Klarinet Archive - Posting 000752.txt from 1998/10

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] consumer guide for clarinets (was kl Signature clarinet)
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 17:57:43 -0400

Regarding Lisa Clayton's suggestion about a consumer guide for clarinets, Mark
Charette replied,
>>I figure by the time someone needs to upgrade from a beginner's line to an
intermediate/pro line that they'd have some sort of idea what they were
looking for....The other problem lies with marketing hype. Besides marketing
blurbs and staining, I'd be really hard pressed to find any difference at all
between the Concerto and Opus. Which one rates higher if price is no
guideline?>>

ZazOula commented that,
>>>Most instrument catalogues have the instruments ranked as such: beginner,
intermediate and advancedprofessional. I know what is what by being a
clarinet performance major, collegues, various magazinesmusic publications
and simply personal experience.>>>

I don't really disagree with any of the above, but would add that even fairly
experienced people in the market for used instruments can get confused with
all the available choices. We're trying to sort out not only the current
models but all those of the past. Right now, the information we need is
spread out all over the Internet. Finding it takes persistence and low
cunning. It's especially frustrating when model names get recycled, as
companies go in and out of business, sell their equipment, sell their names,
sell their souls, etc. This happened with the Conn Director, for instance,
which started out as an intermediate wooden horn with questionable intonation
and one serious disadvantage (pot-metal keys), then became an intermediate
wood-grained plastic horn in the late 1950s, then came out in shiny plastic.
The youngest Directors I've seen are completely different instruments than the
old ones and were manufactured by different companies using the Conn name. To
make matters worse, some of the information in advertisements on eBay,
especially, is dead wrong, yet people who search such listings for arcane
knowledge resurrect these errors as bulletin board or Web site zombies that
achieve immortality of a sort and soon get cloned.

The instrument catalogues help, but manufacturers have hyped their step-up
models as "professional" instruments for years. I haven't learned to parse
the fine print to the point where I can confidently tell the difference
between glam features, experiments (I'd just as soon let someone else be the
lab rat!) and serious improvements that account for the differences in list
prices at the high end. Besides, on the used market, the street price often
has little to do with the original list price. The Creosote Squealer may have
sold for twice the price of the Ink Stick new, but the Ink Stick might be
worth twice as much as the Creosote Squealer used. Sorting out the chaos
would be a dirty big job for somebody, but....

You know what? On second thought, I hope nobody compiles that list!-- because
I still lust after more instruments to thrill my vast audience (cat, husband)
and good information would drive up the prices in the bottom-feeder markets
where I do most of my snuffling around. Interior decorators already bag old
trombones, saxes and trumpets and hang them like moose heads on restaurant
walls. So far, the collectibles crowd isn't too interested in clarinets.
Just this year, after a publisher of books about antiques brought out a well-
illustrated, informative catalog of old brass instruments, I watched scavenger
prices of old brass instruments suddenly double. Prices crept back down some
by the end of last summer, because the marketplace balked at paying so much
and dealers were getting stuck with a lot of stuff, but chances are that
"vintage" brass instruments will never again sell as low as they did before
that book came out. If collectors make clarinets the latest rage, musicians
can expect to have trouble hunting them down "in the wild" at prices that
reflect the need for repair and restoration. Prices in music stores will go
up, too, because the "pickers" (aka "cockroaches") who supply stores with used
horns will have to pay more and then charge more. Clarinetists and specialty
dealers (buyers for music stores) have a strong incentive to do a lot of
homework, as Mark and Lisa point out. We'll go to a great deal of trouble to
educate ourselves. "Collectibles" dealers who stock a wide array of merch
don't have the time do the type of research we do. To turn clarinets into the
latest Beanie Babies (gag...) they need a convenient source with explanations
in plain English that a non-musician can understand. I say let's not give it
to them! ;-)

Lelia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Here's the rule for bargains: 'Do other men, for they would do you.' That's
the true business precept."
--Charles Dickens, _Martin Chuzzlewit_
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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