XX · Judgement

Sample site. Aftermark Brass is a fictional business, designed by Alcor Industries to show the Judgement archetype. Nothing here can be booked, bought or sent.

Get this site: $250
Aftermark Brass Free assessment

Brass & woodwind restoration

Every dent named. Every horn played.

  • Assessment free, twenty minutes
  • Quote in writing, two days
  • Walk-ins Tue–Sat mornings

A two-bench workshop for trumpets, horns, trombones and saxophones. We look your instrument over with you at the counter, write down exactly what we find, price each line, and start nothing until you say yes.

Start a bench card Read the rate plate
Engraved line drawing of a French horn on the bench, with a repair tag tied to its coil. Aftermark Brass · Restoration · 14 Pellwick Row

No. 1 The bench card

Look hard first. Decide after.

This is the card we fill in at the counter, with you standing there. Drag across job No. 0417 to see the trumpet as it came in and as it left. Then rate your own instrument on four plain criteria: the left side of the drawing follows your answers, and the card says what happens next.

Drag the brass rule, or focus it and use the arrow keys Job No. 0417, a student trumpet from a school band closet. Eleven business days on the bench.
Job 0417 as it came in, drawn to match the ratings on the bench card below.
Job 0417 as it left: dents out, rim round, valves free, new cork and felts, cleaned and polished.

Bench card

Job No. 0417 Trumpet in B♭ Rated at the counter

Dents Run a finger along the bell and every tube.
Pads, corks & felts Listen for hiss; look under the buttons.
Valves & slides Press each valve; pull each slide.
Finish Look where your hands go.

Next state

Quote first

Two lines read “needs work,” so you get a written quote within two business days. Nothing starts until you say yes.

Estimate
$420–$665
On the bench
About 11 business days
  1. Assessment (done)
  2. Quote
  3. Bench
  4. Play-test
  5. Pick up
Book the free assessment

  1. Every line good Play-test only. We play it with you and hand it back, no charge.
  2. Nothing past worn Straight to the bench at a price fixed at the counter.
  3. Any line at needs work Written quote first. Nothing starts without your yes.
  4. Three or more at needs work Honest call: repair price next to what the horn is worth.

No. 2 The rate plate

Prices on the plate, not in our heads.

Standard work, by instrument
WorkTrumpet & cornetTromboneHornSaxophone
AssessmentFree, any instrument, twenty minutes
Clean & play-test$95$110$140$120
Dent out, eachfrom $40from $40from $45from $45
Bell rim trued$60$70$90$60
Valves, rotors & slides$260 a setslide, from $85$85 a rotorkey work, from $30
Pads, corks & felts$25$25$35$12 a pad
Solder joint or brace$35 a joint, any instrument
Strip & relacquer$380$420$520$640

Parts at cost · Pay at pickup · Old parts back on request

No. 3 How it goes

Five states. You say yes at each one.

  1. Assessment

    We play it, look it over under the lamp, and fill in the bench card with you.

    You decide: nothing yet. Take the card home.

    20 minutes · free

  2. Quote

    Written, line by line, with the lines we would skip marked as skippable.

    You decide: yes, no, or only some lines. Walking away costs nothing.

    Within 2 business days

  3. Bench

    The work, in the order on the quote. If we open it up and find something new, we stop.

    You decide: any new line, by phone, before we spend a cent on it.

    3 days to 3 weeks

  4. Play-test

    We play it through its whole range. Then you play it, in the booth, before you pay.

    You decide: it is right, or it goes back on the bench.

    As long as you like

  5. Pick up

    The horn, its bench card with every line checked off, and the old pads and corks in a paper bag if you want them.

    You decide: when. We hold it for a month.

    Pay at pickup

No. 4 From the bench book

Before, after, and what it cost.

Three sample pages from the book on the counter. The first list is the note written at assessment; the second is what went back out the door.

Job No. 0409

Alto saxophone

Came in

  • Low notes gurgle below D
  • 11 pads leak on the light test
  • Neck cork crumbling
  • Key guard bent into the low C cup

Went out

  • 11 pads replaced, resonators kept
  • Key guard straightened and resoldered
  • New neck cork, sanded to your mouthpiece
  • Regulated. Speaks to low B♭ at a whisper.

Quoted $240–$280Charged $265On the bench 6 days

Picked up

Job No. 0412

Horn in F

Came in

  • 3rd rotor slow to return
  • Rotor strings frayed
  • A crease in the bell tail
  • Lacquer worn through at the hand

Went out

  • Rotors cleaned, bearings checked, restrung
  • Crease rolled out on the mandrel
  • Hand area spot-lacquered
  • The rest of the finish left alone. It didn't need it.

Quoted $290–$330Charged $310On the bench 9 days

Picked up

Job No. 0417

Student trumpet

Came in

  • 2nd valve seized, 3rd slide stuck
  • Bell rim flattened at the top
  • Water key cork gone, felts squashed
  • Brown tarnish over most of the body

Went out

  • Valve freed and lapped, not replaced
  • Rim trued on the bell mandrel
  • New cork, spring and felts
  • Chemical clean and hand polish. Lacquer left as it was.

Quoted $420–$480Charged $445On the bench 11 days

Picked up

Some horns shouldn’t be fixed. We’ll say which.

  1. The repair costs more than the horn

    If the quote passes about two thirds of what the same model sells for in good order, both numbers go on the card and you choose.

  2. Red rot through the leadpipe

    Pink pitting that has gone through the metal. We fit a new pipe or hand the horn back. We don't patch it.

  3. New lacquer on a student horn

    It won't play any better for it. We'll clean it, fix what affects the playing, and leave the finish as it is.

No. 5 The workshop

Two benches, one lamp, and a booth to play in.

Up three steps from Pellwick Row, behind the green door with the brass plate. The front room is the counter and the play-test booth, lined with the same baize as your case. The benches are at the back, where you can watch if you like. The buffing wheel lives in its own room with the door shut.

Tuesday – Friday
9:30 am–5:30 pm
Saturday
10 am–2 pm
Sunday & Monday
Closed, benches cooling

Bring the instrument, the mouthpiece you actually play, and the case. Walk in before noon for an assessment; after noon, book a slot.

The tool wall above bench one: dent rod and balls, a tapered mandrel, a burnisher, a dent hammer, a pad slick and a spring hook. 1 2 3 4 5 6
What each tool does
  1. Dent rod & balls. A steel ball pushed through the tube from inside, one size up at a time.
  2. Mandrel. Tapered steel the bell slides onto, so the rim can be trued against something true.
  3. Burnisher. Rubs a crease smooth after the ball has done the lifting.
  4. Dent hammer. Plastic face. It taps; it never strikes.
  5. Pad slick. Levels a new pad in its cup until the light test goes dark.
  6. Spring hook. For needle springs, and for fishing out what fell in.

No. 6 Questions

Plain answers, asked at the counter.

Is the assessment really free?

Yes. Twenty minutes at the counter, and you leave with the bench card whether or not you book any work.

Will you tell me if it isn't worth fixing?

Yes, with both numbers: what the repair costs, and what the same model sells for in good order. Then it is your call.

Does relacquering change the sound?

A little, and not in a way most players hear in a room. We won't sell it as a tone upgrade. Lacquer is for protection and for looks.

How long will my instrument be with you?

A clean and play-test takes about three business days. Most quoted jobs take one to three weeks. The bench card gives the number before you leave.

Do you take school and rental instruments?

Yes. We quote to the budget and mark which lines can wait until next semester.

What if you find something else halfway through?

We stop, call you, and wait. Nothing goes over the quote without your yes.

No. 7 Book

Bring it in. We’ll look first.

Ask for a slot and we will hold twenty minutes at the counter for you. Tell us what it is doing and we will have the right tools out.

Or call the bench: 555-0120
or write: bench@aftermarkbrass.example

Intake tag

Best day