Bertrand’s Music & Horn Improvement

I recently had the pleasure of dealing with Keith who was very accomodating and professional. He helped us out of a difficult situation we had with a school hire instrument, firstly by providing a temporary solution then working to provide a resolution. As a result we will be using Bertrand’s for all our musical requirements from now on.

After taking my newly acquired used Baritone Sax to another shop and paying for an evaluation and tune-​up, I ended up bringing it to Horn Improvement to get truly fixed. The tech treated my sax with an amazing amount of respect for a 40+ year old Selmer. These guys are the best I have seen, and I have been in several different shops in the area. I have just purchased a challenging sax that I have been looking for and took 7 years to find.
This is the only place I would take it!

Let me just say, that there is a reason I make the hour and a half drive out to Mission Viejo just to get my saxophones looked at by Mike Cleveland. I have tried many repair techs from Long Beach, to San Dimas, to Downtown LA and no one can hold a light to Mike. He has been looking at my Yamaha EX Alto for over 4 years now and has made sure that the intonation is always perfect, the key Heights have been adjusted, and some of the keywork has also been adjusted to fit me perfectly, and trust me I’m picky. Even when he switches some of the pads, he always uses the same pads that my saxophone has.
I bought my Selmer Series II Baritone used and took it to him right away when I realized it only played 2 notes. Let’s just say my horn is flawless now! And like I said I am picky!!! Tension on the springs are all exactly the same and he even fixed this very annoying and pesky whisper sound it was making when switching from a G to an A because of the octave mechanism. This horn had keywork and posts that where beyond bent and it looks like it’s brand new now. Not only did he fix it up then when I first got it, but I accidentally dropped it once and got the bell and body bent completely, yet here I am with a GREAT working saxophone and a beautiful sound. He even fitted both of my horns for key clamps.
I love the guys over at Horn Improvement. I’m very picky about my saxophones, but I also admit that I overuse them so I go here often to tune ups. All the guys in the repair room already know me and even the guys in the front already know me and say hi and welcome me when I come back. How many times have I heard «getting your Bari looked at again?!?» Love these guys. They are also quick on offering to order me mouthpieces, ligatures, and reeds that I want to try or buy.
DEFINITELY LOVE THIS PLACE! Very knowledgeable staff and Mike is a heck of a repairman. I know a lot of pros go to him as well as college music majors. Thumbs up to Bretrand’s!

I brought in an old alto sax because my daughter music teacher told me it «might» need a couple new pads. I brought it in Thursday. No one call back the next day. So I waited until Monday evening. Still no call. I had to call in and one of the guy (not the repair guy) told me this is an old instrument and you’ll need overhaul. I asked what does it mean and how much would it cost me? He said it means take everything apart to fix all the keys and change all pads. It will cost $ 700. I told him it still plays well and the music teacher had already looked at it. I asked can you just replace some of the pads since my daughter only uses it at home because she has another one at school. This is just so then she doesn’t have to carry her school instrument back and forth. He said no. You’ll need overhaul or rent an instrument from us. We have good deal on rental. I told him my daughter already have the school instrument and it’s free. He said well, this one needs overhaul. I Told him I’ll just come in and get my instrument. Meantime, my husband found another music repair place in Fullerton (see my review for the Fullerton place). So worth the drive to get a second «honest» opinion. The repair guy over there appreciate old music instrument and said my alto sax is in excellent condition. He didn’t have to replace any pads. He only had to make few adjustments and cost us only $ 20. My daughter now prefer using this «vintage» alto sax everyday rather the school instrument because it sounds better.

$ 250 for labor with no major work done. A small solder on a loose part, some pad tweaks and replaced a few, plus a neck cork change. They may be one of the few music repair stores in SoCal but dadamnnn. The service is ok meaning they are mostly cordial but then they don’t listen to directions nor are they that great with questions, a bit standoffish. Guess that’s what happens when you expect the Unilocal five star service. I expressly requested they keep all parts, followed it up with a phone call reiterating this request yet they still tossed out my original pads from my pro super serie II selmer sax. I haven’t played for awhile and was trying to start a convo to get some germane tips and felt as if the enthusiasm wasn’t there. Or possibly my inquiries were too basic to bother with their time. They didn’t really take the time to show me exactly what they did. I’m pretty sure I won’t be going back for repairs here. Again the experience was lackluster kinda like when you shop at best buy you feel as if there are workers there but they don’t really help too much.

Once again they have exceeded my expectations! Always great customer service! We will be back in the fall to rent my 4^th grader’s violin!

Came here because my daughter needed to replace a violin string for her school concert tonight and was pleasantly surprised on the super low cost. They even installed and tuned her violin so she’s good to go. Awesome customer service and this will now be our default music store!

I have been the instrument rental liaison for our elementary school for 4 years and while Bertrand is a new partner, they have been one of the best partners we’ve had for our music program. First, they are very helpful and organized. They also have very knowledgeable technicians to help our families select instruments (see other reviews).
It does get busy in September/​October when school begins so be patient and they will take good care of you. It’s been a big bonus since they are only a mile from our school and they have been generous in donating a portion of the proceeds from our rentals to our music program. THANK YOU, BERTRANDS! We look forward to many great years with you.

This place is very enlightening for me. The staff are friendly and helpful for my satisfaction. Everything was nicely displayed and organized for any customers to see. I brought my alto saxophone to undergo a complete overhaul, and receiving after a week of repair… It played excellent! They even said that there was a 90 day warranty, if anything wrong were to happen to my sax. The prices for the repair were high for those who don’t know much about instrument repairs, but you have to understand the level of detail and experience the staff has in order to fix your instrument. In other words, I recommend very much!

EDIT 2÷25÷2016:
A recent experience having my horn fixed here left me wanting. I wasn’t too impressed with the service. I contacted the repairman, who was happy to fix it, but I live over an hour away so I couldn’t just pop back in. The repairs were acceptable, not great, and it appears my man Micah has left. They’re still a good shop but not worth the long drive anymore.
Original review, from a few years ago:
Just had my horn fixed (t. sax) and it’s as great as ever. Micah worked on it, and he was so excellent. Most techs just replace pads, springs, etc. But not Micah, he exercises the craftsmanship to make the horn play as great as it can. Pad cup seating, spring tension, etc. was all changed to put it in ship-​shape, not to mention the pad replacements, balancing, lubrication, etc. done. Absolutely top-​notch.
The rest of the staff was friendly, accommodating, helped me in trying out several dozen mouthpieces for alto and tenor. I didn’t find anything I wanted, but that wasn’t for lack of selection. I’m just spoiled with great equipment and have become real picky. They also had a great selection of new and vintage instruments of all price ranges.
I am happy to make the drive down from Long Beach and would recommend anyone else do the same.

My experience with Horn Improvement was thankfully very much worth the near-​two hour trip to get there. (Southbound LA traffic on a Friday afternoon is a B****!!!)
I wish I could give it ⁴¹⁄₂ stars, because the only things separating it from a 5 star review are very minor. One, the is the distance was a pain in the nether regions (which isn’t really their fault, though I like thinking of the universe with me at the epicenter). Two, I wish they had a slightly larger selection of vintage horns (but I’m spoiled by specialized vintage horn shops in LA).
But these are extra-​fine hairs that I’m splitting – these guys are as good as advertised. I spoke with Ted via phone about selling a vintage horn on consignment and restoring another horn of mine, and he was not only helpful but very much a horn-​geek like me; geeking out about ancient model lines and current horn feature sets is indeed one of life’s fullest simple pleasures. And though they have a relationship with Hollywood Winds, I got zero hard-​sell from him about it.
After the aforementioned long-​a** drive made much longer by traffic, I met with one of their brilliant techs, Micah. Again, these guys know their stuff, period. After looking over both horns and chatting with me about pads, resonators, neck pulldown, brass/​body-​chemistry interaction and other pre-​requisite horn-​geek conversation, I felt fully comfortable with using them for any of my restoration or maintenance needs.
And while they didn’t have a lot of sexy stuff on the sax wall, what they did have was top quality. They even let me blow a bit well after official closing time without so much as a rude glance.
So in that light I’ll fork over the extra star – it’s hard for them to get much better, short of taking out a new lease on a place, say, about 40 miles North…

Cool little music store with small instructor studios in back. I only go here for Frank DeVaul who teaches guitar; both acoustic and electric. He is very knowledgeable and extremely friendly, so If you need lessons, ask for Frank.

The service at Bertrand’s Horn Improvement is excellent. The staff is professional, friendly and knowledgeable. I have taken my daughter’s flute there a few times for repairs and each time I have been very pleased. The flute is over 30 years old. It was tarnished and dented. They made the necessary repairs and in about a week returned the flute to me looking almost new. The next time I took it in a little over a year later for a ‘checkup’, pads, tightening, etc. They completed everything and returned the well tuned flute in a couple of days. Their service is quick and reliable and their prices are reasonable. Very recently I had a last minute emergency. While cleaning my daughter’s flute I damaged it so that the keys did not move properly. This happened to be the same day she had an important audition. In a panic I called explained my situation and asked if they would be able to take a look at the flute and HOPEFULLY repair it the same day or at least provide a rental. They were very pleasant and patient and said I should bring it in so they could see what they could do. Fortunately, the damage was minor and they were able to fix it quickly the same day. Because I trust their work it was well worth the 44 mile drive. This is a full service business. In addition to instrument repair they also sell music instruments and supplies and offer music lessons for all types of instruments. I highly recommend them!

They are very knowledgeable and professional. Mike always goes above and beyond to provide excellent customer service. I am amazed as his attention to detail and quick turn around time for repairs. No place like it in OC!

Now that they expanded their location, there’s more variety of music books and instruments. The employees know what they’re talking about, and they help you whenever you have any questions or concerns. Basically, they’re like a talking musical encyclopedia. No joke. A year ago, they did an excellent job of repairing the alto sax I use right now. They polished it up, removed old paddings, and replaced the cork with a black one (so I don’t have to use cork grease anymore). It’s really cool to see the mechanic crew repairing instruments; you can look through a window and check it out.

What a great place!
For starters, all the guys here are really, really wonderful people. Very personable, and they know what they’re doing. I get all my horns repaired here and I’m never disappointed. I’ve bought 99% of my music stuff here. Student discounts are great! They have everything here, from reeds to music books (a great selection! just ask if you need something) to actual horns! I’ll put in a good word for their vintage saxes, too. I’ve bought two 80 year old horns from them in the past. One was a 1928 Buescher soprano saxophone, and the other is a 1923 Conn «Painted Lady» baritone that is the best sax I have ever played. All were excellently priced. I also appreciate the span of what they carry — as a bassoonist, i thank them for carrying method books, reeds and reed cases for bassoon as well as the one lonely contrabassoon reed they always have. No shortage of wonderful brass things as well. This shop is run by trustworthy individuals and is worth a visit or eight!