overhauls are guaranteed for 90 days.
  • Hourly rate work performed on instruments that are not regularly maintained cannot be warrantied. In such cases, the customer is strongly encouraged to purchase a COA or overhaul service to achieve optimal performance and reliability.
  • Crack repair on wooden clarinets cannot be guaranteed because wood is an organic material subject to environmental condition response.