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First ding driving driving me crazy!

4K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  HeyJoe 
#1 ·
I've had my Ref 54 alto for almost three years now, and I still am obsessed with it (I named it Katie... I know, I know... Alas, a lonely life is a life in vain.) Anyways, about a month or two ago, I noticed a tiny ding on Katie's neck.

Now it isn't big enough to affect sound but... it's driving me absolutely bonkers. It keeps me up at night, and the worst part is, I have no Idea how it got there! Now scratches are understandable, three years of practicing a few hours everyday, it's bound to have those. But a tiny ding? No.

Anyone else have thus issue ever? How much does something like this cost to get fixed, and how does it look after dent removal? Would it even show? It's no bigger than a millimeter, on the left hand side of the neck close to the octave mechanism ribbing/plate. Would it be better to get an all new neck? Or do others have dings too...? Is this just something that happens?
 
#3 ·
You're not too far from Eric Satterly(Spelling?) of Meridian Winds in Williamston just outside of Okemos near East Lansing. Before you panic and spring for a new neck, give him a call. He's one of the great dent guys and has a talented staff around him, too. He is the Co-inventor of the magnetic dent removal system.
Please understand I'm also giving this advice without seeing pics of the damage, but I'd still be surprised if Eric is not your guy.
It'll work out. Good luck!
 
#6 ·
Unless there's something we're not being told, there's no reason to consider replacing the neck...

You're not too far from Eric Satterly(Spelling?) of Meridian Winds in Williamston just outside of Okemos near East Lansing. Before you panic and spring for a new neck, give him a call. He's one of the great dent guys and has a talented staff around him, too.
They'll be able to do it. Should be quick, easy, and cheap.

He is the Co-inventor of the magnetic dent removal system.
Correct. But I think Mr. Satterlee would be the first to tell you that a tiny dent in the neck is not a prime candidate for the MDRS system. You just couldn't get a large enough ball in the neck to have enough pull against the magnet.

The magnetic tools are great for sax bows and low brass branches, though, where you can use a much larger ball. Since I added magnetic dent equipment to my shop, I can do better PC marching brass repairs for less money, since I have to do far less disassembly. And they're great for areas of wide tubing with many small dents.

Typically, with the type of dent the OP's describing, a tech would use a ball threaded on a rod and either push out the dent or use a burnishing hammer, or some combination of the two. Most techs have an collection of rods with different curvatures and balls of various sizes to get the job done. Very rarely, I need to float a ball in the tubing using a cable, like the way you'd repair a trumpet crook - usually for tenor necks with dents in the most inconvenient places...
 
#4 ·
Keegan, first off, a small dent like you described can be removed in 2 seconds by a good technician and you'll probably never be able to find where it was anymore. And it'd cost you close to nothing. With that said, this is really, really, common on brass instruments and it has virtually no impact on your horn sound. My 1954 Mark VI has several little dents in many places and lots of lacquer wear. It happens from hitting the stand, chair, other players instruments. Even a gentle bump can deform brass. It's really not a big deal to loose sleep over. I know your feeling, 30 years ago I got a brand new Super 80 Series II that I cherished like crazy for a while (it also got a tiny dent like you described at some point and I had it promptly removed). I am wiser now.
 
#10 ·
Keegan, first off, a small dent like you described can be removed in 2 seconds by a good technician and you'll probably never be able to find where it was anymore. And it'd cost you close to nothing.
Hehe. Yes, I mean....honestly.....I understand (hope) that this thread is part tongue-in-cheek, but really.....just get it removed.

OP could have answered his question already, and slept like a babe... by just taking it somewhere and having a tech give an estimate.....

My only other suggestion would be...whack the horn up against a chair so now you will have a second ding.

The first one will then be all but forgotten.....

(tounge planted firmly in...)
 
#5 ·
I totally get you, Keegan. On the bell of my alto, the perfectly smooth bell, is a tiny indentation that's like someone pressed the tip of a pen into it. It drives me absolutely nuts! I've been told I'm OCD (for other reasons), but I refuse to believe that.
 
#9 ·
Thanks everybody for the responses. I know it's only cosmetic, and I've got no idea why it bugs me but it does. I'm not usually OCD but I guess when you pay $6000 for something it kinda comes with a bit of motherly instinct. I may look into having it fixed if it keeps bugging me in a few weeks. But it's nice to know that there are other sax players with the same problems.

I had a guitar player put it away for me once about the same time the dent appeared... not making any incinuatins, just an observation...
 
#19 ·
I'm not usually OCD but I guess when you pay $6000 for something it kinda comes with a bit of motherly instinct.

I had a guitar player put it away for me once about the same time the dent appeared...
Would you pass your first-born child to a stranger for a change? :shock:
 
#11 ·
It's no bigger than a millimeter, on the left hand side of the neck close to the octave mechanism ribbing/plate.
Without seeing it I'm guessing, but that is a typical area for a ding due to the octave mechanism going too far and hitting the pipe. Easy enough to check. Just push the key and see if it lines up with the ding. These rings can happen when putting the next in the bell for storage in the case. I learned the hard way to never do that again.

Oh, and just get it fixed.
 
#16 ·
As long as there is enough clearance for the octave key to move sufficiently, you'd be able to attach cork.

But note that cuts and bruises that affect the local thickness of the metal do not remove without somewhat extreme measures.
+1
 
#15 ·
New saxes are like new cars. Unless you are unduly obsessive, eventually you accept that the original condition is not permanent if you use the thing.

But yes, probably easy to remove. But note that cuts and bruises that affect the local thickness of the metal do not remove without somewhat extreme measures.
 
#20 ·
The first ding or scratch on a brand new hurts the most. Get it fixed (or don't) and move on. A new horn can't stay new and shiny forever if it's being used the way it's intended.

My tenor is pretty freakin ugly (no dents, but scratched, some re-solders and loss of lacquer; but it plays well, and that's what I'm concerned with these days.
 
#21 ·
FWIW, my Borgani was pristine before overhaul. The swedging operation left marks on the mechanism that could annoy a more obsessive person. On the other hand, it outplays the myriad other tenors that I've played in the last 40+ years.

What matters to you?
 
#22 ·
OP

I see I"m not the only one obsessed with a tiny ding. I bought and 598XXX III tenor that had a tiny like ball point ding. I didn't notice when I purchased it. I didn't see it for 2 weeks. Well the only way I found is by holding the bell and feeling a very tiny protruberence. The I looked at it and that's when I noticed it. Completely cosmetic and practically unnoticeable but it bugged me. The usual suspects gave me some grief about it. I got a couple of reccommendations of people I could take it to in LA and SF. Which I'll do when I get a chance.

Why didn't you post a pic?
 
#23 ·
The usual suspects gave me some grief about it.
Quite the contrary. Saxophone-PLAYING members gave you support, and encouraged you to focus on the music.

If you choose to interpret that as "grief", that's in your head.

My shiny new (I was the first owner) got the lip of the bell bent in shipping. I played it for many years that way, and the eventual second owner was happy with it as well.
 
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