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what do y'all think about these?

Author: corinne
Date: 2004-02-01 15:54

Hi,

I guess in addition to that other post, I would like to know if y'all have info on why Giant Steps doesn't repair these brands of instruments.

Anton Breton
Antonius
Arbiter
Barclay
Bauer
Belcrest
Berkeley
Biltmore
Bird
Cameo
Cavalier
Grassi
Gretsch
Harmony
Heimer (a clarinet we have)
Hsighai
Huttl
Lafayette
Lamase
Larilee (I know there's at least an oboe of this brand)
Lark
Lauren
Maestro
Maxtone
Meerut
Mirage
Monique
Muisca Austria
Nadirali
Orsi
Palantino
Pan
Parrott
Pathfinder
Peace
Peddler
Revere
Reynolds
Rockland
Schenkelars
Shanghai
Simba
Skylark
Steuben
Synsonics
Victory
Wards
Wexler
Windsor
E.M. Winston
York

I think some are just some of the cheap brands sold at WalMart and Sams Club, which is a good reason to not want to fix them I guess.

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: GBK
Date: 2004-02-01 17:23

Alex, I'll take "Musical Shaped Objects" for $100 ... GBK

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: David Peacham
Date: 2004-02-01 17:41

Some of these are familiar cheap brand names that have often been derided on this board.

Orsi, however, is not. It is a reputable brand. It may be simply be that it is difficult to get spares for them. Or it may be that the repairer had one bad experience with Orsi and decided he didn't want any more.

-----------

If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.

To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-02-01 17:45

Thanks for the list, Corinne. It's probably the most complete list of "Clarinet-Shaped Objects" ever posted here.

Repair technicians do not aim toward not repairing anything. They make money by repairing instruments. But their experience on a certain brand may show that it is either non-repairable due to poor design, miserable quality, or lack of spare parts. Or the reliability may be so bad the customer will bring the thing back to be repaired again and again "under warranty." No repair person wants to touch such an item. All you will hear is, "Sorry, we don't repair those, and we don't know where you can get it done."

Gee, I can't think of any other reason, can you? I don't think I want to own any of those, or at least most of them.

David is correct, Orsi is a reputable brand but not often encountered in the US. Perhaps there's a parts availability proble

Regards,
John

Post Edited (2004-02-01 17:48)

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: GBK
Date: 2004-02-01 17:55

How did "Bestler" escape the condemned list? ...GBK

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: Henry
Date: 2004-02-01 18:05

GBK....It must be because of the continued behind-the-scene influence of the former Iraqi Information Minister!

Henry

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2004-02-01 18:11

Corinne, thank you for providing quite an exhaustive list of Brand "X" clarinets. I counted 51. The first thing that came to my mind was "are there more than 50 clarinet manufacturers around the world?". I don't think so. I'm beginning to believe that a small few are producing all of these and putting different names on them. (IMO)

IMO, quality costs. Period. Because the clarinet is regarded as a precision instrument, sound quality (undercutting), evenness of tone, the ability to play in tune with itself, equal resistance in different registers, the quality of materials involved, and the precision of note accuracy from the bottom note to the top involve expensive engineering time, high-cost precision machinery, and high cost machined parts to create a quality instrument. Be sure to add the cost of highly trained technicians to "tweak" the instrument. Can all of this be done for a retail price of $99 or $149??? I don't think so.

It is for the above reasons (and probably a lot more), that this BB soundly advises staying with what is known as the "Big 4" along with a few other high quality manufacturers.

Just my $0.02 worth.

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: Brian Peterson
Date: 2004-02-01 18:11

Henry,

I thought we weren't supposed to talk about him anymore. ;-)

Brian Peterson

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-02-02 01:00

Another scrape the bottom of the barrel name is "Band," which frequently appears on eBay as "Our Best Band Clarinet." Oh, and anything that says "teacher approved."

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: Bellflare
Date: 2004-02-02 01:32

WALMART ESCAPED THE LIST:
"FIRST ACT"

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: paulwl
Date: 2004-02-02 08:12

Is this a strictly clarinet list? Doesn't read like one.

I hope that whoever now plays the York-stenciled Conn bass sax I once owned doesn't find hi/r way into this store in need of urgent repairs, only to be shown the door. It really was a fine instrument, despite the name.

I have heard stories about Emilio, the legendary sax tech at Rayburn's in Boston, refusing to work on any saxophone bearing the name Conn, be it a crummy Mexican border horn or a classic M-series or Chu Berry from the 30s. Hopefully they're just that, stories.

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Re: what do y'all think about these?

Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-02-02 21:01

If you caught 'Milio on a day when his back was acting up, it's no story.

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