Klarinet Archive - Posting 000594.txt from 1996/05

From: Nate Burk <nathan@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: A Clarinets (mail order)
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 10:19:46 -0400

>I am thinking about buying a new A clarinet.
>1. Where are good places to go in the Los Angeles area?
> I want to be able to try some out.
>2. I had a clarinet technition tell me that Yamaha makes good quality
> A clarinets. Does anyone have any experience with them?

>3. Are there any reputable mail order houses anyone would recommend?

I've never owned an A clarinet, I did try 3 B-flats from a mail order
company, and I didn't have good luck. I didn't happen to like any of the
three R-13's they sent me (they lady *did* pre-select them, too), so I sent
them all back. Here's what happened after that:

The company had required a deposit on one of the clarinets, so my mom's
credit card was charged $1600. It took a little while for them to credit the
card, so she had to pay about $32 in interest while we waited for the
company to apply the credit (we had to call them twice to ask what was going
on; they told us it was possible the paperwork had been put aside and
forgotten about). So all in all, we payed over $100 in shipping and in
credit interest to try three clarinets, one of which was plainly a bad
instrument. The other two were not a whole lot better.

The day before I sent these horns back, I got a call from Albert Alphin, and
he had gotten in a beautiful R-13 that Tom Martin had liked. I tried it and
bought it. I couldn't be happier.

Instruments are something that mail order houses, IMO, just *shouldn't*
sell. I was glad I bought my clarinet at Albert Alphin's because I know that
I can take it back to him with any problem I have, and he should treat me
well because he sold me the instrument and he wants to me to be happy (at
least I'd like to think that). I want to shake the store owner's hand and
have him remember who I am -- I don't want my name, number, and credit card
information to be the only things a mail order house knows me as.

So that's just one experience I've had with mail order, and as a result I'll
never recommend that anyone purchases an instrument through the mail. Even
if it seems risk free, there's always some way to get screwed -- you know? I
was lucky enough to live only 45 minutes away from a good Buffet dealer...
if you have access to good instruments locally, *please* don't make the same
mistake I did by trying to save a buck and ending up paying $100 more than
was necessary.

--Nate

Btw, Albert Alphin's repair shop and store is in Needham, MA: (508)
449-4197. The man knows about everything there is to know about woodwind
repair and he's got good prices on equipment, too.

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