Woodwind instrument advice, reviews, care, repair & maintenance.

Whether you're interested in buying an instrument, maintaining your flute or clarinet, hints on saxophone repairs or just plain curious about woodwind - you'll find something to interest you here, presented in a clear and relaxed manner.

I'm hugely excited to be able to present the largest piece of work since the Haynes Saxophone and Clarinet manuals - namely the SHWoodwind F.O. Guide To Octave Key Problems.
Four years in the making, it aims to be the most comprehensive troubleshooting guide to octave mech ever published - and it's still not finished! Have a look, see what you think - and let me know if it helped you diagnose and fix a problem. And if it all gets a bit too much, there's an accompanying Notes article on why I wrote it.
There's also an update to my article on Oiling the action - for geeks, which details my tests on what I'm calling the 'multigrade method' of oiling the action.
As for the rest of the site, you'll find hard-hitting reviews that show no fear or favour; commonsense advice about looking after your instruments; myths debunkified; clear explanations and maybe one or two laughs. So fill your mug/glass/pipe/atty, give your mouse a buff and click on. You know it makes sense....

Latest reviews: "Don't blow it - bench it!"
New: A very British affair - possibly the best Hawkes & Son XX Century alto out there.	New: The Yanagisawa A500 alto. Get one now, before the prices go up.
New: The (take a deep breath) Rare Saxophones Super Tone Series VI TS-7306L. Hmmmmm...	New: Mauriat's knuckle-duster bari - the PMB-300UL.
Updated: The King Super 20 (Series V) tenor sax. Had a nice example come in, so took the opportunity to revamp my original 14 year old review.	New: It's wee, it's in C - it's the Adler Symphonie C soprano.
The Mexican Conn 12M. It often gets a bad press - so let's see if it deserves it.	Another 2012 built (126xxx) Keilwerth Shadow comes in for an inspection.
It's 'foreign' and it cost twenty quid in 1938 - but just how super is the New Super Dearman alto?	Updated: The Mauriat 66R tenor. Buy something else. Updated (again): The Mauriat 66...the one without the rolled toneholes.
Supercharged - the Andy Sheppard Autograph series tenor.	The strange and mysterious Yanagisawa S6 soprano. Not quite a review - more of a puzzle.
Handy Hints: Hints, tips and maintenance advice
New: The SHWoodwind F.O. Guide To Octave Key Problems. (Warning: It's long. It's very long. It's very long indeed.) Updated: New sections added 21/12/2018	Updated: Oiling the action - for geeks. Testing the 'multigrade method' of oiling.
Miscellaneous: All the other stuff...	Glossary: What does it all mean?
The Black Museum's latest exhibit: The dreaded school bari.	All you need to know about point (pivot) screws...and more.
Testing...Testing: What works, and what doesn't	Notes...from a small workshop
G# geometry - striking a balance between friction and functionality.	New: The end...of the octave key article.
Haynes saxophone & clarinet manuals	Benchlife...the workshop rolling blog
Everything you need to know about looking after your sax or clarinet.	A section devoted to the (almost) daily dabblings on and around the workbench. Latest entry: More oily fun.

All material on this site copyright Stephen Howard Woodwind, unless otherwise stated. 17/01/2019

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