 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: selmerplayer
Date: 2009-06-17 01:32
I was reading the warrenty for my Selmer clarinet and it states that cracks in wood clarinets more than likely will not be considered a defect because cracks occur due to enviromental reasons. What?
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Author: GBK
Date: 2009-06-17 06:38
The Selmer Warranty:
General Limited Warranty
Henry Selmer of Paris warrants that this instrument is free from defects in manufacturing, material and workmanship for one year. During the warranty period, and upon proof of purchase, Selmer (Paris) will, at its option, either replace or repair a defective instrument or defective part should manufacturing defects become apparent during that time. Repair or replacement as provided under this warranty is your exclusive remedy.
Cracking of natural wood instrument bodies on piccolos, double reeds and clarinets may occur due to environmental conditions and would most likely not be viewed as defective. However natural wood instrument bodies deemed defective will be repaired or replaced during the warranty period.
...GBK
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-06-17 09:21
What's the official Buffet crack warranty then?
I've seen a couple of grenadilla Buffet instruments online that seem to come with a 10-year crack warranty. If that's anywhere near their general policy then I hate to say it, but - no wonder there's a Buffet mafia! ![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif)
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Author: Chris J
Date: 2009-06-17 10:00
Seems like a fantastic advert for buying a previously owned instrument.
Am I right in taking from previous threads that if a clarinet has not cracked in, say, 15 years - then it is less likely to crack if reasonably well looked after?
As long as you can try before buy, keyword and set up can be personalised anyway, you don't buy in to the "blown-out" phenomenon, happy to have second-hand - you will have money left for that dream mouthpiece and barrel and yet more change!
Exclusion from warranty gives little impression of faith in their own products. I assume Leblanc (as Selmer owned) has the same situation. It does seem to suggest some truth in the postings that say wood used is of poorer quality and is less stable than that used in yesteryear.
Of the dozen or so wooden clarinets I have, the youngest is a 15 year old Opus and the others are between 30 and 100 years old. Not a crack amongst them.
I do have a Bb/A pair of Selmers that are 80 years old, but they are never going to crack. They are metal.....
Chris
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Author: George Taylor
Date: 2009-06-17 10:17
I bought a Selmer Recital about a year ago from Howarths and when the top joint cracked, from the throat A hole up towards the tenon, in total about 3 cm long, after just six weeks, Selmer supplied a new top joint and Howarths did a transplant of all of the key work, all within a month. Not sure if this policy is new then, or one they just use when they deem it necessary. I must add though, while the whole issue of the clarinet cracking was stresful, the service and I received from Selmer and the store was first rate. I would check with the store before buying!
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Author: BobD
Date: 2009-06-17 10:22
"but they are never going to crack. They are metal....."
....unless you decide to try to clean them with ammonia or anythng containing ammonia....or they get exposed to ammonia fumes.
The fact that wood clarinets can crack is nothing new and some have cracked after many years of crack free service. Any article made of wood that is subjected to the abuse that clarinets experience may crack. I doubt that Buffet's current warranty covers cracks due to environmental conditions. The current warranties are strictly CYA contemporary corporate legalese.
Bob Draznik
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Author: catkeel
Date: 2009-06-17 13:36
Buy a rubber Ritenour. They are just as good and do not crack.
Bob
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2009-06-17 15:05
Has anyone had a crack in a Buffet Greenline clarinet?
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Author: LesterV
Date: 2009-06-17 18:46
My R13, purchased new in August 2005 came with a warranty from The Music Group (Besson, Buffet Crampon, Keilwerth, and Schreiber) that covers cracks for 2 years. It also states that The more expensive Buffet's - Prestige, Vintage, Tosca, etc have a 3 year warranty for cracks.
Of possible interest - It also states that Keilwerth bassoons have a 10 year warranty against cracks. I will assume bassoons must be less likely to crack for some reason.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-06-17 19:58
> Seems like a fantastic advert for buying a previously owned instrument.
Yup. They're not safe from cracking, but most, if inclined to do so, would have in the meantime. And the investment is ridiculously low in comparison.
Drawback - they all are blown out. <hides behind music stand>
--
Ben
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Author: Rusty
Date: 2009-06-17 22:00
"I can believe that"
I can`t. Depends on what country you are in re Yamaha warranty.
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-06-17 22:34
...so it's like the M&M 'melt in your mouth not in your hand' slogan which they never ran in summer?
(Er, so one heard.)
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Author: David Niethamer
Date: 2009-06-18 02:53
> Has anyone had a crack in a Buffet Greenline clarinet?
>
I've heard of several people having the middle tenon shatter between the upper and lower joint. Must be lack of sufficient high quality epoxy!! ;-)
David
niethamer@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/index.html
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2009-06-18 04:32
To selmerplayer-
Reading your posts it seems that Selmer clearly has poor quality at this point. If you really want a Selmer so much you should look into a used one. You can pay about $1000 for one in very good condition on ebay and have is totally and beautifully restored for another $800-1000 max (another $400 if you replate the keys).
It's an option. If you want a new 'vergin' clarinet you should think about other brands at this point.
Regarding cracks and old clarinets- many people say that old clarinets were made with better wood. I play old clarinets and I really don't believe this. What I do believe is that the old clarinets that are still free of cracks today represent the portion of instruments that happened to have been made with very good wood; the ones with bad wood have already cracked and been trashed.
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Author: scott kurtzweil
Date: 2009-06-18 15:22
All -
I have been watching this thread for some time and feel I should provide some insights that will hopefully put some minds at ease.
With regard to Selmer Paris clarinets, at least as far as they are distributed by us here in the USA and Canada, we do maintain the 1 year warranty that is passed on to us from Selmer Paris and yes, it is true that we do not consider a crack forming in the wood specifically a manufacturer's defect. Having said this, our general rule of thumb when it comes to cracked wood is this . . . 1) If it cracks during the first year, we will replace the joint. 2) If it cracks in the following two years, we will pin the joint as needed to return the clarinet to excellent performance condition. I would like to point out that this arrangement is considered the industry standard.
Let's all try to remember that we are dealing with an organic substance that does not always follow the rules that we as players or those that manufacture clarinets attempt to apply it. Being on this side of the looking glass, I can tell you honestly that Selmer Paris goes through the same painstaking wood assessment and grading that we do here with Leblanc. In fact, in most cases, our suppliers are the same. I can also tell you that Selmer Paris is extremely careful in the methods that they use to cure and age the wood.
It is regretful that selmerplayer has not had the experience that was desired from the purchase of a Signature clarinet. To make this right, I would like to offer assistance in hand selecting the very best Signature we have in our current inventory with regard to fit and finish, running it through a secondary set-up here in our Elkhart facility and sending that clarinet through Kesslar or the retailer of choice. If you would like to contact me offline to work out the details, I am more than happy to assist you in any way that I can.
Scott Kurtzweil
Kurtzweil Musical LLC
www.kurtzweilmusical.com
269-340-9013
scott@kurtzweilmusical.com
Post Edited (2009-06-18 15:23)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2009-06-18 15:30
scott kurtzweil wrote:
> I would like to offer assistance in hand
> selecting the very best Signature we have in our current
> inventory with regard to fit and finish, running it through a
> secondary set-up here in our Elkhart facility and sending that
> clarinet through Kesslar or the retailer of choice.
This is the kind of thing that makes keeping the site working worthwhile ... 
And to the other vendors who have offered their help and I haven't mentioned them specifically in the past - your assistance has been mightily appreciated by the community!
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-06-20 10:30
I don't know how any guarantee from Paris is worded when Selmer Paris Clarinets arrive in New Zealand.
However I have been involved in instigating a number of returns of cracked clarinets via the local importer over the last few years. In each case, to their credit, Selmer has obliged.
All the messing around and shipping costs sure cut into the importer's business viability though, not to mention my own time-consuming altruistic involvement.
Surely it's time that clarinets took a few more steps towards the obsolescence of timber bodies. Greenline made a good start. But then progress stalled.
BTW, if any clarinet is assembled, put on a bed then sat on, the centre tenon will break off, irrespective of whether it is Greenline, ABS, or timber. That is a totally separate issue for the SPLITTING of instruments.
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