Klarinet Archive - Posting 000060.txt from 2006/10

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] A rainbow of clarinets
Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2006 21:19:07 -0400

At 05:23 AM 10/5/2006 -0700, Kurt Heisig wrote:
> "The current crop of Chinese imported clarinets
> >in...non-traditional colors are unfortunately also equal in quality to
> >their imported brethren."
>
>There is a danger in listing all of the instruments from one country together.
>
>For instance, France gave us the Buffet, but also the ________ (Several
>brands of junk can be inserted here!)
>
>There are SOME companies in China TRYING to make good stuff, and starting
>to succeed. Ridenour seems to be getting somewhere?

Both Powell and Haynes are selling flutes with Chinese bodies and their own
headjoints. They are quality work. You can get things made to any specs
you want, but the price goes up with the quality.

>One of the Asian manufacturers asked me to evaluate his products going to
>one of the big "American" manufacturers. He is from one of the more
>westernized countries, but has them made in a surprising country. The
>workmanship is surprisingly good mechanically. Much better than Elkhart.
>Acoustically, some of them are not acceptable, but can be re-made here to
>VERY GOOD! This is not a dealer prep issue, but an engineering one.
>However, I can make them into very fine instruments, and nothing coming
>out of Elkhart is good enough to do that with.

I must agree. The Selmer saxophones they are importing from Taiwan are
infinitely superior to the Elkhart-made AS300s and 1244 tenors (still the
Bundy II design). And not just the design, but the workmanship is so
shoddy! The workers there have a lot of nerve striking!

Bill Hausmann

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

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