Klarinet Archive - Posting 000367.txt from 1995/12

From: Luuk van Buul <vanbuul@-----.COM>
Subj: Cracking-warranty (Was: Damp-it etc.)
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 15:43:48 -0500

At Dec 13 Michael D Moors wrote:

[lots of nice stuff skipped]

> On another subject..... Clarinet, Oboe, etc. warranties are simply put, 6
> months of Hard Prayers on the part of manufacturers! New replacement
> warranties do not exceed 6 months on any brand... After 6 months the
> warranties are for up to one year of "Repair" which means "Pinning". (If I
> have requests I will get into this treatise on another night.)
> It seems a bad deal that a player will go to great lengths to select an
> instrument for it's personal charateristics, sometimes traveling hundreds of
> miles to do so and spending much valuable time only to have an instrument
> crack within six months. What happens after 6 months when an instrument
> cracks? The warranty says "6 months replacement" Right? Wrong! Replacement at
> the factory of a NEW upper section only!

[other lots of stuff skipped]

>
> Forwarded to me from: Eric Satterlee
> Meridian Winds
>

I've been in the LeBlanc factory in France and people there ensured to me that
LeBlanc gives full warranty on their clarinets against cracking for two years
after purchasing. They told me that almost all cracking of new clarinets happens
within the first six months, so if this period is warranted, they can warrant
another year or two for almost the same expense.
I have been told that warranty of Buffet is for a period of one year.
These warranties include replacing of the cracked joint. No pinning; this is
more expensive for the factory than replacing a joint. Pinning is only done by
'local' repairmen, not by the factory. They are too busy making new clarinets.

The importer of LeBlanc in The Netherlands keeps some clarinets in stock to
be able to replace cracked joints without having to order them in France. This
same stocking is done by the Buffet importer.

By the way, I have no personal experience on this matter, because I have never
suffered from a cracked clarinet.