Muramatsu repairs in Philadelphia, PA

[eem]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good repair shop in the Philadelphia, PA area for my Muramatsu MF-2 (ca 1975)? It is in excellent condition but has not been played for ~20 years. Thanks.

[pied_piper]

It's not quite in Philly, but is close enough to drive: Flute Pro Shop in Wilmington, Delaware. David Kee is the repair tech there. He is a master repair technician who has trained at the Muramatsu Shop in Japan and is usually in the Muramatsu booth at the National Flute Association conventions repairing flutes at the show.

http://www.fluteproshop.com/pages/repairs

Although not in your neighborhood, but highly recommended is Adam Pettry at Pettry Flute & Piccolo Service in the Atlanta area. He's a regular here on this board.
http://www.piccolorepair.com/

[JButky]

In Philly, try Bev and Lindsey at Windworks..

http://www.windworksstudio.com/suppliers.aspx

[eem]

Thanks for these suggestions. Any opinions about Hammer Woodwinds in Bensalem, PA?

[JButky]

He's a Muramatsu dealer. Probably OK, I don't have any first hand knowledge of his flute repair chops. Mostly a Clarinet/Sax kind of specialty was my impression though.

Might be worth a try though. Muramatsu is pretty proprietary about parts availability. If you need factory supplied stuff, you'll have to go to a Mura dealer..

[trek15]

Mike Hammer did a clean/oil/adjust on my Muramatsu about ten years ago and there is no question that he is a world class technician. I usually send my flute to Anne Pollack, but his work is the same quality as hers. He is absolutely meticulous. I don't know if he still does this, but in my appointment with him I was welcome to observe his work. Fascinating, really. And he corrected a mechanism flaw that had been overlooked or ignored by previous technicians.

I think he requires that you bring your instrument to him, but I'm not not sure about that. It's best to give him a call.

[eem]

Thanks for these additional replies. Now I just have to get to one of these folks. I live in the middle of PA and don't really want to send the flute.

[majikflute]

I live in Philly and drive my beloved and hard played old Mura (an MF-4 from 1980) out to David Kee. He's always done an excellent job keeping it working order, and he will bend over backwards to help with emergency repairs and his rates are more than reasonable. He is one of only three technicians in the entire US who has been trained at the Muramatsu factory in Japan.

I'm not sure Joan's shop is still open in Delaware, I heard she's still in business but closed down the physical location. David lives near Oxford PA and I drive to his house and drop my flute off there -- quite a hike for me from Philly but worth the drive. Like you, I do not like the idea of shipping my flute! PM me if you'd like phone # or email address to contact David directly.