 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill
Date: 2008-07-17 03:03
Thank you!!!!
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: Lynn
Date: 2008-07-17 03:18
OK.....
It was fun to see how the reeds were made. But where can I find the music to "Primavera Portena" that the Caracas Quartet played behind the film?
That little quartet, I think, is on the "must-have" list.
Lynn
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2008-07-17 15:39
Watching all those operations with fingers and un-guarded circular saw blades makes my hands into fists! Shudder.
Bob Phillips
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Author: CarlT
Date: 2008-07-17 15:50
Bob, you, too, must also be a woodworker. I agree...much too close for my hands. One little slip, and I could no longer play the clarinet.
I very much enjoyed watching the video though. Muchas Gracias, Senior Dave, for coming up with that. It was very interesting indeed.
CarlT
Post Edited (2008-07-17 15:53)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-07-17 15:54
The Gonzalez video is a few years old, and perhaps things have changed in their manufacturing process, but all the hand work, from the cutting through the packaging, shows exactly why Gonzalez had (or possibly still has) a very difficult time keeping up with world wide demand.
...GBK
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-07-17 16:25
Former neighbor owned a cabinetry shop.
I noticed that his pinky was missing and asked him about it.
Told me that he got a new saw and it cut off his pinky.
Then he showed me his other one which got it the following month....
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Phat Cat
Date: 2008-07-17 23:34
I am astonished at the amount of touching of the reeds. Maybe I should soak 'em before putting those babies in my mouth.
Love that Piazzolla though!
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-07-18 16:47
ditto, that was very interesting. i can see why they have a difficult time keeping up with the world demand. but i think that by having people regulate each step makes the reed why the gonzalez brand has such a high reputation. maybe it's time for an expansion and reinvestments into their capital so they can increase their output. thanks for sharing
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: skjaeve
Date: 2008-07-21 19:18
I'm surprised at the low level of automation. I can understand that cutting, polishing and measuring can require an experienced human touch that machines can't provide yet, but I'd have thought that things like stamping, enveloping and packing could be done easily by a machine. Then again, if production is low, I could also see that getting machines for those tasks would require as much investment in hardware and (high-skill wage) technicians as just paying (perhaps lower) wages to a few people to do it manually. (And I have no clue about the cost of Argentine labor.)
Post Edited (2008-07-21 19:19)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-07-21 19:36
The ROI (return on investment) of such apparatuses is often overestimated - it either is prohitively expensive yet flexible, or it is simple and requires regular reprogramming for different tasks.
Gonzalez produce not just under their own brand, they stencil for other companies with different stamping, finishing and packaging requirements. Trying to automate such tasks would probably break the financial neck of a smaller company, especially when a customer wanders off after two or three years.
Plus: manual labour pays wages. Wages feed families and pay taxes. Taxes paid by many keep enterprise taxes lower. The investment in machinery is lower which means less dependencies from a bank. Which might make you more immune to speculation. Which might help to keep the shop alive.
I'm old-fashioned, I guess.
--
Ben
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-07-21 19:50
When Phil Shapiro (Davie Cane) was the US distributor for Gonzalez reeds he told me that he made a number of visits to Argentina and often spoke with the Gonzalez family about automating some of the hand production steps, such as the individual reed packaging.
Each time he brought the idea up, the Gonzalez people refused to consider it.
Since this video is at least five years old, perhaps Conn-Selmer, with their 2005 acquisition of the US distributorship, has now had more success in getting some automation into the Gonzalez production line...GBK
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-07-21 19:55
GBK wrote:
> Since this video is a few years old, perhaps Conn-Selmer, with
> their 2005 acquisition of the US distributorship, has now had
> more success it getting some automation into the Gonzalez
> production line...GBK
And then? What would the benefits be?
--
Ben
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-07-21 20:03
Due to their explosive popularity among professionals and serious amateur musicians, in 2004 - 2006 Gonzalez reeds experienced a severe back log of unfilled orders as demand exceeded supply. Many customers and US retailers were left frustrated.
Even today, it is rare to find a large retailer (ex: Woodwind/Brasswind) who has a continual adequate stock of different sizes and cuts of Gonzalez reeds.
...GBK
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-07-21 20:47
Hmm. I have the gut feeling that the next bottleneck would already be lurking around the corner - suppose the stamping and packaging problem (if there is one) is solved, then the cutting and shaping - what if the cane growth can't keep pace with the demand?
--
Ben
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-07-22 00:37
(Disclaimer - I sell Gonzalez Reeds)
I am friends with the Gonzalez family and they told me recently that they are modernizing at a structured pace to keep up with demand. With the continued growth of the brand they have also kept pace in cane production with acquisition of more growing land. Conn-Selmer is the U.S. contractual distributor but has nothing to do with the operation of Gonzalez reed manufacture. In the last year or so there have been no problems with obtaining reeds in a timely manner. Many retailers do not stock the full line in house because of overhead costs and wild swings in demand but my recent experience is that delivery of any box of reeds takes only 3 - 4 days in hand.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-23 14:17
Zonda, also from Argentina lasts as long or longer and is slighty less difficult to acquire. I find the thick blank FOF to be slightly more resistant than is my preference.
Sherman Friedland
Post Edited (2008-07-23 16:33)
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Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-07-23 14:24
I don't much care for gonzalez as the vamp is too short. of 20 that I tried, they all had the dound of an overused reed. I use Zonda. They last a while, and seem to fit my mp perfect.
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
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Author: Ryan25
Date: 2008-07-23 15:11
"Due to their explosive popularity among professionals and serious amateur musicians"
I know many professionals and serious amateurs, some members of different major orchestras (both symphony and ballet/opera) and not one of them plays Gonzales reeds.
I know you hate Vandoren and love Gonzales GBK, but statements like this are not exactly accurate in my experience and the circles I travel in. Vandoren is still the most played followed by Rico.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-07-23 16:17
Ryan25 wrote:
> Vandoren is still the most played followed by Rico.
I have no doubt that Vandoren reeds are currently played by more clarinetists than any other brand. That statement is without challenge.
However, I cannot think of any brand reed (with the possible exception of Morre) which took hold in the clarinet community as quickly and garnered a significant enough market share to even make Vandoren start to reassess their own reed quality and marketing methods.
In 2003, the introduction by Vandoren of the 56 Rue Lepic reed, was without doubt a reaction to both the success of the Gonzalez FOF reed, and to the very vocal world-wide carping about the recent quality of their own reeds. Many saw this as a retaliatory move to rejuvenate their previous larger share of the market place.
What has hurt Gonzalez, which is still today a small family run company, and others which were similar (ex: Olivieri) is that to compete against the likes of Vandoren and Rico it takes significant capital (and manpower) in areas production, marketing, distribution and publicity.
...GBK
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