Instrument Repair Technicians Gather At Marrell Music

Imagine if you will, Little Johnny in marching band sitting in the bleachers with his tuba or baritone and all of a sudden the horn is at the bottom of the of the bleachers…of course nobody knows how it ended up there, or how all those giant dents suddenly appeared. Oh yea, Little Johnny says they were already there. Anyways, how in the world could that horn ever look like new again? The solution – take it to your local band instrument repair tech. But wait, what is it that these technicians in the back of your local music store, do to get a mangled horn to look like new again? How do technicians know the newest techniques and tricks of the trade? About 1300 band instrument repair techs are members of an organization called the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians (NAPBIRT). NAPBIRT is the largest non-profit international educational association dedicated to the advancement of the craft of band instrument repair.

On November 12, Seventeen technicians from, OH, MI, WI, VA, gathered at Marrell Musical Instrument Repair for an all-day regional clinic furthering their skills as repair technicians. The technicians took notes and watched as demonstrations and hands-on activities took place by leaders in their field. Marrell Musical Instrument Repair hosted the regional clinic for the first time. Marrell Musical Instrument Repair has been on Madison by the High School for a little over 2 years and was thrilled to finally have the opportunity to host this event for fellow colleagues. Over 20 regional clinics are offered between October and March, and many of the clinicians are then invited to present at the national level at the NAPBIRT Annual Conference held in April of each year. Music stores from around the nation volunteer to host these clinics each year.

The instrument repair profession is an art that many times has to borrow from other professions in order to have the right tool or technique to fix an instrument. Technicians adapt or borrow tools from woodworkers, machinists, dentists and anywhere our imaginations can create a use for a tool we might need. “Fast Eddie,” Ed Strege from Badger State Supply in WI, provides an excellent example of this. He presented everyone at the clinic with a lightening round of 150 tips and tricks to make the job of repair easier and the use of our time spent more efficiently.  If you’re wondering why he’s known as Fast Eddie, it’s because he is usually only given a 90 minute allotment of time when presenting this clinic at the National Conference. So if you do the math – 150 tips in 90 minutes – well you see what I mean.

So back to removing the dents from the horn that mysteriously fell off the bleachers. One solution was presented by clinician Eric Satterlee from Michigan who is co-inventor of the patented tool known as MDRS. He used the Magnetic Dent Removal System (MDRS) to demonstrate techniques for removing dents from larger brass instruments. It was like magic! Be careful though, the magnetic field is within a 2 foot radius and so you have to watch where you set down the magnets. Let’s just say gentlemen, if you have a pocket knife in your pant pocket, DO NOT lay the magnet in your lap…yes this has happened!

For more pictures on the clinic and info about the store, visit www.marrellinstrumentrepair.net.