Klarinet Archive - Posting 000280.txt from 1998/02

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Greenlines
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 08:51:12 -0500

On Thu, 5 Feb 1998, Jason Hsien wrote:

> I mean, this could all be just hype; excuses for Buffet to keep that
> high price tag on it. I mean, with a List price of $3195 (last time I
> checked, of course), wouldn't we rather buy a real grenadilla one? I
> mean, if you tried, you could probably get a brand new Leblanc Symphonie
> or Opus for $3195...

The cost of the material has almost nothing to do with the price of an
oboe or any other woodwind instrument. If it were possible to do a
detailed cost analysis, it might be shown that the wood in a wooden
instrument might actually account for considerably less than one percent
of the total retail cost. What you are paying for is expertise. That
means, the cost of tools, the building in which the instrument is made,
the salaries of all who work on it, taxes to governments at all levels,
and profits for the manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler and retailer.
Cost is a reflection of total value - in other words, what the market will
bear.

Ed Lacy
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Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
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