Klarinet Archive - Posting 000399.txt from 2005/01

From: "Dee Flint" <deeflint01@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] NEW $75
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 07:16:24 -0500


----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob" <roomberg@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 6:58 AM
Subject: Re: [kl] NEW $75

> Interesting advice...spend $1000.... but wait minute.... I'm not asking
> about $75 clarinets for my daughter. Its for me to learn how to play the
> clarinet, not my daughter.
> My daughter is a senior in high school now and been playing 7 years in
> school orchestra and marching band. She also played saxophone and then
> baritone sax in the school jazz band.
> The school provides the saxes.
> She does not play anything unless prompted in a school setting and it
> looks like its the end of the music line unless she does something in
> college.......... and thats unknown at this time.
> We bought the ebay cheap used wooden clarinets because the price was
> feasable, not because we needed a new clarinet.
> As I fooled around with them I concluded I could enjoy playing this
> instrument.
>
>
> Which brings me back to the $75 question.
> Is there any thing wrong with these $75 clarinets?
> Is there any difference between these brand new ebay $75 clarinets
> and the $300 clarinet that I paid $32 monthly on in the band instrument
> program when I got my daughters clarinet seven years ago?
>

The $75 instruments are merely clarinet shaped objects and typically are
poorly designed, poorly built, out of adjustment, and the keys often break.
Repair techs often refuse to do any work on them, even simple things like
replace a pad or cork as they are afraid of breaking the keys.

> I just don't know who to trust when it comes to musical instruments.
> I bought a Samick electric quitar for $450 and 4 years later found
> out that should have cost $250. Its a matter of shopping around and
> now that ebay lets you instantly see ALL the competition they battle
> on pricing downward, not upward.

For clarinets, stick with Leblanc (and also their Vito, Noblet, & Normandy
lines), Selmer, Buffet, and Yamaha. There are other good brands but they
are not easily obtainable. There are also instruments from makers no longer
in business that are good but it is difficult to find information on them.

> I bought an eletric violin for $135 on ebay, brand new, original
> packaging. Its a wonderful instrument. I can not buy an electric violin in
> any store for anything near that cheap price.
> I went to New York and bought a Jean Baptiste pocket trumpet at Sam Ash
> Music for $225 then found Sam Ash sells it online for $169 and you can go
> to Amazon.com and they sell under the name Bandnow for $169
> BUT
> go to ebay and that same pocket trumpet can be bought for $85 to $100.
> I'm NOT talking about the Indian trumpets from Tristar.
>
> So that leaves me thinking that as long as the public relied on a band
> instrument sales rep coming to school and we always bought from that one
> rep, we never knew we could get beginner instruments any cheaper.
> we just signed up for monthly payments , whatever they told us , and
> didn't argue with the price tag.
> The retail price in the stores was always too pricey so we just winced
> and chalked it off as the going rate.
>
> The Indian Tristar instruments seem to be the lowest in the measure of
> quality and then the Asians are doing nice work with brass and wood.
> So where do we stand with the $75 ebay clarinets for use as a beginners
> first clarinet? Who makes them? I think China?
>

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