Hard to believe anything with such potential could end up stranded on a driveway and then run over by an automobile. This Brecker era tenor pushed the edges of what’s possible from a restoration perspective and was perhaps the greatest overall challenge I’ve had to date.
The upper body was literally pancaked – at least when it came into the shop. Making the tube round again without overstressing the brass required painstaking manipulation and really understanding its nature. Tone holes have to be flat and true or the pads just won’t seal. Rods, posts, and key work have to fit squarely, precisely, and function perfectly.
A horn of this vintage needs to deliver an extraordinary sound. At the end of the day, it did. The transformation took enormous effort and literally took the owner’s breath away.
