Just Saxes is...
"Just Saxes" began as "just me," and has at some times included supporting employees and at others returned to one man operation. After Katrina, I was a little too busy rescuing a house I bought just before the storm to continue with full scale JS operations, so retail went on the back burner and I slowed the overhaul volume to just one or two a month. In the past few years, though, Just Saxes has gradually returned to full scale operation. I was fortunate, in 2002, to be able to hire and work with talented & able local professional musician, William Terry (Soul Rebels Brass Band, Cronk, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Counting Crows, Denise Marie, and more). William contributed generously of his time & good company to Just Saxes, when he was not too busy gigging, and now has his own thriving company to run.
About Me (Palo)
I originally moved to New Orleans to do research for a master's thesis at NYU. Just Saxes grew naturally, and largely by accident, out of my own search for the perfect saxophone, and a few fortuitous introductions that led to an education in saxophone repair. I was taught the basics of saxophone overhaul and repair by a local repairman named Joe Haddad (in Houma, LA). Joe repairs wind and brass instruments, roughly according to the approaches taught at Allied Music in Elkhart, Indiana, and in the repair manuals by Ronald Saska and Eric Brand. What I learned from Joe has been fortified, and sometimes improved upon, through many conversations with numerous saxophone technicians who have been very generous with their knowledge and time, as well as by hands-on instruction and contact with many horns (and thereby the work of many other repair persons). I will reiterate the one thing I know to be the secret to good repair, as it applies to all crafts trades, and is of some use beyond just the purposes of this (random, for most people, internet) introduction: the quality of craftsmanship one receives in most crafts-oriented trades is mostly determined not by knowledge, but by follow through, and that is a function of intentions. Any one who has been to the better known names and has also had me do work for them knows that I have no cause for shyness in putting my work up against anybody's for comparison. Being able to do functional work for people whose passion I appreciate -- whether beginner or professional -- is what is ultimately responsible for the quality of my work.
I have seen bad work from expert hands. I have also seen relatively good work from inexperienced hands. When I was new to this, I did good work -- not great work, but better than many -- simply as a function of having good intentions and genuine curiosity. Where expert hands do bad work, it is due to a lack of good intentions, and a lack of curiosity. I don't work on or carry equipment that I know will not be capable of excellent performance; for that reason, every time I take on an overhaul, I am as interested as the owner to see just how good that saxophone can be made to play and respond.
Because hundreds of horns have now come through my hands, and because I've had many of the most famous repairmen in the U.S. perform repairs on my horns while living in NYC -- e.g. Roberto in NYC, Rod Baltimore at Rod Baltimore's in NYC, Emilio Lyons at Rayburn in Boston -- I've been able to observe firsthand many of the strengths and weaknesses of various repair approaches, and am very familiar with "the state of the art." I've also had the work of numerous unknown repairmen pass through my hands, and have taken their work apart and often learned both what to do (and not to do) from examining their work. I've had the benefit of reviewing both good work by lesser known techs, and poor work from better known ones, and owe these experiences a great deal, in my own repair education. My greatest thanks, however, go to Joe Haddad, to whom I owe an enormous debt of gratitude, for his willingness in generously, and in the genuine spirit of sharing, imparting his own traditional overhaul techniques with me on my first rebuild. I owe an additional thank you to a fine player, teacher, and repairman in Brooklyn named Martin Krusche. Martin was my first saxophone teacher, and his work on my own horns was the finest I encountered while still receiving repairwork by others; his repair work is widely recognized "on the ground" in NOLA as among the best in the world.
Mission
I came to saxophone collecting and repair simply through my own search for good equipment, and in particular an enthusiasm for vintage saxophones. Just Saxes grew naturally out of my own search, as a player, and I approach Just Saxes business as a player first. The reason I started doing repair in the first place was that I found it difficult myself to find dependable and top-flight repair close-to-home, after moving to New Orleans. Because I know from experience how much it means to a player to find a repairperson, or saxophone dealer, who really is "on the up & up," I see it as an honor to be entrusted with the care of others' instruments, and with buyers' confidences. I won't ever try to "sell you a bill of goods," or to "get over" on you by abusing my position as trusted consultant. For me, any breach of good faith toward a player who has entrusted me with her/his horn insults us both.
Quite honestly, my study as a player was waylaid by Katrina, and the way the storm forced me to reconsider my priorities in life, as I get older, and time becomes more scarce. I have film work to do, and fiction writing to do, and that, along with life's other various pleasures and vicissitudes, does not leave a great deal of time for serious saxophone study. My repairwork, though, is at its peak. I have never done better work, nor have I been capable of doing better work, than I am doing now.
I always try do the best repair I possibly can, and to go the extra yard in getting saxophones to respond optimally. I know very well the difference between work that is "passing" and work that is top-rung. I don't want to suffer through the myriad, unnecessary embouchure/airstream/oral cavity adjustments one has to make when dealing with a poorly regulated horn, and I take my responsibility to others very seriously. I've suffered myself through my share of half-hearted repairs on my own horns -- sometimes done by very renowned repair persons (or more often their assistants) -- and I don't want to put any one else through that, or the frustration of having to be disappointed and have no recourse to express it. Every saxophone that I sell is checked, rechecked, and checked yet again - twice - before it goes out the door. Every overhaul is played and retouched over an extended adjustment phase; whenever possible I solicit the impressions of additional professional players in order to further check the work's rigorousness.
Retailwise, JS's mission has always been, & always will be, to find the best possible equipment and horn/set-up matches to meet musicians' needs, and to make these items available at the best possible price, under the best possible conditions, for musicians of all abilities. In many instances, you'll find that retail prices found here are the lowest not only in the US but the world. Every retail item account that exists at Just Saxes was originally opened because I myself wanted to buy the products offered through them, for my own use. Business decisions at Just Saxes are always made from a player's perspective, and moreover from the perspective of players whose own main instruments are vintage horns. Preparing saxophones to perform at their best -- whether it be through attention to the horn itself, its interaction with the mouthpiece, or its long term care and preservation -- is always the first priority, here.
Philosophy
The reality of saxophones is that any given saxophone's state of repair determines more, in terms of what the player experiences, than the actual design. The best saxophone in the world, in poor repair, is not going to play well, or to be able to reveal how special it is (except perhaps to a very, very experienced player and/or saxophone mechanic, who has played enough saxophones in poor repair to be able to translate bad results into potential, via intuition).
Keeping that reality in mind, the goals in repair are obvious on some levels, and less obvious on others, depending on the design and repair (or damage and trauma) history of a given saxophone. The player wants basically three things: (1) the sound that player is seeking, (2) the intonation and pitch behavior that is most comfortable, in the final analysis (which may not be the same as saying the most accurate intonation, in some rare cases), and (3) the response (speed of attack, sustain, openness, evenness, etc.) that best matches that player's goals and needs in terms of expression. The better the player is, the more likely these desires are to fall in that order, as the better the player's mastery is the more her/his desires tend to come down to a search for the right sound, and the more the second two needs fall under the rubric of "sound." A master player usually has learned that with enough work, almost any saxophone's intonation and response can be managed, while the equipment's role in creating the sound one is after is often not controllable simply through mastery of the instrument.
On the repair side, in attending to those three needs, in a balanced way, there is a reality is generally known intuitively even by mediocre techs, but only fully certain to those who have done a good deal of actual experimenting with acoustical modifications: very subtle repairs and alterations, especially that effect spatial relations in the bore in any way, can exercise profound effects on how the saxophone performs from the player's perspective. The basic intuitive bottom line on that is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," because if relatively subtle changes can have far reaching effects beyond what most would ever predict. Substituting a single resonator that alters the amount of space in a tonehole, for example, as compared to another one, can profoundly influence how the player experiences evenness and openness throughout the saxophone's range, turning a saxophone that feels amazing into one that feels squirrely and uncomfortable.
But, even to get to the point with a specific saxophone of being able to sense how a minor modification influences overall response, the saxophone first has to be completely tight mechanically and sealing throughout. A saxophone that isn't 100% tight mechanically, and in the best possible adjustment, can reveal its needs, in terms of subtle acoustical modifications; when the saxophone isn't tight, to make acoustical modifications would be a bad mistake, possibly causing future problems even while addressing current ones (where those current problems are actually caused by maladjustment in the instrument).
For reasons that I may eventually document in an article or two, but have not yet detailed, my perspective is that often what works best is something unexpected. The flipside of that is that often cliches and oft-repeated standbys about what to do, or not do, can sometimes be more harmful than helpful. There are many cliches about repair, and that are widely believed, that are just plain false, or at best misleading. Without getting into them in detail, the one rule of thumb is that you can only go by what is actually in front of you, not by what is thought by others to be true -- no matter how many times it is repeated by people on the internet -- or what one would prefer to be true.
The single most common area that this latter consideration comes into play is that of balancing cosmetic results with performance results. Often, what is cosmetically ideal is not what is ideal from the perspective of performance. There is for example a reasonably famous mouthpiece refacer whose ugliest work, in my experience, is often his best work; his cleanest work is often his poorest playing. Similarly, some of the best saxophones I have ever played have had heavily reworked necks or dentwork -- something one should generally avoid, in the abstract, purchasing sight unseen. The single best alto I have ever played (and which I own) is a heavily, heavily rebuffed transitional Conn 6M whose keywork has been moved around so that seating pads properly takes some sleight of hand. The reality is that when it comes to repair and performance related to it, the most important consideration, just as with writing a story, or making any kind of work of art, is knowing when to stop.
When I get spectacular results, I stop. When a saxophone owned by JS, to be offered for sale, is not performing well -- despite sealing and being in its best adjustment -- I keep trying. The upshot is that I do not continue working on a saxophone, to make it cosmetically more appealing, when I feel that there is a danger of upsetting a desirable state of balance and grace in that saxophone. What is important in a neck, for example, is not whether its walls are absolutely smooth and show no evidence of ever having had a dent, but that its bore taper is spatially close to original and that it produces a beautiful tone while playing in tune.
I have played and repaired most makes and models of saxophones, to the point where I have a good familiarity with how each make and model performs in the three player-desire categories listed above, so I know when the average balance of performance for that model has been exceeded. I also have experimented enough with the modifications and techniques in my repertoire to have a good idea of what can be expected -- what the potential benefits and potential risks are of any special modification -- with regard to saxophones in general. That is when I know how and where to stop.
The promise I make to internet and remote shoppers, is that I will be honest about my findings with regard to each saxophone I work on, or that is listed for sale, here. What I say is what I think. I always am aware that certain types of results appeal to certain kinds of players as well -- a cutting, bright, modern sound is not for every one, for example -- and I try to make clear in both repair service and in offering horns for sale that the important thing is to make the saxophone perform to the greatest expectation possible for a specific end user. This does mean that in certain cases, in saxophones overhauled for sale, most will be set-up to appeal to a particular segment of the saxophone playing population -- namely musicians interested in jazz, R&B and rock, as these are the bulk of my customers. Set-ups that are more classical, or big band oriented are certainly a pleasure to do -- they are also actually easier to do, thanks to the use of smaller resonators -- but very few saxophones offered for sale will be intentionally set-up specifically with pre-modern styles of playing in mind.
"Semi-Green" & Health Conscious
Frankly, it's pretty much impossible to truly "go green" and do saxophone repair without sacrificing or risking dependability of performance. I do believe in protecting myself, my customers, and the environment to the greatest degree possible, though. I no longer perform "chemical strips" using chemicals that are harsh for the environment (I use a stripping method that is completely "vegan," although it takes a bit more work sometimes than the same job done with chemicals). I avoid lead based solders to the greatest degree possible (very occasionally, a very low temp flow will be needed, which will call for an exception -- the solder supply for this, however, was purchased years ago, and that one small spool of low temp flow lead-tin solder will last 20 years, most likely, without a replenishing).
I am one of those people who takes his own health and what he puts in his body seriously, but I also believe that the best products for use are sometimes...not-so-green. I try to protect both my own health and my customers, as well as the environment, in my choices of materials and processes. You will not be unwittingly inhaling noxious fumes or lead dust when you play an overhaul I have done. The balance between performance and eco-friendly materials and usages is a balancing act, though, in the end. As I discover eco-friendly alternatives to traditional methods -- which do not alter my work's results -- I add them to my process.
Testimonials
There is a gallery with photos of saxophones past, and some correspondences with customers in the "Gallery" area of this site, but if you have never done business with me that will not mean much to you. Certainly there are commercial personalities -- specifically within the saxophone biz -- that are notorious for generating fake testimonials for themselves and their products and services. I am not one of them, but I have seen for myself that they exist. I would invite any one to do a Google or Yahoo search for my name and company ("just saxes new orleans" will pull up some testimonials). There are reviews of services in various places from past customers, and finding them yourself will mean more than my own reproductions of them. I do not have any disgruntled customers, not a single one anywhere, to the best of my knowledge in nine years of rescuing saxophones from lesser states of performance.
At this writing (12.13.09), in the nine years Just Saxes has been in business, I have not once (at least that I can recall) had to receive a return on a saxophone, despite that every saxophone sold is sold with a 14-day return guarantee. This is of course a mark of some pride, which I don't think many saxophone sellers who have been in business longer than a few years can claim, at least not those who have clean records with past customers.
A Few Notes on Internet Selling
Some of the horns at Just Saxes will be listed on eBay, on occasion, but most will not. Since putting this site up, and at this writing, most horns sell before I have a chance to fully list them, whether locally or by mail-order (indeed, a good number sell before there is time to list them on the website at all). Additionally, as time passes, and as is natural for a new business, local business has continued to grow at the speed of word of mouth, and this growth tends to pick up momentum over time. While there isn't always time to attend to updates to this website as often as I'd like, I make every effort to keep this site and the inventory pages up to date. If you see an item listed anywhere on this site, it most likely is in stock and the listing current; I try to make updates on a bi-weekly basis at a minimum.
I fully recognize - more so every day as I myself find more and more of my own shopping taking place online - that shopping online can be a harrowing experience (especially, for some reason, when shopping for things like electronics and cameras). When you phone or write Just Saxes, though, you are always dealing with me directly, the proprietor and owner, and there is no such thing as "passing the buck" or "front-line" customer service. I recognize that, in large part because internet shopping does tend to be more stressful, doing business at a distance actually requires greater consideration, in many ways, than doing business face-to-face.
*Thanks, sincerely, for visiting, and for taking time out to read, here*
P. Tung
New Orleans
inquiries@justsaxes.comlast updated: January 2010
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