Klarinet Archive - Posting 000079.txt from 2004/03

From: "Fred Wilson" <fred.wilson@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Costco Clarinets!!!
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 11:03:48 -0500

No this clarinet was and is garbage. I failed to mention that when I ordered
it the vendor failed to mention that it lacked the four side keys (trill,
etc). The sound stinks. I've been playing a variety of clarinets for years
and wanted an Eb I could used occasionally. I won't make that mistake gain-
I will get it from a reputable person.

if you can imagine a bassoon 4 octives higher, that is the kind of sound I
was getting - bleaugh!

Gimme a Buffet, no more Chinese for me!

Fred
----- Original Message -----
From: "Buckman, Nancy" <nebuckman@-----.edu>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 7:41 AM
Subject: RE: [kl] Costco Clarinets!!!

> Hi Fred,
>
> I'm glad for you that you have an instrument that plays better, BUT......a
new barrel that fit properly might have gone a looooonng way toward fixing
the problems with that instrument. And there is a good possibility that a
good repairman could have made adjustments to the body that would have made
the instrument quite acceptable. Sometimes repairs can be made that cost a
bunch less than the cost of buying a different instrument.
>
> It costs nothing to try a different barrel (or twelve!) and have a "good"
repairman look it over to see if it is worth the effort to make adjustments.
And if it is, it will be cheaper in the long run. So many people do bad
things to good eefers, just because they either don't know of a "good"
repairman (and don't ask), or they don't know when they have a diamond in
the rough. I have rescued many "pieces of junk" and had them fixed to give
to students to get started on. And I can honestly say, that after the last
nine months or so of travels and observances, there are many instruments
that could be made to play acceptably, especially for students, that are
getting the ax.
>
> I have actually pulled clarinet bodies (and flutes, a sax, trumpets and
heaven forbid, a trombone) out of the dump (literally) and made them myself
(or had help making them) into playable instruments for kids whose parents
can't afford the cost of renting. The woodwinds I can fix myself and the
brass instruments are given to a friend who is retired from the Air Force
Band. She puts them into good playing condition at no cost to the school
and has provided three trumpets and that trombone (which had a hole in the
bell) to kids who were delighted to have a chance to play. The school where
I have donated these instruments probably wouldn't have a music program for
band instruments without them. Three quarters of the kids in this school
are on the free or reduced-cost lunch program. I enjoy going to their
little concerts and hearing the progress they make. And who knows, maybe
one of them will be the next Benny Goodman or Wynton Marsalis.
>
> It is a waste of resources to ditch all these instruments. With a little
fixing, so many more people, big and small, could be enjoying music-making.
>
> Nancy
>
> Nancy E. Buckman, CPO, AFO, Technical Assistant
> School of Health Professions, Wellness and Physical Education
> Anne Arundel Community College
> Arnold, MD 21012-1895 USA
> Phone 410-777-2316 Fax 410-777-2233
> E-mail nebuckman@-----.edu
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>
>

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