Instrument Repair Schools

Lazarus · Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2001 3:13 pm Post subject:

Greetings everyone,

Hi there, I am planning on attending an instrument reapir school because I am extrememly interested in becoming an instrument repair technician. I have talked to several repair men and am scheduled to talk to Jack Kanstul and a few others about repair as a career, and I just wanted to know if any of you out there had attended any of the 3 schools in the US or the school that is in Canada. I'm planning on getting a degree in one of these schools in about a year from now, so any info would be appreciated thanks.

--Stephen

P.S. The schools are Renton Technical College, Keyano College, Western Iowa Tech Community College, and Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical (Redwing)

donalson · Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2001 2:01 am Post subject:

I too was at one time intrested in this profession...still am to an extent...but now i'm married and up and leaving to a school for a year is more difficult

anyway I was talking to a friend and fellow trumpet player about this same issue just about 3 weeks ago...he attended redwing in '98 i belive, anyway he recomended if i'm serious to look into the school in IOWA...he said it's a bit smaller but you'd get much more personal attention...and when it comes to an art form (which insturment repair is) the more attention you get the better

so my .02 goes to iowa

mark
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mark aka donalson
Play it with a passion

cgooding · Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2001 6:19 pm Post subject:

The school with the best reputation in musical instrument repair is the former Red Wing Technical College in Red Wing, Minesotta. The school has a new name, I think it is something like Minesotta State College Southeast Technical. Check it out.
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams."

kenny dorham is an animal · Veteran Member Joined: 15 Jan 2002 Posts: 133

Well i work at a horn repair shop and my boss went to Eastern for repair school which no longer exists. But apparently Redwing is great, another tech who works at the same shop went to rewing and he loved it.
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DRES

brtech · Regular Member Joined: 02 Aug 2002 Posts: 61

I am a graduate of Western Iowa Tech and have been involved in brasswork including repairs,overhauls, design and prototype building for nearly 25 years. Most of the schools provide a decent foundation to begin learning brass fundamentals, but you really need to get placed with a mentor after your graduation to continue the process. There are some really fine technicians out there, but when they hire a repair school graduate they are taking a chance on your success and are in hopes that eventually you will generate profit for the shop. I have never regretted my career path, but you will need to be patient in both becoming proficient inyour skills and also at making a decent income. I personally know instructors at both WIT and Redwing and both schools are fine. John Huth at Redwing is a fine trumpet player and is very passionate about brasswork and music in general.

Hope this helps---GOOD LUCK

Lazarus · Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2003 6:35 pm Post subject:

I posted this topic quite a while ago and since then there has been some noteworthy developments...

1) I have been employed in the repair shop at the largest music store in our state for about a year now and have learning from our brass repair tech who is phenomenal! It has been so awesome to get hands on experience in this field that I am pursuing. Every day I am learning something new and there is an endless amount of 'crap horns' or 'dogs' in the back that I can practice on to hone my skill. A true blessing to say the least!

2) I am graduating from High School this year and will most likely be enrolled in a community college for two years (studying with three awesome trumpet teachers!!!) where I will work on music composition (my other passion) and will continue to work in the repair shop under the teaching of my boss. I will then ship out to Redwing Technical to get my instrument repair degree, come back and begin working in the shop while I finish up my associates degree at ASU. Maybe farther down the line I could some day own my own business and do some brass speciality work, but that is quite a bit down the road.

This is all tentative information, but I figured I owed you all an update as the Lord has been extrememly good to me in my pursuit of this career! It is sooooo awesome to be learning this trade! So often, people think repair is just some simple little trade that anyone can do. In the end, these people mess up the horns or repair them in a fashion that has scarred the instrument in a manner that was not necessary. It has been truly enlightening, thanks guys!

--Stephen

Lazarus · Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2003 6:39 pm Post subject:

P.S. There are basically representatives of all three of the U.S. repair schools in our shop. I was strongly steered towards Iowa and Minnesota by all three of the reps (including the Keyano graduate). The reason I will most likely attend Minnesota, is because 1) it has a great reputation in the band repair world 2) it is a shorter program. I really honestly considered Iowa for awhile because of the way its classes are organized (good emphasis on business classes as well as repair classes), but in the end, I decided that being in Iowa for two years was just out of the question. I do, and will have a mentor to further my skills in brass repair when I get back, and I think that is the very important part of the equation for success in the repairing business.
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God Bless,
Stephen O.
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Bb Trumpet - Kanstul 1500A
Cornet- 1939 King Master
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musiclifeline · Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 12:03 pm Post subject:

Are there any schools on the east coast with good brass instrument repair programs?

Pure Sound · Regular Member Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 49

musiclifeline
Heavyweight Member

Joined: Nov 08, 2002
Posts: 560
From: New York City
Posted: 2003-03-05 15:03
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Are there any schools on the east coast with good brass instrument repair programs?

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musiclifeline,

did you get an answer to your question?

i would like to know also.

thanks,

Joe B.

Arsch Frisst Hose · Regular Member Joined: 29 Feb 2004 Posts: 48

Hello,

I have a relative who went to school in Soutern Wisconsin. This was back in the early 1990s. Everyone was going to Red Wing, MN, but instead he went to Badger -somewhat like the well-known place called Allied which is also in the midwest (I'll need to get the contact info at a different time). The year he went to Badger was their first year of actual accreditation and I should mention that it is an 'apprentice program.' This means, NO classrooms, no taking notes, etc. He spent 100% of his time with 'hands-on' repair in large factory where this type of thing is their business.

An example of his experience would be his being given 30 trumpets to work on. Once he was done with them, moved on to alto saxes, then on to tubas, etc. This was his schooling, as far as I understand it, and he wouldn't have done it any other way.

One side note is that he constantly stood out over others he came across during any bench tests he took for job vacancies in terms of speed, accuracy, and knowledge.

I'd suggest you look into it. If I can, I'll get back to you soon with contact info.

AFS

[ This Message was edited by: Arsch Frisst Hose on 2004-03-02 20:51 ]

Lazarus · Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:38 pm Post subject:

LOL- just an update. I posted this over 2 years ago! I actually NEVER ended up going to repair school. Instead I have just kept on working at the same music store and apprenticing. I have learned so much more with the hands on experience I get. I don't regret the decision one bit to stay and learn with the techs at my work. I have an unlimited amount of horns to work on (rental stock) and have gotten quite skilled at repairing trumpets. Its a lot of fun and a great hobby for me. Wow... I still can't believe this post is over two years old.
_________________
God Bless,
Stephen O.
_________

Bb Trumpet - Kanstul 1500A
Cornet- 1939 King Master
_________

trumpetman4Jesus · Regular Member Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 53

What kind of money does a repair tech make?

Lazarus · Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 4:13 pm Post subject:

I believe that it can be anywhere from 15-30k starting, although I don't make nearly as much because I am still just an apprentice. It is possible to move beyond that, although you almost always have to start your own business to move beyond that point. For me its more of an intrest, I love apprenticing, but I don't think its going to be my life trade. It IS definitely a very fun field though. I'd reccomend working at a shop first and getting some experience under your belt before you try to go out on your own. You must also keep in mind the prices of parts, labor, and tools. I can't stress tools enough- they are extremely expensive, but will last you a lifetime if you buy quality.

[ This Message was edited by: lazarus on 2004-05-25 19:13 ]