Dominic Paione chose to restore a 1926 Conn New Wonder II alto saxophone for his senior project. He disassembled the saxophone into over 50 pieces in order to thoroughly clean and polish it. A key step was repadding all 24 pads, which requires carefully removing the old pads and applying new ones. Reassembly was complicated but he worked to properly attach all the keys. Finally, he seated the new pads, checked for and fixed any leaks, and vented the pads to achieve the best tone and intonation. The restoration gave him a new appreciation for the intricate mechanics and craft of the saxophone.

1. Dominic Paione
Mrs. Corbett 7th
11/17/11
Saxophone Restoration
My senior project is the restoration of a 1926 Conn New Wonder II alto
saxophone. I picked this as my senior project because I have been playing the
saxophone for about six years, and love it. I am therefore familiar with the horn, but
would like to increase my knowledge about how the horn works, and consequently
how to repair many common problems. However, unless similar experience has been
had on the part of the reader it would be reasonably hard to understand parts of the
horn I will be referring to throughout this essay. Hence, a brief history and
explanation of the horn is necessary to inform the reader. Afterwards, I will move on
to the process of a saxophone restoration. This will include: disassembly of the horn,
cleaning and polishing, repading, reassembly, checking for leaks and readjusting
pads, and finally venting pads. This will cover the entirety of my restoration and final
product.
So, a saxophone works by covering tone holes, which are simply holes of
varying diameters going down the body of the sax, making the instrument longer. By
doing this the amount of saxophone that is vibrating has been increased, decreasing
the frequency of the sound waves emanating from the horn, and thereby a lower pitch
is formed. The parts of a saxophone are very intricate and complex in their nature.
The pads are perhaps the most important part of the saxophone, as they ensure there is
an airtight seal on the tone hole. The pads are laid inside of the cup, which looks a lot

2. like a very shallow upside down Frisbee disk; these pads vary in diameter as
according to their respective tone hole. The cup is connected to a rod; the rod is
simply a hollow cylinder, to accommodate a screw that fastens the rod to the posts,
small pieces of metal jutting off the body of the sax that accommodates the screw
hole (they also house the springs which give the keys resistance and action) these will
marry the rod to the body of the sax. All of these parts come together in what I have
dubbed “the worst jigsaw puzzle ever.”
The first part in any saxophone restoration is the disassembly of the sax. This
starts with the left hand palm keys, these key control the highest notes on the horn:
double octave D, Eb, and F. Next are the right hand palm keys, controlling several
notes including: alt Bb, alt A, and double octave E. These two groupings of keys are
the first to come off because they are isolated from the upper and lower stacks, which
account for the main bulk and intricacy of the horn. The next to come off the horn is
the upper stack; this is a very complex grouping of keys that controls the notes of: G,
G#, A, Bb, B, C, and C#. This is the majority of the top half of the horn. Next is the
lower stack, which is just as if not more complex than the upper stack; this grouping
controls the notes: D, E, F, and F#. After this is removed the horn is nearly barren,
save the notes that are controlled by pinky keys; the notes of: low Bb, B, C#, C, and
Eb. After these final pieces are removed the sax is left completely barren, and is at
this point a nonfunctioning bent piece of brass.
At this point the sax is in about 50 different pieces, this provides an excellent
opportunity to clean and polish the saxophone. A professional shop would do a

3. chemical bath in order to ensure the best possible clean. A chemical bath works by
completely submerging the body of the sax in a specially designed cleaning unit,
filled with a specially designed corrosive cleaning solution that eats away all foreign
bodies on the horn. However in my case I had neither the knowledge nor means to do
this the specially designed professional way. So I filled my tub with a mixture of luke
warm water, dish cleaner, and an extremely small amount of bleach. I then proceeded
to use an electric toothbrush and a toilet wand (new), and cleaned the inside and
outside of the sax with these tools. After it was sufficiently cleaned I used paper
towels and a large bath towel to quickly dry the inside and outside of the horn. After
the horn was dry I got my mother’s silver jewelry polishing solution and the electric
toothbrush and went to work. I used these to remove any and all tarnish and other
imperfections in the silver plating of the horn. After all of these steps the horn is as
clean as I was able to make it and I moved on to the next step in the restoration
process.
As I previously stated the most important part of the horn is the pads, and
therefore the most important job in the restoration process is the repading. This is a
very extensive process as all 24 pads must be replaced. All cups have been removed
from the body of the sax at this point. Pads are held to the back of the cup by a type of
hot glue called shellac; this shellac adheres only when cooled and does not when
heated. So in order to remove the old pads the back of the cup must be heated, this is
done by an alcohol lamp. The alcohol lamp burns any type of alcohol, such as
isopropyl alcohol, for several hours with very little fuel. The back side of the cup is

4. held above the flame produced by the alcohol lamp; this melts the shellac on the
underside of the old pad, allowing it to be removed. Once the old pad is removed a
very similar reverse process is used to apply the new pad; the melted shellac is
applied to the back of the pad and the pad is then pressed into the cup, the cup is then
heated and then reheated while the pad is adjusted until it is perfectly level. After this
has been done to all 24 pads it is time for the horn to be reassembled.
Reassembly happens in the reverse order of the disassembly; however there
are very common complications that can easily occur during the reassembly process.
The first keys to go on are the pinky keys, these are relatively simple. The next part to
go on is the lower stack; this is where most problems arise. This is because there are
about 8 different keys that have to go on exactly right, on top of that each of the 8
keys have to be set up just so, in order to facilitate the connections that must be made
to other keys on the horn. After this is done the upper stack is the next to go on and is
very similar in its complications as the lower stack. After the upper stack is reattached
to the horn the connection between it and the lower stack must be made; once this is
done the springs in both stacks must be connected to the keys in order to give the keys
action. Once this is done the palm keys must be put on the horn this, like the pinky
keys, is a relatively simple job. Now that the sax is completely reassembled, pads
need to be seated checked for leaks and readjusted.
To reiterate, the saxophone will only work if the pads have made a completely
airtight seal on the tone holes. New pads must be seated; this is a process that
attempts to create that seal as soon as the pads are on the horn. This is a relatively

5. easy process. It occurs by pressing the pad to its tone hole firmly for about a minute
creating a rim along the pad where the tone hole is located. After this is done one
must check for leaks, this is done by taking either a slim piece of paper or a section of
cassette tape (I used cassette tape because of its thinness) and inserting it in the tone
hole and closing the pad. Then, pull the cassette tape or paper out if it sticks then the
pad has seated properly, if it slips out then there is a leak. If there is a leak then the
pad must be adjusted. This is done by again heating the back of the cup with a lighter
to soften the shellac; whichever side of the pad the leak is on place a nail file on the
opposite side and press down. This will raise the side that has the leak; after this is
done the pad should be seated again in order to seal the leak. This must be done in
every instance of a leak, again because if there is not an airtight seal on every pad
then the instrument might as well be a fancy paperweight.
The last step in the restoration process is venting the pads; this is a way of
getting the best tone and intonation possible out of the sax. This is done similarly to
checking for leaks except that the sax needs to be being played while being vented.
While playing the sax the player should play down the horn chromatically; stopping
at each note and slowly pushing down the key until the key height is in such a
position to play with the best tone and the most in tune. This is then used to determine
the final key height, which is set by placing pieces of cork in-between the cup and the
body of the sax. This is done on every note from the uppermost range of the sax to the
lowest. Once this is done the sax has been restored to an excellent playing condition.

6. After reading this my hope for the reader is an increased understanding and
knowledge of the saxophone. Perhaps even an interest in learning how to play the
saxophone, it has certainly be and amazing experience in my life. Even though I have
been playing the sax for 6 years, and am very well acquainted with the instrument,
this restoration has given me a new respect for the instrument.