French Horn Musical Instrument Repair Near Borough: Paxman

Most brass repairers in London will look at a horn, but Paxman is the one horn players tend to name first. The company has been making French horns in London since 1919, and its showroom on Long Lane, south of London Bridge station, describes itself as the only establishment in England dedicated solely to horn players. Behind the racks of new and second-hand horns sits an on-site repair workshop, and when the workload allows, a stuck rotor or a broken linkage can sometimes be fixed while you wait.

Paxman's own account of its history starts in 1919, when three brothers, Harry, Bertram and William Paxman, set up the company at an address in Southwark. The London base then moved around the West End, from early premises in Gerrard Street to a long period in Covent Garden, which is why older directories and some players still associate the name with that neighbourhood. Today the showroom and workshop are back south of the river at 197 Long Lane.

For many years the horns themselves were built outside the city, most recently at a factory in Staplehurst, Kent. In September 2012 the company moved horn assembly to the London premises to streamline production, and all Paxman professional horns are now built, tested and set up in London by John Turner and his team of craftsmen. That means the people repairing a horn on Long Lane work in the same building where new ones are made, which is unusual for any brass instrument in Britain.

The repair facility is described simply: for as long as there has been a Paxman shop in London, there has been an on-site repair workshop. From Monday to Thursday, advice is always available, and if the workload allows it is often possible to get an on-the-spot repair. Larger jobs, such as dent removal on a bell, re-soldering a brace or rebuilding a worn rotary valve, are booked in, and the workshop tells you what it involves before starting.

Because the business is horn-only, the expertise is deep rather than broad. Players bring in Paxman horns, but also double horns, descants and Wagner tubas from other makers, and the showroom stocks new and second-hand horns of various brands alongside mouthpieces, cases, mutes, sheet music, books and recordings. If you play trumpet, trombone or tuba, a general brass workshop is a better match.

Paxman publishes no repair price list, so cost is discussed once the horn has been seen. For an urgent problem before a rehearsal or concert, Monday to Thursday is the best time to come, since that is when advice from the repair bench is available.

When you arrive, it helps to explain the problem in horn terms. Say whether a rotor feels slow or noisy, whether a slide is stuck or just stiff, and whether the trouble is on the F side, the B-flat side or both. Bring the mouthpiece you normally play, since a dented shank or a mouthpiece jammed in the leadpipe is a common cause of a horn that suddenly feels stuffy. Note any knocks or drops too, because a small dent near a brace can pull a joint loose.

The company's care and maintenance page is worth reading before any visit, because many of the problems horn players bring in begin with dry bearings. Modern horns use rotary valves, which are more complicated than the piston valves on a trumpet, and Paxman recommends three different grades of oil applied in different places, with a medium bearing oil for the top and bottom of each valve spindle.

The page singles out the bottom bearings as the ones that run dry, because oil drains away from them, and suggests turning the horn on its back and working the levers after oiling so the drop works in. It also explains how to read the alignment marks on each valve. If the marks no longer line up when the valve turns, the corks or rubber stops underneath have worn, and while players can replace them with care, the page says you may find it easier to have a good repairer do it. That is exactly the kind of quick job the Long Lane bench is set up for.

Mechanical linkages, whether hinged or ball and socket, need a thicker oil than the spindles, and Paxman sells its own bearing and linkage oils in the showroom. Cord-action valves need no oil unless there is a pivoting joint in the linkage. Bring your horn in with these points in mind and you can describe the symptom precisely, which speeds up diagnosis.

Paxman Musical Instruments is at 197 Long Lane, London SE1 4PD, in the London Borough of Southwark. The company says the showroom is about a nine-minute walk from both London Bridge station, served by National Rail and the Jubilee and Northern lines, and Borough station on the Northern line. With a horn case on your back, London Bridge has more step-free routes and is the easier choice.

Long Lane runs through a quieter part of Bermondsey than the streets around the station. Leathermarket Gardens is close by for a break on a bench, and Bermondsey Street, with its galleries, cafes and restaurants, is a short walk east. Heading back towards the river, Borough Market and Southwark Cathedral sit beside London Bridge, a good way to fill an hour if a repair is being done on the spot.

Paxman Musical Instruments, 197 Long Lane, London SE1 4PD. Email: info@paxman.co.uk. Showroom hours: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, closed on Sundays and bank holidays. Repair advice is available Monday to Thursday. The showroom has an online appointment link, which is the simplest way to make sure someone can see your horn.

Over Christmas, the showroom closes on 19 December, opens only from 10am to noon on 24 December, and stays closed from 25 December to 1 January, reopening on 2 January. The company also keeps an online serial number database for Paxman horns, useful if you are buying a second-hand instrument and want to date it before bringing it in for a check.