Klarinet Archive - Posting 000427.txt from 1999/11

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Crappy mouthpieces
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 14:35:29 -0500

--- GrabnerWG@-----.com wrote:

> Now back to my central observation. Maybe I should have stated it this way.
> SOME are crap, in that the measurements are such that the mouthpiece is
> virtually unplayable.
>
> What do you do with a mouthpiece where on one side the curve starts at 28
> (these are half-millimeters) and the other side at 38? You cannot possibly
> play this mouthpiece with ease. Some fairly extreme embouchure modifications
> would have to be made to avoid squeaking.
>
> This was a brand new mouthpiece, for sale at a very reputable store. Someone
> will eventually buy it........

Ah, the beauty of a market economy, where specific knowledge and decision
making rights are decentralized. People buying crappy mouthpieces suggests
that they are either not trying them out first, or they don't possess the
specific knowledge necessary to discriminate between good vs. bad. In either
case, either the consumer acquires the needed specific knowledge, or the pro-
ducer continues to profit on their ignorance. The more discriminating the
consumer becomes about mouthpieces relative to his budget constraint, the
closer he will come to approximating the best mouthpiece he can buy within
that constraint. Until that approximation begins to occur, mouthpiece com-
panies will continue to have an incentive to refrain from spending the extra
money necessary to make their mouthpieces more consistent. For those of us
with the relevant specific knowledge, but also with strict budget constraints,
we're thankful that people continue to buy those crappy versions of the "same"
mouthpiece. When the companies are eventally forced to up the consistency,
they will also succumb to market forces and, naturally, raise the price. Then
I won't even be able to afford the mass produced mouthpieces, much less the
hand-made ones. This is hardly a Pareto-efficient outcome.

-- Neil
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org