Klarinet Archive - Posting 000186.txt from 2002/01

From: "Alastair Hanson" <alastair@-----.uk>
Subj: RE: [kl] RE: Hanson clarinets - England
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 12:32:41 -0500

Dear David,

Hanson clarinets are made in England.

To answer your question more fully however I would like to add that we
use parts and materials from other countries and are proud of our
suppliers worldwide; components and materials process come from England,
Italy, Portugal, Germany, France, China and Tanzania. Finally, our
instruments complete their manufacture in Yorkshire, England before
being individually tested and packed.

Many companies, if they are completely honest, outsource or subcontract
manufacture of parts (or in some cases all parts) and for many reasons;
quality, availability, natural resources and of course price being just
a few. It would be extremely arrogant and niave for a company to assume
they could do everything in house better than anyone else. We
subcontract parts of the process, both in England and abroad, wherever
we can and the result is an excellent product at a competetive price.
Together with our partner companies we are able to achieve the very high
standards requierd to compete in a very competetive marketplace.

Our small companies biggest strength is in the process design and
overseeing the final quality of each part before it all comes together
in the finished product. The best judge of our product is our customers
comments.

Thankyou for asking the question, I hope I've answered it for you.

Whilst on the subject I would like to add a word or two about imported
instruments that are undoubtedly flooding in these days...

...you are absolutely right in saying that many of the 'new' brands are
Chinese or Taiwanese. Others come from Brazil and the Eastern Europe.
Many of these instruments are very poorly made with soft metal keywork
that bends easily, pads that do not seal, materials and moulding or
machining on the bodies that are inconsistent and result in instruments
that at best play badly and at worst fall to pieces.

It's also fair to say that some of these imported instruments are of a
very high standard; well designed and engineered using high quality
materials and skilled technicians. Have you seen a Jupiter (Taiwanese)
clarinet lately? They are a good example of a company making excellent
quality and value instruments. They might not be to everyones taste, but
any knowledgable repairman (or lady) will tell you that they are very
well made these days!

I think that over the next 10 or 20 years players and teachers will
grow to accept these and others just as readily as we now accept
overseas companies such as Yamaha making instruments that are really
superb.

I would always recommend anyone buying any instrument to check it over
well (or have a reputable repair shop or an experienced and
knowledgeable teacher check it) before deciding to buy.

Yours

Alastair

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