Welcome to my online resource for advice, care, repair and maintenance for woodwind instruments.
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.
If you require further information or wish to comment on anything on the site ( or just fancy sharing your experiences ) there's a contact link on the left.

Autumn 2008

As you might imagine, I get a great many emails from all corners of the planet relating to the content on this site. Most are concerned with repair problems or questions about various faults and issues, some are comments and observations on my various reviews and articles - and some are just plain "thank you's", either in respect of the technical articles or simply because they found the Notes articles rather cheering.
In nearly every case the correspondents tell me I have a knack for writing and should perhaps consider doing a book.

Well, I am.

Yes folks, I'm soon to be 'an author'.
OK, it's perhaps rather a grandiose title considering the book in question is going to be a technical manual - but a book is a book, and an author is an author. That's my line and I'm sticking to it.
What's particularly gratifying ( for me ) about it is that it wasn't my idea - I was approached by someone who'd read the site, liked what they'd seen and contacted me with a view to putting together a book on sax maintenance,
That 'someone' was none other than Haynes - the company famed for its range of car-maintenance manuals.
I'll admit I was surprised - I knew the company had published 'non-vehicular' repair manuals, such as those on lawnmowers and washing machines, but I had no idea as to the extent to which they'd branched out in recent years. If you've got an Avro Lancaster ( it's a WW2 four-engined prop-job bomber ) sitting in your back garden and you've been wondering how on earth the get it flying again - Haynes have a manual for you. They even do a manual on being a dad - and one on sex, for heaven's sake! I'm tempted to wonder which one they did first...

I'm actually rather proud of being associated with Haynes, they've been an important part of my life ever since I splashed out £300 on my first car ( a Chrysler Avenger 1500 ), and over the years I've amassed a sizeable collection of their manuals to go with the various old bangers I've driven. I'm hoping they'll feel the same way about me!
The best part of it is that Haynes have the sort of production facilities and publishing clout that's rarely available for specialist crafts, which means excellent presentation and easy availability...not to mention a sensible price.

I should say that it's not going to be a repair manual - I've always felt that such manuals have very limited value. Sure, they often show some good techniques but many of them require specialist and expensive tools, and in many cases you really need to be shown the techniques first-hand...after which point the manual is a bit superfluous ( check out the new Notes article, The sax doctor ).
The Haynes manual will concentrate on maintenance techniques - showing you how to look after your horn and do simple maintenance jobs such as adjusting the action and regulation, checking for leaks and problems and tweaking your horn to get the very best out of it. These aren't the sort of jobs that will save you hundreds of pounds in a single hit, rather they're the sort of jobs that cost you ten and twenty quid here and there through the years - and prevent your horn from packing up halfway through a gig for want of a bit of cork or a tweak of a screw.

So if you've found it somewhat difficult getting hold of me lately, this is why!

______________________

So, what's on the site?
There's the Handy Hints section, which contains pages of advice and hints to enable you to care for and perform minor repairs on your instruments. It's worth checking back from time to time as this is likely to be an ever-growing section. For those looking to have an instrument repaired, there's a basic guide to the various levels of servicing.
Latest update: What's in YOUR mouthpiece?!

The Reviews section is the place to find the bottom line on that horn you've had your eye on.
As and when instruments come through the workshop ( or rather, when I have the time! ) I'll post my comments about them here. The emphasis is more on the mechanical side, given that playability is very much a subjective matter - though if I find issues that may affect this significantly I'll comment on them. There's also a section here which offers some advice to those of you about to buy an instrument, new or secondhand - perhaps for the first time, plus some notes on the vintage/modern saxophone debate, and some hints for choosing a pro sax.
Latest update: I've finally got around to reviewing a Mauriat - was it worth the wait? An Ultra-Cheap tenor from Australia turns up on the workbench and on the alto front the Bauhaus brand makes its debut, with some considerable style. Oh, and another Keilwerth SX90R tenor gets the tone hole check ( no prizes here ).

The Misc. section is where you'll find all the articles that don't quite fit anywhere else, including the infamous Black Museum. This season's new exhibit - a particularly nasty Brazilian tenor.

In Testing...Testing I'll be examining in more detail some of the commonly held ideas appertaining to woodwind instruments. For example...people 'say' you should use a Pad-Saver...but why? And are they right?
Latest update: Kangaroo skin pads and Noyek Reflectors...Hype or Hooray!? And at last, the above-mentioned pad saver test!

In the Glossary you'll find explanations for a great many of the curious words and terms used throughout the site. If you're very new to musical instruments it might help to open this section in a separate browser window so that you can refer to it as you read other sections of the site.
Latest update: Pad clamps.

Notes...from a small workshop is a place where you can get the low-down on workshop life, a chance to pull up a seat and share a cuppa whilst the great issues of, well, anything I fancy really, are mulled over. I won't often publish detailed update notices here...so just drop by and peek in from time to time.
Latest update: Three new articles; a tricky bass clarinet causes much 'mirth', some nursery rhymes for young jazzers - and a doctor takes to the workbench.

All material on this site copyright Stephen Howard Woodwind, unless otherwise stated. 13/10/08

Privacy Notice: This site does not use cookies