Klarinet Archive - Posting 000376.txt from 2000/09

From: rgarrett@-----.edu
Subj: Re: [kl] buffet and selmer bass clarinets
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 08:08:54 -0400

At 11:23 PM 09/10/2000 EDT, you wrote:
>And I've done a good bit of repair work too, and understand full well not
>wishing to work on this instrument or that. I defend his right to not work
>on an instrument that he feels that will only be a frustration to him, just
>as I defend a physician's right to decline to treat a patient whom he or she
>regards as having problems beyond his/her competence or specialty.
>
>Chuck West

Chuck,

You have made some very good points. A person should be able to choose
regarding what instruments they work on.

I'm not sure that working on Selmer bass clarinets for 30 years and then
suddenly deciding that they aren't worth working on because Buffet comes
out with a beautiful design is the same thing as what you describe above.
If a person were to pick and choose what they will work on and make that
clear to their customers, you are absolutely correct. But it doesn't seem
that Bill is doing that. He used to work on Selmers, Leblancs,
etc........without a problem. He advertises to all clarinetists in The
Clarinet - and his ads say nothing about excluding certain brands.

You know, I took a cracked Selmer bass to Bill about nine years ago (a
school horn), and he restored it to a very nice instrument. 6 years later,
it cracked again and I took it back - he charged me several hundred and
wouldn't do anything but seal the crack (not pin it) and claim he would
never work on it again because of the abuse it had taken. He lectured me
about it and, because I continued to have him work on my instruments, I
just let it go in one ear and out the other. I respect what he can do with
an instrument. However, his seal job didn't hold, and I ended up having to
take it to a local shop which put it back to excellent condition, charged
me $75, and it played great. The problem here is that Bill wants his work
to be viewed as art (which it is!), but wants to be known as an expert
technician. An expert technician does not tell a professional clarinetist
that they have chosen a lousy horn and that it isn't worth working on -
this insults not only the art of the professional player, it insults his
taste! He doesn't tell a professional performer that he hasn't been taking
care of his instrument when he has been. This is what I mean when I am
saddened by Bill's latest statements and comments. I have been sending
students to him for thirteen years - and most of my horns have been
serviced by him. I too feel it is too bad that his work is not available
to everyone now. But I don't think discussing his decisions on the list
violates anything. He is a business person who made a business decision.
As long as we discuss the business he is in - that he advertises for in The
Clarinet mag - and as long as it is done in a way that is informative and
helpful, no one has done anything that is unprofessional.

But - I see your point - and I think we need to be careful about how it is
said and for what reason. Your two cents was viewed carefully by me - and
appreciated!

Sincerely,
Roger Garrett

Roger Garrett
Professor of Clarinet
Director, Symphonic Winds
Advisor, IWU Recording Services
Illinois Wesleyan University
School of Music
Bloomington, IL 61702-2900
(309) 556-3268

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