Klarinet Archive - Posting 000385.txt from 1998/02

From: "E.Farmer" <efarmer@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Greenlines,cost,flutes,drifting off subject
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 01:17:15 -0500

And why do flutes cost so much more than clarinets???? At least you could
melt a flute down if
you make a mistake and start over- which you couldn't do with a wood
clarinet.

Edward

Ed Lacy wrote:
>
>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