I came to saxophone collecting and repair through my own love of saxophones and saxophone music, and in particular an ever deepening fascination with vintage American saxophones. Just Saxes and my own custom work and repair skill grew naturally out of my own search, as a player, for solutions to my own needs, and I approach Just Saxes business as a player first. I know from experience how much it means to a player to find a repairperson, or saxophone dealer, who really is “on the up & up,” I see it as an honor to be entrusted with the care of others’ instruments, and with buyers’ confidences. I won’t ever try to “sell you a bill of goods,” or to “get over” on you by abusing my position as trusted consultant. For me, any breach of good faith toward a player who has entrusted me with her or his horn insults us both.
I always try do the best repair I possibly can, and to go the extra yard in getting saxophones to respond optimally. I know very well the difference between work that is “passing” and work that is top-rung. I don’t want to suffer through the myriad, unnecessary embouchure/airstream/oral cavity adjustments one has to make when dealing with a poorly regulated horn, and I take my responsibility to others very seriously. I’ve suffered myself through my share of half-hearted repairs on my own horns — sometimes done by very renowned repair persons (or more often their assistants) — and I don’t want to put any one else through that, or the frustration of having to be disappointed and have no recourse to express it. Every saxophone that I sell is checked, rechecked, and checked yet again – twice – before it goes out the door. Every overhaul is played and retouched over an extended adjustment phase; whenever possible I solicit the impressions of additional professional players in order to further check the work’s rigorousness.
As those who have followed my custom work over the years may already know, my repair work is at its peak. I have never done better work, nor have I been capable of doing better work, than I am doing now.
Retail-wise, JS’s mission has always been, and always will be, to find the best possible equipment and horn/set-up matches to meet musicians’ needs, and to make these items available at the best possible price, under the best possible conditions, for musicians of all abilities. In many instances, you’ll find that retail prices found here are the lowest not only in the US but the world. The inherent quality and value of every item is equally dependable. Every retail item account that exists at Just Saxes was originally opened because I myself wanted to buy the products offered through them, for my own use.
Business decisions at Just Saxes are always made from a player’s perspective, and moreover from the perspective of players whose own main instruments are vintage horns. Preparing saxophones to perform at their best — whether it be through attention to the horn itself, its interaction with the mouthpiece, or its long term care and preservation — is always the first priority, here.
