Vintage Baratone Saxophone Restoration
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About This Project
We restored this vintage baritone saxophone with a multi-stage process that revives a large-bore instrument through complete disassembly, dent removal, body realignment, soldering, chemical cleaning, key refitting, re-adding and acoustic regulation.
After our initial assessment where we checked for bent body tubes, stuck pivot screws, missing parts and worn tone holes. We removed all the hardware including the removal of all key guards, rollers and keys. Then we peeled away aged leather pads, rotted corks and deteriorated felts. The body was straightened aligning the massive bow and main body tube using specialised weighted dent balls and rods. The stripped brass body was then submerged in a cleaning bath which eliminated decades of interior grime and oxidation.
All the key mechanisms were tightened, the surface cleaned and waxed to retain the original vintage patina without stripping valuable lacquer or engraving. New padding and corks were glued with high-quality leather pads with shellac, then precisely seated over the tone holes.
Final regulation and testing the acoustic balance and interconnected “stack” keys so they close uniformly with light finger pressure. Played and tested to ensure the saxophone is playing at its best.