I have no doubt that all 4 shops are top notch. I wouldn't hesitate at
commissioning any of them do to an end-to-end Alexander 103
restoration. That goes for the Patterson horn works out in L.A. the
Atkinson folks in Burbank as well.
As it turns out, the only Alexander 103 restoration project with which I
have direct experience is the extremely successful restoration-modification
job done on my circa-1958 Alexander 103 by Lawson Brass Instruments of
Boonsboro, Maryland, USA -- http://www.lawsonhorns.com/
That was close to 20 years ago the horn still plays better than new --
way better.
The restoration consisted of plating refitting the rotors, plus extensive
dent repair correction of the misaligned central valve-tube midsection of
the horn, a defect caused by broken solder joints in some critical places
-- a common problem with those horns, according to Mr. Lawson, who said
he's seen plenty of'm broken that same way -- even had 1 like that
himself. (The solder-break problem some of the dents could be the result
of using 1 of those minimally protective typical Alexander upside-down
hardened-cardboard horn cases, I suspect.)
Modifications were replacement of the stock leadpipe (which was shot
anyway) with a custom made Lawson leadpipe, slight lengthening of the main
tuning slide (about 1 inch), screw bell conversion, installation of a
Lawson ambronze bell flare sized to fit the 1958 Alexander (i.e, somewhat
smaller than a Lawson bell made to fit a Lawson horn, but with a compatible
screw ring). And not only that, I replaced the original Alexander
instrument case -- basically just the functional equivalent of a hardened
gig bag -- with a highly protective custom-fit flat case, complete with
blue nylon zipper raincoat-style case cover.
The only thing I didn't get done was replacement of the original set of
1-piece 1-2-3 valve levers with a set of articulated valve levers like the
ones on Yamaha Lawson horns, no doubt certain others, that hinge right
there at the right angle in back. Also, for some reason I'm not able to
explain I didn't want the Alexander 103 valve levers adorned with silver
coins, either, even though I've had'm soldered onto several other horns in
the years since.
(Feel free to E-Mail me on- or off-list for my 4 good reasons to have
silver coins installed as touchpieces on horn valve levers.)
Results of the Lawson restoration modification of the old Alexander 103
were -- are -- so successful that after a few years the devil made me
spring for a (used) Lawson 804 that's now my main horn (although the
restored Lawson-Alex is a close 2nd). I was surprised to find a Lawson 804
on the used market. That is, those horns play so well sound so good --
why would any horn player who owns 1 ever let it go? In this case it turns
out the original owner of my used Lawson 804 in effect traded it in on a
different Lawson model.
For horn players of minimal talent incomplete training -- i.e., like me
-- a real nice thing about using a high-quality professional instrument in
top condition is the secure knowledge that any performance problems I
encounter are due to my own inadequacies not those of the horn.
-- Alan Cole, rank amateur
McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
At 10:56 AM 5/14/2005, you wrote:
Hello!
I am considering several shops to restore an Alexander 103 I found at a
local middle school, any experiences (both positive and negative) with these
shops would be very helpful in determining where to send it to.
The shops I am considering are: Osmun
Lawson
Ken Pope repair
and Dan Oberloh wind repair up in Seattle
If any of you can recommend shop and give me your experiences with them, I
would be most grateful.
Thanks
Paul R.
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