FIRM

• René Hagmann : Director of Servette-Music, René is above all an outstanding musician and a genius inventor. He is responsible for innovations such as the Free Flow Valve, as well as the Vibrabell system for trombones and trumpets. He is also the creator of the Resonance clarinets, which are entirely hand-made and much appreciated by connoisseurs.

• Claude Zavaglio : Managing director and partner of Servette-Music, Claude is also a passionate guitarist since he was young. He directs the company's strategic choices as well as its communication, and welcomes you with pleasure to talk about music, the history of vintage Stratocasters, or that of amplification.

• Sergio Barbieri : In charge of the guitars, and in love with all of them, Sergio is also an accomplished stage and studio performer, both situations for which he will help you find the right equipment. If you have a question about the guitars we sell, the ones you'd like to buy, or just guitars in general, he's the one to talk to.

• Stephan Montinaro : Stephan is in charge of the drum section. He's a drum teacher, and he also created the Backbeat snare drum brand which makes custom products. From ethnic percussion to electronic drums, he masters the world of rhythm and sound capture.

• Matthieu Bielser : Our wind instruments manager, whether woodwinds or brass instruments, and even accordions or traditional instruments, will be able to advise you on any request. He plays all wind instruments, with brio, and collects them as well. That tells you how much he knows about them.

• Didier Imesch : Didier is a woodwind and brass instrument craftsman, and also plays the trombone. He obviously knows how to ensure impeccable maintenance and make your instrument as good as new, but he has also more than once repaired an instrument that was thought to be hopelessly broken.

• Emeric Beaujouan : If your guitar is making a noise it shouldn't, if you want to customize it, or if it just needs a tune-up, our luthier Emeric is the man for the job. Electrics, classical, acoustics, basses, ukuleles... As he also builds these instruments himself, he understands them like no other.

• Claudio Maragno : Responsible for the production of Free Flow Valve and a talented trombonist, Claudio is also in charge of repairs and customizations of brass instruments. No project is too crazy for him, and he knows how to elegantly adapt an instrument to the needs and tastes of the musician who plays it.

• Stéphan Merminod : As he is a musician, and plays cornet in a brass band, our accounting and logistics manager also provides much appreciated sales support. His professionalism and attention to detail are precious assets for all our customers.

• Adrien Galster : A sales assistant in our guitar section, Adrien supports Sergio to help you find the instruments that meet your desires, and will allow you to express yourself freely and with pleasure.

• Simon Benichou : Communications manager and amateur guitarist, Simon works to create informative and readable content to help you clearly see the range of instruments we offer. He also wrote these texts, for example.

• Hugo Willerval : Our specialized technician in the Free Flow Valve workshop is nothing less than an amazing trumpet player. He is also a teacher of this instrument he masters so perfectly thanks to his sense of precision.

• Timothée Pesse : Timothée machines and refines Hagmann valves with the same care and patience as he tends to his vegetable garden–his great passion. This precision mechanic is also a bass player who is very attentive to the tone of brass instruments, as he loves ska music.

• Killian Deverin : Warehouse manager, sales support, Killian is one of those people on whom everyone counts at Servette-Music. Always in a good mood, he helps us manage the stuff behind the scenes that allows us to help you with ease.

• Aude Spack : Aude is an apprentice wood and brass craftswoman in the wind workshop, where she works with Didier and Claudio. An oboist, she is surprisingly good at her job given her fresh experience, and it is a pleasure to work with her.

History

Servette Music was founded around 1955 by Otto Hagmann (1914-1980) who was a re-converted engineer who turned his talents to bench made trumpets and trombones. The first workshop in the Charmilles neighbourhood of Geneva specialized in the repair of trumpets for symphonic music and was visited by a number of prominent musicians (including Paolo Longinotti, first principal trumpet player of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande). Otto Hagmann concentrated on the repair of trumpets for symphonic music, especially in keys which were hard to find on the market at that time, such as D, Eb, F and G. He constructed and repaired many trumpets for customers of brass and marching bands and in addition sold instruments of various brands.

The development and progression of his business led him to move to the neighborhood of Servette in 1969 and the store now is named Servette-Music. One of his three sons; Rene Hagmann; who is also a precision mechanic, joined him in 1971 to specialize in keyed instruments in addition to brass winds. The store’s reputation has steadily grown over the years and its excellent reputation now draws customers from all over Switzerland as well as neighboring countries.

The ever-growing customer base also helps to train employees. In 1979 Servette-Music hired Yves Imer as a specialized commercial partner. His knowledge of both the guitar and sales management led to a decisive change in the company’s subsequent development including the creation of a section of stringed instruments. This was also the year that René took over the ownership from his father who pursued his activities with the team until his tragic death in August 1980.

At the end of 1987, the store expanded and doubled its surface and the “Servette 92 Music” label was born; the new arcade is located at 92, rue de la Servette. The team now numbers approximately thirteen staff members and includes specialists in brass, wind, keyed instruments and the guitar. The specific strength of the entire Servette-Music team is their ability to repair all the instruments sold in the shop which has ensured long-standing loyalty among customers.

In addition to repair works and sales, René Hagmann is passionate about improving certain weaknesses of clarinets and specifically F basset horns. His collaboration with the famous French company Buffet Crampon resulted in the creation of a more evolved and sophisticated instrument which has enjoyed international success.

In 1992, René Hagmann invented a new slide trombone valvebarrel, the "René Hagmann Free Flow Valve", the worldwide success of which has led him to set up a new workshop dedicated to its production. This accessory is highly appreciated by the world's leading brands, and it is therefore natural that this workshop also specializes in the customization and improvement of trombones.

In 2000, Sergio Barbieri joined the company. With his knowledge and skills in guitar and tone, he developed both the sector of electric guitar and amplification, and of processing effects and their programming—including electronics and audio-digital gear that goes along with that.

In 2009, Servette-Music received the Handicrafts Award of the Canton of Geneva, which has been awarded since 1991 to the most deserving business, taking into account the quality of its work and the commitment it has made to the training and the transmission of know-how.

In 2015, two new employees joined Servette-Music: Emeric Beaujouan, luthier, and Matthieu Bielser, sales technician. The latter, having a solid academic background in the field of music as well as in sales, completed his knowledge with a technical training for 2 years at Servette-Music. Meanwhile, Emeric took over for the luthier Steve Roberts’, who went into well-deserved retirement.

At the end of 2018, the store expanded once again its offer to meet the needs of drummers and percussionists, and enlisted the services of Stephan Montinaro, who joined the sales team as head of the battery sector. Drawing on his competence as the director of a music school (Academy of Music) and strong commercial and musical training (Drummer's Collective of New York), Stephan helps Servette-Music meet the growing demand from drummers who wish to find specialists who can provide them with advice, products and services that fit their needs in Geneva.

Today, Servette-Music is made up of fifteen employees, is the exclusive distributor in Switzerland for a dozen brands, represents about a hundred others, and provides around thirty companies worldwide with registered models.

VSB (Swiss association of brass & woodwinds makers and repairers)

Vereinigung Schweizer Blasinstrumentenbauer und Reparateure : www.blasinstrumentenbau.ch/

We are privileged to be a member of this prestigious guild whose requirements are of an exacting level. It is a highly exclusive club numbering only twenty-three carefully selected members throughout Switzerland! Our entire team is committed to maintaining and indeed constantly raising the standard of our professional activities to ensure that our profession exalts the highest artisanal standards.