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Reconditioning: Who does the best work at the lowest cost?



 
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Which Restorer?
Landress
14%
 14%  [ 1 ]
Osmun
14%
 14%  [ 1 ]
Melk
57%
 57%  [ 4 ]
Other
14%
 14%  [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 7

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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:06 am    Post subject: Reconditioning: Who does the best work at the lowest cost? Reply with quote

Who does the best work at the lowest cost?
Melk, Landress, Osmun?

Any cost range? I'm just trying to get myself financially prepared.

I have a horn coming in that probably will need some work. Worst-case basis, it will need complete overhaul, cleaning, dent removal, valve job, etc. and relaquering. In other words, taking a "beater' and making it showroom character.
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jeirvine
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had some work done by Charlie Melk recently, and it came to much less than I had anticipated. His "full restorations" are costly, but things like mouthpipe replacement, thread repair, re-soldering, and dent removal were all the same or significantly lower than the few local shops I got quotes from. Worth the postage for sure.
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chef8489
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find that Charlie Melk, Rich Ita and Josh Landress are about the same in prices.
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tmensch
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had Charlie Melk do a full restoration on a York Airflow cornet that I had started out playing on in 1968. He did beautiful work and it was 100% worth the cost.
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jamel_tza
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I brought a couple of horns to J Landress after I dropped them both off a table. One had a couple of dented slides and a bent bell, the other was okay but one of the top caps never fit quite right. Josh fixed the top cap on the spot gratis. The other horn somehow came back better than it was before I dropped it off. For a few weeks I wondered if they gave me a brand new horn.

Anyway - Josh’s shop does fantastic work. I can’t speak to prices as compared to other shops but as far as quality, I’m not sure it gets better.
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J. Landress Brass
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think that the 3 of us all do work in a similar price range. Both Charlie and the team as Osmun do great work. I would also add there there are some other great shops/ techs out there who do great restoration work that are also in a similar price range.
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chef8489
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

J. Landress Brass wrote:
I think that the 3 of us all do work in a similar price range. Both Charlie and the team as Osmun do great work. I would also add there there are some other great shops/ techs out there who do great restoration work that are also in a similar price range.


I would agree with that. I have sent friends to you and had work done by Charlie,Rich, and Mike Del Quadro and prices were very close. Other friends went to osman and prices were about the same
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delano
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The first question should be: is the beater worth to be overhauled not only financial but also is it worth the craftsmanship to be spend on it.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for your input, Josh. And BTW, stellar work on my Benge, thanks!
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TrumpetMD
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Reconditioning: Who does the best work at the lowest cos Reply with quote

I agree with Josh's comment, that all of them do good work.

I used Kanstul to restore 3 trumpets about 10 years ago. Great work. Great prices. And all work (including lacquering, plating, and rebuilding valves) was done in-house. As we know, sadly they are no longer in business. But if they were still around, I would say they were the best for my needs.

My last restoration was by Mark Metzler, about 5 years ago. He restored my 1965 Bach 37 Strad, and did a good job in a reasonable timeframe. The horn required some dent work, new leadpipe and tuning slide (due to red rot), prep work, and re-lacquering.

No one has given you a cost range yet. It's been a few years for me. But for what you're planning, I suspect you're looking at $1200 to $1500.

Mike
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stuartissimo
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 1:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All the people you listed do fine work, all of them are businesspeople, so they're likely gonna have a competitive rate. If costs are your primary concern, then you might want to limit the work done to the bare essentials rather than trying to shave off a few % by picking 'the cheapest'.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good point but please notice my question refers to the less expensive of the best, not some cheap fly-by-night hack.
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Last edited by kehaulani on Tue Feb 07, 2023 12:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
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JayKosta
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kehaulani wrote:
... but please notice my question refers to the less expensive of the best, not some cheap fly-by-night hack.

-------------------
ah, that's a little different than how I interpreted
"Who does the best work at the lowest cost?"

I read it as 'of lowest cost workers, who does the best work'. I thought the emphasis was on 'lowest cost'.

and I realize that the names you mentioned are respected 'best work' people.
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stuartissimo
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kehaulani wrote:
Goo point but please notice my question refers to the less expensive of the best, not some cheap fly-by-night hack.

Apologies, I meant no offense. I think the answer might depend on the actual work required (individually one party might be cheaper for relacquers but charge more for fixing dents for example) but I suspect that overall the total costs will be roughly the same. However, the only way to really know is by asking them for a quote.
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delano
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

stuartissimo wrote:
All the people you listed do fine work, all of them are businesspeople, so they're likely gonna have a competitive rate.


Can you be more specific about your experiences with these people?
I think about the restoration of a 56B.
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stuartissimo
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 10:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

delano wrote:
Can you be more specific about your experiences with these people?

Their expertise as craftsmen is well established. Examples of their work are well documented across the web. But I’m sure you're well aware of that.

The previous owner of one of my instruments has had work done by Charlie Melk. It’s remarkably well done, the instrument looks and plays like new, when it is in fact well over 80 years old. In the few communications I've had with mr. Melk he came across as a kind and knowledgeable person, and a skilled craftsman.

delano wrote:
I think about the restoration of a 56B.

Any particular reason why you don’t just take it to MG Trumpets? The shipping costs for sending it across the pond would be very expensive.
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