Where can I get a professional french horn cleaning?

Question

In Albany, NY..... Haven't played in years...my horn needs to be cleaned, restrung, etc.......where is the best place to go?

Answer 1

I'm not a french hornist, but I would check with members of a local professional symphony or music department at a local unviersity to find out where are good places to send your horn to. Since you're in NY, I'm sure that you'll be able to find a good horn repair place, even if you have to ship your horn to NYC.

I would NOT recommend sending your horn to the local band/orchestra store. Many times, the repair "specialist" has no idea on how to really play your instrument. If they can "play" it, it's considered "fixed." So your instrument may come back in worse shape than it came in and you'll be out the $$$. I've fought this battle before with a student flute and I don't recommend it.

Answer 2

find someone else who plays, and ask them where they take it, chances are there is someone at a local music store who can do a really good job, the trick is to figure out which store he works at. like the other person said i have sent my horn for repair and it came back worse. Really though if you just ask for an acid bath, that is hard to screw up. You may very well have to restring it yourself, but if you play seriously you should learn how to do that, especially if you are picky about the height of the keys over the horn. Even if repairman can restring it flawlessly he still won't know how you prefer you keys strung, so its best if you can do taht part yourself.