About Roger Price....
Roger Price has been repairing brass and woodwind instruments since 1986. He has now repaired more than 6,000 instruments, which have come from all over the UK (and a few beyond). The complexity of these repairs has varied between routine servicing to major restoration work. The brass instrument repair usually involve one or all of 3 aspects: damage to the valve section, dentwork and resoldering work. The woodwind instrument repair work also usually involves 3 aspects: correct functioning of the keywork (including the mechanical action of the keywork and the air-tightness of the pads), the air-tightness and ease of fit of the various tenon joint (including of course recorking of tenon joints) and 'bodywork' which can include broken tenons and cracked wooden clarinets and oboes. Much of the 'bodywork' on saxophone repairs often employs similar techniques to those in brass instrument repairs but with the added complication of restoring the correct alignment of the pillars for the keywork and the condition of the toneholes.
To accomplish this work he has developed comprehensive workshop facilities with a wide range of specialist tools for woodwind repairs and brass repairs. He has been fortunate in his work as a repairer in having previously spent 22 years as a metallurgist in some of the leading British engineering companies. But it is the experience gained from those 5,000 plus repairs that counts the most. However, 'the more you know the more you know that you don't know' and the learning never stops. Roger takes every opportunity to get involved with developing new techniques, materials and networking with other repairers. Well perhaps after another 20 years there won't be too many repair surprises......but then, maybe not!
Like most repairers, Roger is a keen musician himself but he always stresses that although he repairs professionally his playing is that of an amateur. His musical interests started as a child on the piano and then having acquired an early electronic organ had his 'bohemian' period in the mid and late 60's with such mind conjuring named bands as "Sect Appeal" (Swansea based) and "Walpurgis" (Derby based).
Then came wind instruments and many years of tuba, euphonium and baritone playing in various brass and wind bands in East Anglia, West and Mid Wales. These days Roger concentrates on his saxophone and keyboard playing (once again) with his wife Penny (flute and saxophone) mainly in small groups with a wide taste in music. He often gets asked whether he can play all the instruments he repairs. Ever the realist the answer is usually "no ....... but I can murder them!".
Roger Price PhD,AP (Sheff), CEng, MIMMM is a Professional Member of the National Association of Musical Instrument Repairers (NAMIR)