Klarinet Archive - Posting 000171.txt from 2004/06

From: ormondtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: Re: [kl] scandal
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 18:27:30 -0400

Richard=A0Bush wrote:

> consumers open their wallets screaming
> OUCH and buy a product that is marginal at
> best

Richard, when I started playing (not too many years ago), I bought a
'reed care' book that was written in the 1940's. It was filled with
dire warnings of all the things that will be wrong with a reed as it
comes out of the box --- uneven fibers, thick and thin spots, twisted
shoulders, and I've forgotten what else --- and the book gave daunting
explanations of what I would need to learn in order to cope.

I contemplated all of these warnings and remedies, and I wondered "What
have I gotten myself in for? I don't have a surgeon's skills!"

But over the years, I haven't (to the best of my memory) encountered
even a single reed that lived up (down?) to the dire warnings. Most
reeds need a bit of adjustment, of course; but no reed that I've
purchased has approached the extreme disasters described in the book.

So I've decided that reeds must have been _much_ worse back in those
days --- really terrible, in fact. (and you used string for a
ligature) All told, I don't think that modern reeds deserve criticism,
except perhaps for a few of the cheapies.

As to the cost.... well, distribution costs money. If you don't want
to make the journey to a plantation yourself..... I was talking with a
fast food manager the other day. He mentioned that the raw materials
in a $1.50 soda, cup included, costs a dime (or something similar).
But the soda is sitting there in the restaurant, waiting for you to pull
the handle, and the building protects you from the weather outdoors, and
the floors are (hopefully) clean, and there's parking spaces outside for
your car, and the establishment is inspected for cleanliness and
safety.... and that's what costs the other $1.40.

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