What We Do
At Tom Sparkes Instrument Repairs, nothing is left to chance. We follow a thorough system to ensure every instrument reaches its potential. Here are some of the things we do to achieve this…
Inspection: With an eagle eye, your Technician inspects every millimetre of your instrument. We look for dents, check all screws, springs, corks and pads, and examine every key for bends. We go over EVERYTHING with a fine tooth comb, making careful notes to ensure nothing is missed.
Report to You: At no charge we provide you with a firm price, and time-frame (usually 5 working days). With your permission, we then…
Get Down To Work: Using the notes as a guide, we meticulously straighten keys to their perfect, original position. We replace corks and pads (only using genuine cork and premium woven felt). And we tune everything precisely so all keys move with ease and your instrument plays at the perfect pressure. If it’s economically prudent, we will also remove dents (as discussed with you). The next stage is a…
Leak Light Examination: Using a series of highly-specialised lights we examine your instrument for air leaks. Even tiny, hair-line gaps can allow up to 17% of your breath to escape. Fine tuning restores the pure sound to your instrument making it responsive to even your lightest breath. Subtle tones will be possible again. Now it’s time for…
The Real Test: As a performing musician we have high expectations about how an instrument should play. We really put your instrument through its paces to make sure everything is perfect. If an extra adjustment is needed, we’ll do it. Close enough is never good enough. Then it’s time for a…
24 Hour Rest: We’ll leave your instrument to settle overnight — give any new parts a chance to bed in. This critical step ensures perfect tune and playability.
A Final Workout: We’ll then give it a final test and make extra adjustments as needed. When we are confident your instrument plays like a dream, we…
Send It Home To You: We even give you little tips to help you look after your instrument and get the most out of it. And so you have total peace of mind about trusting Tom Sparkes Instrument Repairs with your instrument, we give you a…
Comprehensive Guarantee: If there’s any reason you are unhappy with your repair, just let us know and we’ll make further adjustments at our expense.
