Jazz-Sax.Com

Long John writes “I just acquired a 1914 Holton C Melody Sax for about $150. Cosmetically, it’s in nice shape, but needs a re-padding, some cork & felt, & minor adjustments. My local shop quoted me $350 for the repad, but can’t do it until the first week in August, which is when I was planning on using the horn to cover flute parts in a pit band. My question is, can I or should I do a pad job myself? I found a site that has a “repair kit,” which seems OK. (http://www.musicmedic.com/index.php4) I’ve been playing for 25+ years, but have never done any of my own repair work.”

There are a couple of things to consider…

First, most of the pads that you can get nowadays will fit, but some might not. As for putting the pads it, that’s pretty straight forward. You can probably find all the stuff that you need at Woodwind and Brasswind. Usually a repad/overhaul they take the whole horn apart, put new springs on, etc. Then they also take the time to level the pad, and make sure it seats right.

Second, do you have the the mouthpiece that is supposed to go with it? From what I’ve heard, those are really the key to making it play in tune.

Third, how much do you plan on using it? If it is something that you might use a lot, then it would be a good idea to get it in top notch playing shape, and a repad job would do that.

But for a $150 C Melody, you might be wiser to just do it yourself, and maybe consult the music store if you come across a key that you can’t get a pad to fit. Or maybe a better idea would be to take all the pads off, and then go to the music store and get the right sizes. I imagine that probably Tenor pads would work for most every key, but there might be some that require a smaller pad.

The C Melody I was given (key word there was given) I made into a piece of art to hang in front of my studio door. Though that C Melody had the neck desoldered and had a number of issues. I’d love to hear if you do get it repadded and how it plays!