Klarinet Archive - Posting 000875.txt from 2003/02

From: "Christy Erickson" <perickso@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Eefer overhaul
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:08:18 -0500

Bill, Sorry if I put anyone on the defensive here. I know most are
honorable and very reliable but trust me, this guy is a "schnook." Our
orchestra director is no dummy either. After I told him my opinion of =
the
clarinet "overhaul" and mentioned the problems I'd had with this music =
store
owner he said, "you should have met this man's father if you think he's
bad." None of the musicians in town like to go to this store unless =
they
absolutely must in an emergency. I think the only reason it remains =
open is
that the owner has all the school contracts for miles around for =
instrument
rentals.
The quick "cobble job I had done" was done by a man at another music =
store
in town-only due to the fact that it was an emergency situation. The =
school
has a contract with the other guy and so the "overhaul" had to be done
there. I'm no dummy either. Trust me when I say this clarinet had
absolutely nothing done to it. I saw, played and handled the same =
clarinet
and not a thing had been done to it. This man tried to tell me he'd had =
the
entire thing taken apart, cleaned, repadded, etc... Of course, when he =
was
telling me all this, he had no idea I play the thing when I borrow it =
from
the school and that I play clarinet professionally. He was rather =
shocked
when he found out! LOL! The same keys that were bent were still bent, =
the
very same pads that the patch job repairman put in the spring before =
were
still there and the intonation was just as bad as it had ever been. =
Some of
the notes were close to a half-step "off." I never knew for sure, but I
know the orchestra director uses those A clarinet for summer honors
orchestra that he conducts and I believe someone had probably dropped it =
and
done some damage that way. Would anyone like to open up a nice music =
store
in a nice town?
Unfortunately, there seem to be bad apples in every bunch and it's =
too
bad that people like this have cast shadows on the industry. People =
like
this do it because they can usually get away with it. Let's face it. =
If I
take my car to a repair shop, I'm not going to have a clue whether the =
work
the mechanic says was done under the hood was really done-unless of =
course
my car breaks down and I take it somewhere else for repairs and they =
inform
me. If the average school student takes their instrument in for repair =
and
it is returned to them in working condition, they won't have a clue as =
to
what was really done or not done, unless it's something fairly simple =
and
obvious. =20

Christy Erickson

"Music ought to be a stress reliever, not a stress producer."

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Hausmann [mailto:bhausmann1@-----.net]=20
Subject: Re: [kl] Eefer overhaul

At 01:42 PM 2/24/2003 -0600, Christy Erickson wrote:
>I have a 1970's vintage E-flat clarinet. It's a Buffet Evette and the =
last
>time my woodwind man looked at it, he said it looked like it had never =
been
>overhauled. It desperately needs something before I have to play it in =
our
>city band starting in May but the man who works on my clarinets is =
booked
up
>and couldn't do it before then. Any ideas or recommendations? I =
simply
>don't trust the local music stores with my clarinets. Last year, I
borrowed
>one of our local high school's A clarinets for an orchestra concert. =
It
was
>seriously out of adjustment, needed corks, etc... I took it to one =
local
>man who lightly patched things up enough to make it playable for the
>concert. When I got it again in the fall (after the orchestra director
said
>it had been in for an overhaul) it was in the same shape it had been =
the
>last time I'd played it. I talked to the man who supposedly =
"completely
>overhauled it" and of course he became very defensive. Swore up and =
down
he
>had taken it apart completely-all BS of course. I told the school =
music
>teacher the school had been ripped off and I would never take any of my
>instruments there for anything.

Don't paint ALL music store repair shops with the same brush. Most are=20
honest, reliable, and capable.

Also, keep in mind that the orchestra director may simply not understand =

what is involved in an "overhaul." He may be assuming the quick =
cobble-job=20
you had done meets the definition. The technician might then have been=20
confused because he knows what he does for an overhaul and assumed that =
is=20
what he had done if an overhaul was requested.

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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