Our History

In April 2004, Better Than New Band Repair (BTN) was opened in Round Rock, Texas by co-owners, Karen Holrath and Twylia Baker. Their vision of a high-quality, affordable, honest, customer-oriented, band instrument repair company has helped them to continue to grow their business for the last 15 years. In addition to Better Than New Band Repair's outstanding instrument repair reputation, they also have a great selection, with excellent prices, of new and used instruments and accessories to further meet the needs of their customers.

With the steady growth of their business, they moved from a small shop to their present location at 1402-D Chisholm Trail Road. Since opening, BTN has successfully served customers from school districts across central Texas including Pflugerville ISD, Austin ISD, Killeen ISD, Round Rock ISD, Hutto ISD, Leander ISD, and other surrounding districts as well as university and professional musicians in the area. Although this company is located in Round Rock, Texas, many professional musicians from across Texas and the nation remain loyal customers to the outstanding and talented instrument repair technicians of BTN.

After 15 years of serving central Texas musicians and their families, Karen and Twylia retired from ownership, but continue as repair technicians. Michelle & Dan Oldroyd, residents of Austin for 24 years, bought the shop in May 2019. Michelle graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business-Human Resources and a business management minor from Brigham Young University in August 1990. Michelle will be the managing owner running the day-to-day operations with Travis Goldberg as Shop Manager and repair technician. 

Michelle first became acquainted with BTN when referred for a repair to her son’s alto saxophone in 2004. She has been a happy and loyal customer since then with six children who have been in the Round Rock ISD music programs. Michelle began working for BTN part-time in September 2007 starting as office staff and then training as an instrument cleaning and repair technician. BTN has become an integral part of her life. "I have a sign above my desk that says, 'Music is what feelings sound like.' Good music is so important to the health and happiness of our children and I see our shop as not just a business, but a service to the community."

This family-owned, small business will continue the legacy of excellent repairs and services for which BTN has become known and looks forward to serving you and your musical needs!