Fed up with ameture flute repair persons

sinebar · Post by **sinebar** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 6:34 pm

I need a truely good flute repair tech that I can send my Yamaha 881 to for a repad overhaul etc. I tried the local band repair guys but they are all useless. I had a repad done on this flute for $200 and he did the worst job I have ever seen. It was so bad it wouldn't even play and upon close inspection I noticed that 4 of the pads had gaps of at least .010"- .020". Then he actually told me that he play tested it and it played beautiful. HAH! He would have had to put an enormous amount of pressure to seal those pads. Can anyone recomend a tech that can repad a professional level flute? Not a student flute. There is a big difference in pro and student pad jobs. I'm thinking about Sherry's flute repair. Does anyone know her work? I'm not going to bring it back to the guy that who repadded it because I figure if he couldn't do it right the first time then it's not likely he will be able to do it right the second time either.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 6:46 pm

You'll be lucky if that repair tech didn't also bend a few keys or use otherwise questionable methods to get that flute padded. Frankly, I would NEVER suggest taking a handmade instrument to anyone except a topnotch tech with a glowing reputation...They're precision machines and need to be dealt with carefully and the work done needs to be of an extremely precise nature for them to perform their best. Certainly never a band instrument repair guy. Odds are he's not a flutist, and WAS playing with an amazing amount of pressure on the pads, so he may have been able to get it to play, but no respectable flutist would mess with that. First of all, do go back to the guy that did the work and demand a refund. He was supposed to pad your flute so that it was playable....If he didn't, he owes you your money back. Simply sticking some pads in the cups doesn't count as a repad, and $200 is a lot of money to lose like that. I have the names of some great repair techs around the country (and I'm VERY picky about the work that goes into my custom instruments), but do you mind sending your flute out-of-state through the mail, or would you prefer a local tech? If you want to stay local, we'll need a general idea of what area you're living in. As for Sherry's I have heard of her, but not any comments regarding her work. I would be very cautious about sending my instruments to anyone without at least some solid recommendations from respectable players. In short, unless you can find someone (who seems to know their stuff) who strongly endorses her work, I would go another route.

sinebar · Post by **sinebar** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 7:49 pm

flutepicc06 wrote:You'll be lucky if that repair tech didn't also bend a few keys or use otherwise questionable methods to get that flute padded. Frankly, I would NEVER suggest taking a handmade instrument to anyone except a topnotch tech with a glowing reputation...They're precision machines and need to be dealt with carefully and the work done needs to be of an extremely precise nature for them to perform their best. Certainly never a band instrument repair guy. Odds are he's not a flutist, and WAS playing with an amazing amount of pressure on the pads, so he may have been able to get it to play, but no respectable flutist would mess with that. First of all, do go back to the guy that did the work and demand a refund. He was supposed to pad your flute so that it was playable....If he didn't, he owes you your money back. Simply sticking some pads in the cups doesn't count as a repad, and $200 is a lot of money to lose like that. I have the names of some great repair techs around the country (and I'm VERY picky about the work that goes into my custom instruments), but do you mind sending your flute out-of-state through the mail, or would you prefer a local tech? If you want to stay local, we'll need a general idea of what area you're living in. As for Sherry's I have heard of her, but not any comments regarding her work. I would be very cautious about sending my instruments to anyone without at least some solid recommendations from respectable players. In short, unless you can find someone (who seems to know their stuff) who strongly endorses her work, I would go another route.

I'll have to send out of town because I live in an area where there just isn't any competent repair persons. Please give me some names of the tech you know and if possible prices they charge. Sherry's charges $600 for a pro repad and that's about my limit.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:39 pm

ouch.

Of course, that's one of the reasons I have my son playtest any flute I repad, he not only has a lighter touch than I do, but I can make pretty much any column of air play.

You should see the beater flute I bring out here to work.. the pads are scary.. one day I'll get around to replacing the rest of them.

If there is not a good tech where you are, then you will probably do quite well to use Flutepicc's list to locate one.

mark

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:56 pm

For repair techs that I recommend.... Nancy Shinn in NC. Her website is: http://www.flutestar.com/

Also, Robert Johnson at Flute Specialists Inc. in Michigan. He can be contacted at this website is: http://www.flutespecialists.com/indexjsE.html

I havent had my flutes worked on by anyone else [unless I was in desperate need, and I couldn't do the work myself]. With that being said, I havent been a member of the "handmade" flute crowd for very long. Robert did a COA for me when I bought my Miyazawa, and did an excellent job. I met Nancy at a convention and she gave my [old Armstrong] flute a "free" adjustment in exchange for a diet coke.

She just took out some lost action, tweaked things a little here and there, and it played MUCH better afterwards.

I am sure that flutepicc has plenty more to add to these two.

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 9:00 pm

Pat at Cincinnate Fluteworks has done great work for me in the past (to add another to the list). www.fluteworks.com

Nancy has done work for my students at a decent price with fantastic results. I have also heard great things about Robert Johnson.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 9:39 pm

Those are all very good suggestions, and any of those techs is likely to do a very good job for you.

I don't know what region you're living in, so I'll provide a couple different names on both sides of the US. There are others, but these should give you a start.

In the East:

Jon Landell ( http://www.landellflutes.com/ )

Jeff Weissman ( http://www.jbwflutes.com/repairs.asp )

In the West:

Paul Rabinov (my tech, and he does fabulous work): 818-249-1659

Cynthia Kelly ( http://www.flutacious.com/ )

Shozo at Ogura Flute Works ( http://www.oguraflute.com/repair.htm )

Somewhere in the middle:

Sam at Eugene Gordon Woodwinds (does the Chicago Symphony player's flutes): (312) 663-0414

Hope that helps! Good luck!

piccolo1991 · Post by **piccolo1991** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:02 am

When I got my new head, I had to send it back to Boston to be fitted. Then I figured...as long as my flute is gone, why not get a COA. My headjoint maker recommended

http://www.flutearts.com/pages/home.htm

Apparently they pad all his flutes...both worked with Brannen for several years. I was very happy when I got it back. They have bios on their webpage.

sinebar · Post by **sinebar** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:30 am

piccolo1991 wrote:When I got my new head, I had to send it back to Boston to be fitted. Then I figured...as long as my flute is gone, why not get a COA. My headjoint maker recommended

http://www.flutearts.com/pages/home.htm

Apparently they pad all his flutes...both worked with Brannen for several years. I was very happy when I got it back. They have bios on their webpage.

Thanks to everyone for all the great links. I'm sure they will lead to a good tech. I looking at their web pages and emailing some for information. I really want to get this flute in top playing condition. What little it would play sure sounded sweet so it has great potential.

sidekicker · Post by **sidekicker** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:04 am

This gentleman comes very highly recommended by a friend of mine who is a principal flutist & university professor:

http://www.cliffordtretick.com/

I've not yet used him, but she's used him for years and says she won't have anybody else work on her instruments (she plays Brannens and he apparently used to work for Brannen). I trust her judgment 100%.

SK

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:35 pm

www.saxquest.com

or

Music Mall Saint Louis (314) 428-8600

Ask for George Bunk. He is the only one in the world I would let do ANYTHING to my flutes besides me. He will hook you up by mail. He is also a pretty good Woodwind player also!

Phineas

sinebar · Post by **sinebar** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 7:57 pm

fluteguy18 wrote:For repair techs that I recommend.... Nancy Shinn in NC. Her website is: http://www.flutestar.com/

Also, Robert Johnson at Flute Specialists Inc. in Michigan. He can be contacted at this website is: http://www.flutespecialists.com/indexjsE.html

I havent had my flutes worked on by anyone else [unless I was in desperate need, and I couldn't do the work myself]. With that being said, I havent been a member of the "handmade" flute crowd for very long. Robert did a COA for me when I bought my Miyazawa, and did an excellent job. I met Nancy at a convention and she gave my [old Armstrong] flute a "free" adjustment in exchange for a diet coke. She just took out some lost action, tweaked things a little here and there, and it played MUCH better afterwards.

I am sure that flutepicc has plenty more to add to these two.

I talked with Robert Johnson this afternoon about my flute. He was really nice and willing to work me on getting my flute repaired. I was really impressed with him so I sent the flute to him today and he should get it friday. I told him to do a complete overhaul with Straubinger pads. Thanks for all the help.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:51 pm

Great! I hope you like straubinger pads. I have mixed feelings about them. Now that I have them on my flute, I am finding disadvantages to them.

They play wonderfully, and seal really well. But, the only problem I have with them, is because they almost seal TOO well. They seal so well that the moisture on my breath makes a water/air tight seal, so quite often you can hear the little sticky sound of a "damp" pad. So, between my experiance and a few people in my studio who have them, we have come to the conclusion that Straub pads get sticky quite a lot [even though about 80% of the time it is just light moisture on the pad].

My pet peeve about playing is sticky pads. So, there are times that my straubingers drive me absolutely crazy. So, while they play really well, I will probably have my flute repadded with JS Gold pads sometime in the future. I have heard good things about them.

I hope you like the work Mr. Johnson does. I like him quite a lot. But, keep in mind that he is also a salesman. So, if you dont watch your back he might try to sell you something you dont need. When I was trying out flutes at his display at the Flute Society of Kentucky Convention [which is Jan 18-19 this 'year' and I was lucky enough to be chosen to play in a masterclass held by Michel Debost

] ... back to the story. His display. He tried to play the whole 'gold plating' bit, and I shot it down pretty fast, and started talking about technical aspects. But, once it was established that I knew what I was talking about, he was most accomidating and I had pretty much free reign over his entire stock of flutes and headjoints. Whenever I had a question, he always had a competant answer. There were only a few things that he would only let me try one at a time, but with that being said he had to keep those specific headjoints in order or else they would have been completely mixed up because their model # wasnt marked.

Let us know what you think when you get your flute back!

sinebar · Post by **sinebar** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:10 pm

fluteguy18 wrote:Great! I hope you like straubinger pads. I have mixed feelings about them. Now that I have them on my flute, I am finding disadvantages to them.

They play wonderfully, and seal really well. But, the only problem I have with them, is because they almost seal TOO well. They seal so well that the moisture on my breath makes a water/air tight seal, so quite often you can hear the little sticky sound of a "damp" pad. So, between my experiance and a few people in my studio who have them, we have come to the conclusion that Straub pads get sticky quite a lot [even though about 80% of the time it is just light moisture on the pad].

My pet peeve about playing is sticky pads. So, there are times that my straubingers drive me absolutely crazy. So, while they play really well, I will probably have my flute repadded with JS Gold pads sometime in the future. I have heard good things about them.

I hope you like the work Mr. Johnson does. I like him quite a lot. But, keep in mind that he is also a salesman. So, if you dont watch your back he might try to sell you something you dont need. When I was trying out flutes at his display at the Flute Society of Kentucky Convention [which is Jan 18-19 this 'year' and I was lucky enough to be chosen to play in a masterclass held by Michel Debost ] ... back to the story. His display. He tried to play the whole 'gold plating' bit, and I shot it down pretty fast, and started talking about technical aspects. But, once it was established that I knew what I was talking about, he was most accomidating and I had pretty much free reign over his entire stock of flutes and headjoints. Whenever I had a question, he always had a competant answer. There were only a few things that he would only let me try one at a time, but with that being said he had to keep those specific headjoints in order or else they would have been completely mixed up because their model # wasnt marked.

Let us know what you think when you get your flute back!

Thanks I'll post the results when I get it back. The sticky sounds really don't bother me. My Yamaha 381 has a bad case of the stickys but I don't notice it. My only concern with Mr. Johnson is that he lives up to his reputation when installing the pads and what ever else he has to do to it. This is going to be an expensive fix so naturally I'm expecting only the best.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:53 pm

I am sure that if it is shipped securely, and if his quality of work hasn't drastically changed since I last worked with him, you should be reasonably happy. Overhauls are indeed expensive, but they are very thorough. You flute should be in top shape when you get it back. If it isn't, then I believe his work carries a 6 month warranty [or at least it did back in February] so if there is an issue, he should take care of it.