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info@dawkes.co.uk
+44 1628 630800
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Woodwind Repairs
Dawkes Music offers the UK’s leading solution for woodwind repairs for any musician who values quality, expertise, and care. With decades of experience in the music industry, our skilled technicians have built a strong reputation for understanding the intricate details of woodwind instruments. We offer a customer-focused experience that ensures a smooth and reliable repair process.
Whether it’s a minor adjustment or a full overhaul, each repair is handled with precision and attention to detail, ensuring that your instrument performs at its best. The team uses high-quality materials and professional tools, giving customers confidence that their instrument is in expert hands.
Our Experienced Team
We pride ourselves on the knowledge, experience, and friendly expertise of our team. Each repair technician has a vast array of experience over many years. Many of the team play a wide variety of instruments and they’re all dedicated to helping support players, teachers and parents.
FAQ
Q: How often should I service my woodwind instrument?
A: We recommend having your woodwind instrument checked by our specialist technicians every 12-18 months. This helps the instrument stay in the best possible playing condition which will increase your enjoyment.
It does depend a little on how often you are playing the instrument, also the level of the instrument. Professional models can have more intricate mechanisms which although being very well made can require more fine-tuning. Working musicians and teachers also play more hours on average than students, and as such their instruments can need more regular attention.
Ongoing maintenance by the player can help extend periods between servicing. For example, swabbing through an instrument thoroughly after playing removes excess moisture which will extend the life of your pads. Wiping off any excess moisture and perspiration from the exterior of the instrument will also help protect the finish.
Q: How can I tell when it’s time for my instrument to be checked?
A: Your instrument is a mechanical device, with many moving parts and consumables. Over time as materials slowly deteriorate you may notice a gradual decline in the instrument’s performance. You might be having to use slightly heavier finger pressure or blow that little bit harder to make all the notes speak correctly. This is usually one good sign it needs attention.
Other tell-tale signs are noisier keywork that clicks or rattles, also what we call double-action which is when the regulation mechanism has gone out of sync. It feels like a key action has two-steps to deploy instead of one. You may also notice pads, felts or corks become discoloured, chipped or mis-shaped. All of these are signals your woodwind instrument needs our loving attention!
Q: Do you offer estimates before repair?
A: Absolutely. You can pre-book an assessment appointment from our booking page where one of our experienced team will carefully check and assess your instrument. They will be able to provide you a detailed quote for the work required and will take care to explain all the relevant terminology and information as required.
If you unable to visit our Maidenhead branch we can arrange for courier collections and then we would assess your instrument on arrival and liaise with you via phone or email to give a detailed quote.
Q: How quickly will my instrument be repaired?
A: This can depend on the level of work involved, but in general there are two scenarios.
- If you have pre-booked an assessment via our booking page, it’s possible that we can make small adjustments during that session. This would generally be if the instrument is in good working order and only minor remedial work is required.
- Alternatively, if you book the instrument into our diary, we will agree a date in advance with you and then you bring it in the day before, we do the work on the agreed date, and you can collect it the day after. So, the most amount of time we usually need anything is 1 working day. This may be extended if we’re doing extensive work and/or re-plating or re-lacquering your instrument. All the timings would be stated and agreed during the quoting process.
Q: Do you offer emergency repairs?
A: Yes, we do offer an ‘on-the-spot’ system via our booking page. You can pre-book a 60-minute assessment and the technician will be able to complete emergency repair work that is possible within the timeframe. We would advise if extra work would be beneficial and let you know the best course of action to get that done. If you’re literally on the afternoon before a gig and something breaks, we can also try our very best to squeeze you into the diary. If it’s such a last minute situation we’d ask you to please call us on 01628 630 800 before coming in and we can discuss your available options.
Q: Do you use specific brands of pads or materials?
A: We have a large array of options for all replacable materials on woodwind instruments. This includes the UK’s biggest stock of pads, corks, springs and felts, along with thousands of spare parts. Our experienced technical team will discuss various material options with you during the quoting process.
The aim is always to use materials that match the quality of the instrument and/or that are specific to the design. We do also offer customisations which means you can have the choice of a wide range of upgrade options to perfect the feel and performance of your instrument.
Q: Can you repair vintage or speciality instruments?
A: Absolutely! Our experienced technicians are highly regarded for taking care of premium vintage instruments. We regularly see an array of speciality instruments that are used by professionals and enthusiasts alike. We’d encourage you to get in touch to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Woodwind Repair Fundamentals
Woodwind Pads
- Each pad should form an air-tight seal over the associated tone hole.
- There are many reasons why a pad might leak, including distortion to the shape of the pad itself from regular moisture exposure.
- Any loss of compression inside the bore of your instrument can influence the performance, as the air you blow in escapes and cannot maintain the internal air column.
- Pads should be held in the key cups with a heat activated glue, allowing a repairer to manipulate the pad back into position.
- We offer a range of pad options on all Woodwind instruments.
Woodwind Springs
- Woodwind springs give each key their tension.
- Springs are typically made of steel and will wear out over time, getting weaker before finally fracturing.
- Your springs can be strengthened or weakened to suit your needs or preferences; this job is discussed with each individual.
- More or less resistance in springs will make the overall key action feel lighter or heavier. Some players find a lighter spring resistance helps when playing faster passages of music.
- Incorrect spring tension can cause balanced mechanisms to fail or feel spongy under the fingers.
Key Corks & Felts
- Key corks and felts generally have two different jobs - either quietening and softening the mechanical impacts of the keywork or balancing multiple keys to close perfectly together - this is called ‘regulation’.
- As corks and felts compress, dry out or get oily over time, their performance can decline.
- When corks and felts decline, you can sometimes feel ‘double-action’ in the regulation, and if a cork or felt falls off you will often hear a clicking sound as the metal keys touch together.
- These days a range of natural and synthetic materials are used to ensure a long-lasting and quiet key action.
Customisation
- Our technicians all have playing experience, enabling us to advise on the many other factors that influence the performance of an instrument.
- We offer a whole range of customisation options on materials, this includes different pad types (which can affect response), and synthetic regulation materials to quieten down key action.
- We also have many years of experience when it comes to customising key positioning, venting of tone holes, and balancing key action to perfect an instruments set-up.
- To explore your options please book a visit and one of our specialist technicians will be able to guide you.
Dawkes have been named as Yamaha's only UK Shokunin specialist dealer for a range of selected instruments - Saxophone, Clarinet and Trumpet. Sharing Yamaha's commitment to craft and service, our highly experienced specialists are carefully chosen for their ability to help you find the instrument that is right for you, and ensure it remains in perfect playing condition with specialist our on-site repair workshop in Maidenhead.
Shokunin is a Japanese term for a master artisan or craftsperson that goes beyond mere technical skill to encompass a lifelong dedication to their work, an attitude of continuous improvement, and a social consciousness or obligation to serve others by providing the highest possible quality work. It represents a deep commitment to the craft, a relentless pursuit of perfection, and a strong work ethic that prioritises the welfare of the community over personal gain.
CONTACT US
HOW TO FIND US
Dawkes Music Ltd is located in Berkshire just 10 minutes from the M4, 15 minutes from the M40 and 20 minutes from the M25. We are also in close range of Heathrow (15-20 mins in the car) and Gatwick (60 mins in the car). We have free car parking directly outside the shop. London Paddington is just 30-40 mins on the train.
ADDRESS: Dawkes Music, Reform Road, Maidenhead, SL6 8BT