Klarinet Archive - Posting 000053.txt from 2006/03
From: "Kevin Fay" <kevinfay3020@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Buffet R-13 Played and Failed
Date: Sat, 04 Mar 2006 15:29:49 -0500
Lynn (thomaswinds) posted:
<<<Remember, the factory just sends stuff out to the stores and catalogs
(esp. the big ones like WWBW) and they don't sit and try them out like a
Buffet rep would. A giant, faceless catalog is like shopping for your
clarinet at Walmart. You pay less, but you still stand the chance of
getting what you pay for!>>>
I would *much* rather purchase my horn from Dennis Bamber @ WWBW or Muncy
Winds than the local music store. Most folks who work at the counter play
guitar - if there are any artist-level instruments in stock at all, they've
usually been fingered over or tried out by who-knows how many high-school
kiddies before I get to even try it. At least the mail-order folks don't
sell "shop-worn" horns for top dollar; when they have returns or factory
opened items, WWBW truthfully sells as "B-stock" or "C-stock."
Over the many years I have purchased stuff, I have never been dissatisfied
with WWBW. One can get a real, live clarinet player on the phone who knows
what they're talking about. If there is ever a problem, they will accept a
return. WWBW is *not* Wal-Mart.
Rommel John Miller posted:
<<<Places like WWBW and others could care less if we were repeat customers,
becasue where we have be burned, others who haven't will come to be
burnt.>>>
Huh?? Nothing could be farther from the truth. The 80/20 rule applies to
their business in spades - I'm sure that more than 80% of their business by
dollar volume comes from less than 20% of their (repeat) customers.
. . . and if not their repeat customers, then those advised by them. You
must remember that for any R-13 purchased by a professional clarinetist, 10
are sold to junior-high and high school students. Steinway notes in their
latest annual report (which you can see at ):
"Band & orchestral instruments are sold to student, amateur and professional
musicians, and institutions. The majority of our instruments are purchased
or rented from dealers by students enrolled in music education programs in
the U.S. Traditionally, students join school bands or orchestras at age 10
or 11 and learn on beginner level instruments, progressing to intermediate
or professional level instruments in high school or college. We estimate
that approximately 85% of our domestic band sales are generated through
educational programs. The remaining domestic band sales are to professional
or amateur musicians or performing groups, including orchestras and
symphonies. Student level instruments accounted for approximately 70% of
band & orchestral unit sales and approximately 40% of instrument revenues in
2004, with advanced and professional instruments representing the balance.
In 2004, 81% of band sales were in the United States, 9% in Europe and the
remaining 10% primarily in Canada and Asia. Our largest band dealer
accounted for approximately 8% of band sales in 2004, while the top 15
accounts represented approximately 41% of band sales."
Frank Garcia posted:
<<<I know I am going to sound irritating to some, but I changed in 1990 from
Buffet to Yamaha. At that time Buffet could not make a good A clarinet. If
they did I never played it. But Yamaha was making A's that were responsive
(my old Buffet would die if I played the Pines of Rome solo too softly,
which was something I wanted to do), superior intonation (combining the
response problems with the poor intonation made playing the solo in the slow
movement of the Ravel PF Concerto a real lip bend), etc.>>>
I have a pair of Yamahas that I do about 2/3 of my playing on. I also have
a pair of Buffets (Bb form 1977, A from 1960) that work better in some
situations. All of them are very good tools. To get them that way, I've
spent a fair bit on technicians to get them all just the way I like.
It's unfair to expect Buffet to produce a $3,000 clarinet that sells for a
street price of $1,850. (Besides, not all folks like the same tweaking - no
sense in putting extra work when someone will want it done differently.)
Most recent R-13s that I have tried have been pretty OK - quality control is
better now than it has ever been, IMHO. Yamaha quality is more consistent,
I think, because they are a very large company chock full of manufacturing
engineers.
When I purchased my last clarinet (in 2001), I tried over 100 horns at the
clarinet convention in New Orleans. Overall, the manufacturing quality was
superb across all of the makers; while I snapped up a particular Yamaha that
I thought was exceptional, virtually any of the instruments that I tried
would have been a fine purchase for a high school or college student.
kjf
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