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Saxophone Manual: Choosing, Setting Up and Maintaining a Saxophone Hardcover – September 15, 2015

by Stephen Howard (Author)
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The saxophone is arguably the most iconic of all instruments, but with its graceful form and soulful tone it's easy to forget that it's still a machine. It's a complicated machine, too, and even a slight fault in the mechanism can affect the way it feels and plays. This innovative manual explains clearly and simply how the mechanism functions and what can be done to maintain it, as well as to improve its performance with professional set-up techniques, with few or no specialist tools. This manual is essential reading for everyone who plays the saxophone.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Haynes Publishing UK
  4. Publication date
    September 15, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    8.55 x 0.5 x 10.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0857338404
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0857338402
  8. See all details
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Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen Howard has been a professional repairer for over 30 years, and a player for even longer. He has an international reputation for his down-to-earth approach that cuts through the myth and jargon and gets straight to the point in an informal and engaging style.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Haynes Publishing UK; Reprint edition (September 15, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0857338404
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0857338402
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.69 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.55 x 0.5 x 10.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

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Stephen Howard

Stephen Howard

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
274 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kawika on Kindle
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Do-It-Yourselfers
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2013
Verified Purchase
This manual has quickly become my "go-to" book when the saxophonists in my home have difficulties. I simply turn to the troubleshooting section and diagnosis begins! This book has saved me lots of money on simple repairs like neck corks, and the preventative maintenance recommendations like lubrication and pad care keeps the instrument out of the shop. I've always been a bit intimidated by all the clockwork mechanisms and all the interconnected, mysterious keyworks of the saxophone. As a guy who likes to know how things work, but dreads breaking 'em, I love how this explains the hows and whys of tone production, regulation, key height, and more with full color pictures, diagrams, and exploded drawings - awesome! (The Haynes manual for clarinet is now going into my shopping basket too.) If you've got serious or budding saxophonists in your family like me, going through this book a few times will help keep that horn the precision instrument it was intended to be!

Update: After a year with this book and a toolkit from musicmedic.com, I've saved considerable money on simple repairs for myself and the local community band my family plays with together. The book has helped me replace about half a dozen neck corks; free up a stuck C# mechanism on an old King baritone sax; successfully troubleshoot and restore function of the mysterious G# assembly on a Vintage Martin Tenor; find, adjust, and replace numerous flat and needle springs; fix a bent octave mechanism on an antique Martin neck; re-lubricate an entire "dry" sax; find leaks; adjust timing; and even replace three pads on different horns. If we had taken these instruments to the local repair shop, the instruments might have been out for two weeks each at $50 an hour. I'll never pretend to call myself an instrument repairman; but in a pinch, I can help and save the local band a few bucks. Thanks, Stephen!
10 people found this helpful
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T. Leonard
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Have book for all Saxophone Players!!
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2010
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Haynes Books are not new to me, having bought them and used them in the past to work on my vehicles, so when I read that they had engaged Stephen Howard, a renowned sax repairman in England, to write an "everything you want and need to know about saxophones" book I was very curious, as Haynes books were all about cars and motorcycles in the past. Turns out this is a truly great book for all sax players or musical instrument repair techs! It is filled with lots of historical info that helps you understand the progressive changes in the saxophone over the years, almost all based on Stephen actually playing and/or working on the current and older saxes. As one of those players that loves the "vintage" saxes (I own Conn "Artist" models - both Alto (1932) and tenor (1929)) so can totally relate and agree with Stephen's assessments about the changes over the years!

Even though I don't intend to do any major overhauls myself, this book is an invaluable resource, filled with common-sense advice on care, repair, and playing of the saxophone. The layout is modern and filled with great photos that help the reader fully grasp what Stephen is explaining. If you are a sax player...from beginner to Pro...you need to get this book!! Great reading and great resource!! This is NOT your father's Haynes automobile repair manual!! ;-)
15 people found this helpful
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James Bjork
5.0 out of 5 stars Something for every player who's not already repairing his axe
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2012
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By way of background: I have played the saxophone for 32 years, and I earned a bachelor's degree in music with sax as my instrument of choice. Having gone in another direction (science) professionally for the day job, I am a skilled "weekend warrior" who earns thousands a year playing the majority of Saturday evenings, but do not consider myself anything like a recording artist.

Despite a long history of playing the sax, I have always just taken it to my tech when anything but the slightest issue went wrong. Therefore, I had always wanted to learn more about the "guts" of the sax and its mechanistic operation, if nothing else to save a few bucks (or should I say "quid"?) on more mundane fixes or even diagnostics if something is clanking or some notes sound stuffy.

Select portions of this book, especially the parts about lubrication (such as the very best oil to use) and checking for and tweaking regulation of the keywork-- nails it for me!

This book is clearly written to span the entire range of expertise with the saxophone, from the prospective first-time buyer of a sax, to the technically proficient handyman that is on the verge of giving a go to stripping and rebuilding a sax (that does not have any mechanical/structural damage). Therefore, the first two or three chapters were of little use to me, but so what? At $23 or so from this site, the "sweet spot" chapters that meet me where I'm at as a handy-man (not terribly proficient) and the final chapters with guidance on more ambitious interventions should I get brave down the road) make it a worthwhile purchase.

In sum, the book has great, to-the-point, myth-busting writing, excellent studio-quality photography, and ample diagrams of key concepts and parts. This manual IMO has something to offer pretty much any player who is not already comprehensively repairing his or her own axes. It will meet every one else where they are. Previous reviewers who knock this tome for being too rudimentary miss its intention IMO, and are probably at the expertise level where they should be obtaining materials and training in full-blown sax tech.

Despite how it is likely that moderately experienced players may not need much of the introductory material, and how it is likely that many players like me will not go so far as to replace and seat pads, the value of the comprehensive span of material for the price, coupled with high production quality of the book earns it five stars. I think the maintenance chapters alone make it worth purchase by parents of students who are really giving the sax a go past the initial trial period of a rental.
16 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice basic book that it will make your vist at woodwind repair shop more productinve rather than make you into sax repair guru
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2017
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I would say it is a good read for somebody that is about to start looking for a saxophone. It offers some practical advice on buying instrument and covers some basic care and maintenance. Will you be able to make small tweaks to improve how your instrument plays? I doubt it - if compared to bikes maintenance it covers changing punctured tubes, chain lubrication, changing break pads etc.. You would not be able to build a wheel, true it or fine tune your derailer. It is very nicely published but I think they could skip on glossy paper and nice pics and couple in-depth chapters. .
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Jairo Pereira de Araujo
5.0 out of 5 stars Livro - Conteudo abrangente.
Reviewed in Brazil on September 10, 2020
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Livro com detalhamento das ações de manutenção de saxofones, com bastante fotos e explicações técnicas.
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Mabe
5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo libro, informativo e chiaro
Reviewed in Italy on May 20, 2019
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Questo libro mi è piaciuto molto. Spiega in maniera analitica le parti del saxofono e come funzionano. Spiega anche gli interventi di manutenzione ordinaria o riparazioni di varia complessità, distinguendo cosa si può fare da soli e cosa deve essere fatto dal riparatore professionale. Vi sono immagini e foto e direi che è molto chiaro. Ottima la capacità divulgativa (chiarezza e completezza) di chi l'ha scritto. Attenzione: poichè non è recentissimo, consiglio di consultare anche il sito dell'autore, dove sono stati pubblicati aggiornamenti, costituiti da consigli aggiuntivi e qualche piccola novità, nulla comunque di sostanzialmente rilevante rispetto al libro originale. E' in inglese, ma credo che chiunque con una padronanza media della lingua possa comprendere bene il testo, senza dover consultare troppe volte il vocabolario.
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Manu
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth buying
Reviewed in Australia on July 26, 2020
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The book tells you exactly what you need to know
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SaxSinger
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for anyone wanting to rerpair and hugh his Saxophone - Ein Muss für jeden der sein Saxophon reparieren und liebkosen will
Reviewed in Germany on July 19, 2016
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===================================================================================================
ENGLISH
===================================================================================================
Sure, it isnt really easy to dismantle and rearm a Saxophone. But for sure this is the work due for the experts.

I don't speak about the experts work. I speak about the things a Saxophone-player can do in order to have his saxophone playing in tune. A lot of things described in this book are really easy to follow and to do. You only have to have time and be patient.

Using this book I recorked the mouthpiece of two new altos coming to me. After this repair they sounded better without losing air. This was a nice experience for me, being a real ordinary person in things saxophone repair.

I do not know if I EVER will dismantle completely a saxophone as described in this book and rearm it well. I think this is the job to be done by the wind instru/ments specialist.

But anyhow: if I some day would experience to be alone on an island, having a saxophone and this book, I am sure I will learn how to build up completely this instrument.

I love this book.
===================================================================================================
DEUTSCH
===================================================================================================
Sicher, es ist wirklich nicht einfach ein Saxophon auseinander- und anschliessend wieder zusammenzubauen. Aber genau so sicher ist genau das die Arbeit eines experten Instrumentenbauers.

Ich spreche auch nicht über Experten-Arbeit. Ich spreche über die kleinen Reparaturen und Pflege-Arbeiten die ein Saxophonist erledigen kann um sein Instrument in Ordnung zu halten. Eine Menge der Arbeiten die hier beschrieben sind, sind auch einfach zu erledigen wenn man die Anweisungen befolgt. Man muss sich nur Zeit nehmen und geduldig sein. Und Englisch lesen und verstehen können. ;-)

Die Anweisungen dieses Buches befolgend habe ich die Mundsütcke zweier neuen Alt Saxophone, die "zu mir gekommen sind" problemlos neu "bekorkt". Danach haben sie, ohne Luftverlust, besser geklungen. Keine "Quitscher" mehr. Das war eine schöne Erfahrung für mich, ein richtiger Laie in Sachen Instrumentenbau und Reparatur.

Ich weiß nicht ob ich jemals ein Saxophon komplett auseinander nehmen werde, säubern und anschliessend wieder zusammenbauen werde wie in diesem Buch beschrieben. Ich glaube das kann ein Instrumentenbauer wesentlich besser als ich.

Aber trotzdem: wenn ich irgendwann alleine auf einer Insel wäre, mit nichts anderem als ein Saxophon und diesem Buch, ja dann würde ich mit Sicherheit lernen wie ich ein Saxophon komplett wieder aufbauen kann.

Ich liebe dieses Buch.
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Francis Perea
5.0 out of 5 stars Every sax player must have it
Reviewed in Spain on April 26, 2015
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Impressive book. Every sax owner should have it. It explains perfectly every maintenance task. Very well explained and illustrated.

I'd recommend it totally.
2 people found this helpful
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