We offer a tiered pricing structure:

1. No Cost Fixes – Free of Charge

We offer the following two services free of charge, providing they can be completed in 5 minutes or less and do not require any spare parts:

• Remove a stuck brass mouthpiece
• Reassemble a key that has come off the instrument (providing all parts are present, the key and instrument is not damaged, and the pad doesn’t need replacing)

2. Tiny Problems

• Labour time: less than 5 minutes needed to rectify the problem.
• Cost: $20 + the cost of parts (if any are used).
• Examples: straightening a slightly bent key, re-rounding a brass mouthpiece shank,  replacing a missing screw (providing these are in stock), replacing a water key cork, etc.

3. Minor Problems

• Labour time: more than 5 minutes, but a standard service is not required.
• Cost: $45 + $15 sundry fee + the cost of parts (if any are used) for the first 25 minutes. Labour time exceeding the initial 25 minutes will be charged additionally at $1.60 per minute.
• Examples: tenon or neck recork, removing a stuck cleaning swab, a few small key adjustments, a minor slide alignment, etc.

4. Standard Service

The Standard Service is the most popular service we offer, and it can be compared to an annual car service. As with cars (and anything mechanical), musical instruments have a lot of moving parts, and they need to be looked after. We recommend an annual standard service on all woodwind and brass instruments. To find out more about what we cover in a standard service, please refer to the “Service Process” tab on this page.

• Labour time: usually between 2.5 – 4 hours – sometimes more. Our labour rates are fixed, so you know what to expect.
• Cost: please refer to the table below.

5. Repads (overhauls)

• Labour time: depends greatly on the instrument and the work required, but usually no less than 12 hours.
• Cost: an estimate will be drawn up after inspection of the instrument and a discussion with the customer.

6. Emergency Repairs

A repair is classed as an emergency when it is brought in with a deadline (e.g. “I need this back within 2 hours”) OR if the service is required after business hours. When an emergency repair is brought into our workshop, it is inevitable that we need to move around work for other customers to fit in the emergency repair. As such, we only accept emergency repairs if we have the capacity to slot them into our work day. As well as this, it must be noted that our emergency service only deals with minor fixes rather than standard services or major repairs.

• Cost: we charge our usual rate for Minor Problems plus a $100 emergency repair surcharge.

What is the Sundry Charge for?

This covers “immeasurable” things that are needed to service your instrument. Examples include water, glue, oil, electricity, cork, felt, etc.

Extra Charges

Excessive dent work and soldering is not included in our labour cost; if this is required for your instrument, the cost will be discussed with you prior to the work starting.

Repair Guarantee

Every standard service carries a 90 day guarantee on the work carried out. Repads and overhauls carry a 6 month guarantee.

When you bring in your instrument for a service, we follow a strict process to make sure we don’t miss anything. The procedures we follow depend on the type of instrument, its age, the state of the lacquer/finish, and a few other factors, but here is a general overview of what we do to and with your instrument during a standard service.

Standard service – woodwind instruments

• Pre-service visual inspection and assessment.
• Instrument stripped and washed.
• Instrument ultrasonically cleaned (except for wooden instruments).
• Bore of the instrument oiled (wooden instruments only).
• For saxophones, body/bell alignment checked.
• Tone holes checked and levelled/repaired where necessary.
• Pads cleaned if possible.
• Keywork regulated; double action removed.
• Necessary corks and/or felts replaced.
• Bent rods and keys straightened.
• Necessary springs replaced.
• Necessary pads replaced.
• Keywork oiled.
• Instrument leak tested and play tested.

Standard service – brass instruments

• Pre-service visual inspection and assessment.
• Instrument stripped.
• Stuck slides/valves/rotors freed.
• Body, slides and all parts chemically cleaned.
• Body, slides and all parts ultrasonically cleaned and hand washed.
• Realign slides if necessary.
• Valves lapped.
• Valves/slides/rotors oiled and/or greased.
• Rotors restrung.
• Necessary felts replaced.
• Necessary springs replaced.
• Necessary corks replaced.
• Instrument leak tested and play tested.

Deposits and Cancellations

For standard services:

• A $50 deposit is required upon booking your service.
• Your deposit will be refunded if you cancel with more than 24 hours’ notice.
• Your deposit will not be refunded if you miss your service/repair appointment or if you cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice. In this situation, your deposit cannot be transferred to a future booking or be used for any other purchases.

For repads:

The same rules apply as for standard services, however, a second deposit is required when your instrument is dropped off:

• For flutes, piccolos, and clarinets: $250
• For saxophones, oboes, and bassoons: $500

Late Drop-Off

We do understand that circumstances may arise unexpectedly; however, late arrivals tend to compromise the punctuality of services we are able to provide to you, as well as to our other customers. We maintain a tight schedule, and as such, if you arrive late, we reserve the right to reschedule or extend the turnaround time to ensure that our next scheduled service appointment does not have to fall behind.

Confirmations

An SMS or email is sent from our booking system to confirm your appointment. There is no need to respond if you are attending the scheduled appointment.

On Your Appointment Day

Regardless of the time of your appointment, we request that you drop off your instrument to us by 10am on the morning of your service booking. You are most welcome to drop your instrument off a few days early as well. Please leave any unnecessary accessories (reeds, neck straps, mutes,…) at home. We do request that, where possible, you leave your mouthpiece in the case.