Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2006-01-23 05:22
This list is a moving target. I can't tell you scientifically what is good and what is bad, but it is changing all the time.
For example:
I saw Simba clarinets at NAMM yesterday and talked to the rep. I told him that the Brand did not carry a good reputation with repairmen. He said that in the last two years there has been a great improvement in the Simba instruments. He said that money had been invested in design, manufacturing, quality control, and service support. He said that the company is hanging in there and intends to sell appropriate instruments. These are all the right words and intentions.
I don't know............
and of course it's good to warn inexperienced buyers that there are many, many brands out there that don't have the experience to make playable instruments. (And that shopping for the lowest price probably ensures that one will get a poor horn.) But I like to repeat whenever this subject comes up that economics and sales will drive some of these brands to improve.
Wayne Thompson
PS I don't have a real Simba price sheet , but from our conversation I'd guess the Simba List Price for their basic model, nickel keys, to be about $300. Still quite, quite inexpensive.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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