Klarinet Archive - Posting 000051.txt from 2004/01

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Re:_[kl]_Moniqu=E9_Clarinet?=
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2004 00:56:42 -0500

At 11:11 PM 1/1/2004 -0500, Fred Jacobowitz wrote:
> > Rob,
>
> If this is what I think it is, your Monique is a Chinese-made
> instrument.
>I'm not sure if they are made in Red China or Taiwan but the instruments
>we see
>at the shop I work at (part time) are usually Soprano Saxes which are not
>worth
>the metal they are made of! The lack of a serial number is almost surely a
>sign
>of a company not caring about the instruments they make - to the point of not
>even keeping track of what they have made. With that kind of attitude, can you
>really trust the quality of the product?
> My observation of these kind of Chinese-made POS's (pieces of ****)
> is that
>they are poorly made, with keys that bend and break easily, thin plating which
>wears off immediately, crappy pads, etc. Surprisingly enough, they sound
>OK, or
>even pretty good. (However, a new Yugo drove OK too...) They are also a
>pain to
>fix because the parts fit together so badly and go out of adjustment so
>quicky.
>In fact, my shop no longer gives any warranty on repairs of these instruments!
>We usually give a 90 day one on work we perform.

The instruments we have been getting from Taiwan (mostly Jupiter, but now
even Selmer is importing some Taiwanese student saxes -- and they are MUCH
better horns than their US-made student line!) have generally displayed
high quality and workmanship. Instruments from MAINLAND China, on the
other hand, suffer from serious metallurgical and workmanship deficiencies,
not to mention the impossibility of obtaining replacement parts. Yes, they
do seem to play OK...at first. And that is unfortunate, because the buyers
then do not realize their mistake until it is too late.

Bill Hausmann

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

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