Author: Buster
Date: 2012-01-07 04:34
Drew,
I did have 2 jobs, but that did not give me unlimited funds. And I have been out of work for some 3 years- unable to play for a year or so of that time period for some health issues; that also costs money. Trust me, I do understand monetary difficulties.
Also, I am not that old (33), so my younger years are not too foggy either. I can remember scraping by: teaching privately, gigging, working in the Law School kitchen at 5am; along with 4-8 hours of ensemble work (between orchestra, chamber orchestra, big band, combo work, wind quintet etc...), finding practice time wherever possible- let alone sleep! ....surviving on Top-Ramen, Kraft Mac-n-Cheese and Pop-Tarts. (Cinnamon Frosted- can't beat'em.)
I even turned down an offer for an Off-Broadway tour in under-grad, which was quite difficult considering my financial constraints at the time. (and avoiding crawling back to my parents for money.)
The point of all of that is not to ask for pity, but to say that I understand your view point regarding money.
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Perhaps I was a bit too vague in my points:
*One doesn't need an $800 dollar mouthpiece to play at an extremely high level.
*I do agree that $800 is a high price to pay: I will not say it is too high as I have never played on his work.
*Though I have clarinet mouthpieces that I could sell for 3x's more than Mr. Wanne's work solely based on their "famous" name, I never said I paid that much for them. In fact, the Kaspar I won my job on was given to me, with no hesitation, by an extremely kind person that later would not take it back. (And later, I even gave a good Ched to a very good student because she deserved it- and that fact alone was worth more than the money I could have sold it for. -Circle of life.)
*Most of the old expensive clarinet mouthpieces I have, I found cheaply or traded for. They are not the end all be all as they sit, you have to play them!!!; and they take much more finesse than the average student possesses. I don't know what your current set-up is, but you may even hate them and wonder why some people drool over them. And that is not a statement meant to degrade your playing; I don't know your work and prefer to judge people here based on what they say. But this "elitist" equipment is not the answer to all that ails, or even necessary in many cases.
*Perhaps younger players (younger than yourself) are not fully developed enough to benefit from these expensive mouthpieces. In fact, they may be inhibited as they are not fully formed enough to perform on these expensive mouthpieces.
*You play on a new Guardala. I am happy you found something that you are comfortable on- regardless of the price tag. Thankfully you were not forced to pay out the *#* to obtain it. I am currently playing an old Woodwind Meliphone Steel Ebonite on my tenor that is not worth a king's ransom, and I wouldn't trade it. (Dropped my Link and bent the hell out of the tip.)
*My friend WON the job in the "Big 5" orchestra playing on a Vandoren.
None of these things bothered me however.
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It was rather your statements:
Quote:
"Ridiculous. $775 for a tenor sax mouthpiece is outragious, you can get a vintage Link for less than that! And he has the gall to put "Free Shipping!!!" Like he's doing you a service, and you didn't just mortgage your house for one of his mouthpieces."
"He is a good mouthpiece technician. Not $800 good, but very good."
"By charging $800 you turn the saxophone into an elitist instrument, separating those that perform the music from those that could ultimately enjoy. Most people won't put up with this elitist bull, so they go on to choose other forms of art and culture to spend their money. Theo could be considered the catalyst for this thinking. Good art is dying, this is one of the causes."
Well, that seemed a bit out of place and incendiary, particularly without even having tried Mr. Wanne's current work. .....only to see you sort of turn-around, recant, and frankly cozy up a bit by suddenly respecting him after he humbly replied to your posts.
Now I have had to go "hat in hand" and apologize to people before in my youthful vigor; but might I suggest a bit more tact could be applied when posting in the future. Particularly when the target is seemingly not around to answer. Though thankfully he was.
Respectfully- Jason
Post Edited (2012-01-07 04:37)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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