Klarinet Archive - Posting 000448.txt from 2003/08
From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Questions, questions
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 09:14:36 -0400
Bill Hausmann wrote,
>Contrary to Gary Van Cott's advice, the Bundy is
>worth considerably MORE that $75, just not to
>HIM!) If you buy someone else's second-hand
>instrument, it may well need just as much work
>to bring up to playing shape.
I paid $35 for my plastic Bundy back-up clarinet at a flea market, but it
wasn't in anywhere near playable condition at that price. I joked with the
dealer that she should pay me, for hauling that stink out of her booth. No
problem, since I could see and smell what I was getting, and could see that
everything that needed fixing was fixable. I would've been mighty unhappy
if I'd paid more than $100, sight unseen, expecting a playable instrument.
IMHO, the eBay prices Gary mentioned are so low because they reflect the
Buyer Beware reality of that market.
Buyers *expect* eBay instruments to need complete overhauls, no matter what
the dealers *say*. Buyers factor the cost of overhaul work into the price
they're willing to pay. Buyers also take into consideration that eBay ads
don't always depict condition accurately and that the instrument might need
a lot more than just corks, pads and springs. Buying sight unseen is
risky, especially if the dealer doesn't seem to have much of a history on
eBay (and dealers who get kicked off of eBay because of shady transactions
have been known to return under other names). You might buy a bargain on
something wonderful. You might also buy a box of junk that's a marriage of
two or more different brands of instruments, or a clarinet with keys
missing or some other major problem, because, among other things, the photo
may not even show the instrument that's actually for sale. (One of the
regular members of this list recently caught an unscrupulous eBay dealer
"borrowing" one of the list member's own photos. BTW, Walter, I remember
that the dealer got nasty when you complained. How did that situation
shake out?)
Here's another reason to get your Bundy overhauled: If you ever play
outdoors, you'll probably want a plastic clarinet. It's good to keep an
expendable clarinet for travelling, too, especially in situations where
security may not be the best, or where you might have too many airline
carry-ons and need to put the clarinet case into a suitcase that goes as
checked baggage. Freezing temperatures in the baggage hold can crack a
wooden clarinet with moisture in it. Why buy another plastic clarinet
later, when you've already got an instrument that you know well?
Lelia Loban
E-mail: lelialoban@-----.net
Web site (original music scores as audio or print-out):
http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/LeliaLoban
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 23:12:48 -0400
From: Shadow Cat <13felines666.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] Questions, questions
I'm making my stupid pet human type this for me. You should run the car
over the Bundy and never buy another screech stick. I've said all along
that screech sticks are larvae of the V*c**m Cl**ner Demon and now I have
proof. On Friday, Lelia practiced on her screech stick and then the V*c**m
Cl**ner Demon called to her from the closet and she took it right out and
it swallowed my practice snake! Gulped my snake right down into its
gullet. You can't tell me that timing is nothing but a coincidence.
My practice snake looks a lot like a shoelace, but that's a sinister
disguise. It's really a small but deadly venomous creature that comes back
to life no matter how often I kill it. I kill it at least once a day, to
practice what I'm going to do to those cl*r*n*ts when I get my claws on
them. I'll roll them down the stairs! I'll bat their mousepieces under
the refrigerator! I'll give them an overhaul they'll never survive! I
made Lelia fight the V*c**m Cl**ner Demon and get my snake back out of its
belly. It won't do to give those two the chance to communicate. I suspect
maybe the snake *wanted* to go in there. Maybe they were even . . .
mating! Is that where screech sticks come from? Great Bast, maybe that's
how . . . . I must study this issue further.
Ssssst!
Shadow Cat
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