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If you have decided to return your horn or are sending us a horn we have purchased from you, this information is vital. Most of the damage to fine old saxophones these days is done in shipping. There is no magic to properly packing an instrument for shipping and most of it is common sense but the almost unbelievable things we see when horns arrive here makes us worry that this sense isn't so common after all. So take a look at the suggestions below, follow the procedures and suggestions and your horn has the best chance possible of arriving at the destination in one, possibly playing, piece of horn.

All the photographs below are Thumbnails. Click on the picture for a larger view.

1. The Whole Secret Is Immobility
Most of the damage we see on poorly packed horns is either damage to the keywork that renders it un-playable or damage to the bell rim or bell, the "kinked" bell rim being the one that we see the most. This nasty stuff has one cause: The horn is able to move within its container and that allows it to get up the head of steam needed to bend brass.

Almost all of the packaging instructions that follow are designed to immobilize the instrument within the case and the case within the box. This we need to do absolutely, however, not so that the very holding force we produce is sufficient to itself damage the horn. There is a middle ground, a "Goldie Locks" point where the horn is unable to move but not at the cost of bending stuff.

So now that you get the idea of the ultimate goal, let's get started.

2. Selecting The Best Case In Which To Ship
This, unfortunately, is most probably the area over which you have the least control. The horn probably has a case to which it is mated or that is part of the deal so we need to address both the best and worst case in which to ship and how to play the cards you are dealt.

There are, as you know, two basic models of saxophone case; the old fashioned "trunk case" or the more modern fitted case. Each has its good and bad points but I think that common

knowledge holds that the fitted case provides better protection given that they are both handled with some amount of care. The reason is simple in that the trunk case is just plywood and felt. Particularly the early "vintage" cases which may be nice and nostalgic but provide almost no protection from rough handling. The modern cases, which are made from various layers of rigid foam covered in a hard ABS plastic and nylon fabric sandwich, are so able to protect your horn that you could just slap a UPS shipping label on it and feel pretty certain that it would make it to destination without damage. Now, no one would do such a foolhardy thing but the case performs that well.

3. Preparing The Horn
The horn is prepared for shipping by a process we refer to as "corking". The purpose is to render those keys on the horn that naturally remain open immobile by holding them gently but firmly closed. We use blocks of soft foam stuffed between the top of the key and the surrounding structure. We use soft foam because we don't want to put too much force on the key work and damage the instrument while trying to protect it.

DANGER! Never, ever put anything in the space between the pad and the tone hole. DO NOT try to "cork" the horn by stuffing foam or bubble-wrap or anything else in the pad opening, ever. It will damage the horn and cost you money.

We could go through naming all the keys that need to be closed but it's really pretty obvious. We just don't want any keys clanking about during shipping.

On the upper keys where there is no handy bell to stuff the foam against, we have to resort to the older and more difficult method of putting something under the little timing foot of the key to hold it closed. Here we've used white foam wedges to hold the keys closed but the traditional material for the wedges is cork, hence the name for the process. To identify the timing foot needing corking just operate the open key and look on the other side to see which foot rises. Then put a wedge of cork under it.

Also be sure to put on the saxophone end stopper to protect the little neck octave key actuator arm, that little stick of brass that sticks up above the upper end of the saxophone body. Fixing it can be a big job.

4. The Actual Packing - The Beginning

We recommend using bubble wrap for all the packing rather than plastic "peanuts" but for a different reason than you might imagine. We use primarily wrap because we want the recipient to enjoy getting the instrument as part of an entire purchase experience and peanuts are a pain in the posterior for the un-packer. What a mess. Great for the packer but the up-packer, not so much. Bubble wrap is neater and can be depended upon to stay in place in the case and in the box.

Bubble wrap comes in two sizes, little bubble and big bubble. The big bubble provides the best protection but is harder to work with. We tend to use the big bubble stuff as much as possible and just use the small bubble material in places where big bubble just won't fit.

Note: Try to avoid using tape on the bubble wrap when you wrap something. Just surround the object with the wrap and tuck it into the case/box. It can't get away, it's in a friggin box, and it again enhances the enjoyability of the whole purchase not to have to fight sticky clear plastic tape.

Since the vintage trunk case is the harder to pack we'll concentrate on packing it. We start by spreading a large sheet of big bubble wrap across the entire case opening.

Notice that we have pulled up enough wrap on the lid side to cover at least half the horn once it is put into the case.

Bubble wrap is easily cut with scissors and we trim it so that it is slightly larger then the case opening.

5. Adding the Horn
Next we finally get to actually put the horn into the case. Your job is to firmly but gently (those words again) nestle the instrument down into the nest of case and bubble wrap you have prepared. Don't be surprised if it takes a bit of a push to get it down into the case. If you have to push down, DO NOT push on the keywork. That will yank any horn, no matter how well built, out of adjustment. You may push on the key guards or the rim of the bell but not on the rods or keys.

The fitted, sometimes called a "ProTec" style case after one of the top manufacturers of fitted cases, is the same only easier. In the fitted case we use small bubble wrap and lay a nice sized piece over the open case and then put the horn on top of it. You can then nestle the horn down into the case. If it won't fit, that's a good thing and you can omit the bubble wrap. Actually, that happens often with these cases.

6. Padding the Case
Once the horn is in place and you are happy with its security, tuck the extra wrap around and under the horn to provide any extra security that you can. Next, on a trunk case, roll up a couple of feet of big bubble wrap[ and double it over into a crude ball. Then put the ends of the folded roll into the bell and force, as gently as possible while still getting the job done, into the bell. This is to provide a solid but resilient object to hold the bell away from the side of the case. Then take small strips of bubble wrap and roll them up and stuff them into any open places in the case around the horn.

7. The Neck
Basically the same is done with the neck as was done for the rest of the horn. Wrap it in bubble, large or small, using no tape and tuck it into the neck slot if one is provided. If it is not, you'll need to tuck it into the accessory box that almost all trunk cases have.

The fitted case, like almost every other operation in packing, is much easier and you can just put the neck, wrapped in one thin wrap of small bubble or even just a plastic bag into the space provided. We use some kind of plastic to keep the neck from suffering abrasion from the case lining material. If the case does not have a dedicated neck slot, as in SKB cases, you will need to wrap the neck well or put it into its neck bag and put it into the bell. Cases like this use a neck bag and are carried in the bell whenever the case is used.

8. Close It Up
We're about done. Finally. Now there's nothing to do but try to close the case and see how everything fits. On trunk cases you will hope that the case lid fails to close by about one half inch.

That will provide a very slight compression when you force the lid closed. Much more compression and you will begin to enter the area where your lovely packing itself may bend a key or even the body of the sax.

9. Finally Finished
So, once the case is closed and you have verified your work by vigorously shaking the case and sensing no movement, you are ready to put the case into the shipping box. Now that you have some confidence that you have a shippable horn/case package you can pretty much treat it like any other fragile item and box it in a sturdy cardboard box of at least 200 PSI strength and that provides at least 3 inches of space around the horn case on all sides. These spaces you should fill with something soft and resilient. Bubble wrap again is perfect, plastic peanuts is a second choice and will be the one used by a commercial packer like the UPS Store, and then there's packing paper wadded up and stuffed tightly into the box around the case on all sides.

Again, the test is a vigorous shaking. When, and only when, you are certain that you have immobilized the instrument within the case and the case within the box can you confidently slap that shipping label on and hand it to the shipper. Exhale only when you get the phone call from the happy recipient.

Work Carefully,
Robin & Rob Dorsey
This Old Horn,LLC