 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: David F. Moore, MD, PhD, FAAN
Date: 2015-07-10 07:04
Dear Forum Members,
I can only say that I will never buy Chadash again and I urge all forum
members to do the same - this vendor sold me an A clarinet swearing that
the wood is 'So mature' that it 'is just beautiful', it is 'Perfect' and when
asked about cracking of his clarinet he declared the wood is 'so Mature' is
almost never cracks - this was November 2014, three weeks later the upper
joint has a serious crack! I return the instrument to Mr. Chadash and he
pinned it declaring it is 'Perfect'. I indicated to Mr. Chadash that the
re-sale value of the instrument has been cut by 2/3 he agreed to send me a
new replacement upper joint as is his "policy' - he outrightly refused to
refund my sale despite his website guarantees. Eventually Mr Chadash sends
me a 'new upper joint' that I received today - on inspection of this joint
I see that it has been pinned and is far from 'new'. I have no idea what
Mr. Chadash is thinking but this is not the behavior of a reputable
clarinet maker or dealer. As far as all Chadash products go I urge all
forum member to be 'Buyer Beware'
Very Respectfully to All
David F. Moore, MD, PhD, FAAN
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Author: David F. Moore, MD, PhD, FAAN
Date: 2015-07-10 07:17
PS for all concerned - I am not just a dilettante but am completing my music degree in Performance as a Senior at The University of The District of Columbia, Washington, DC.
Salut to All
David F. Moore, MD, PhD, FAAN
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Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2015-07-10 16:30
That is so sad. Up to this point, I've only heard wonderful things about Guy Chadash. I do know that he has a stock of very aged wood, and most those I know with his products enjoy them. Sounds to me like he is really missing the boat to excell in customer relations here.
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2015-07-10 17:22
I know several players that owned his clarinets and all of them had their clarinets crack at one time or another . In one or two cases I know of, multiple times. In my opinion this is very common based on the experience of those I know. I've never owned one myself though. I've heard and experienced many pros and cons about his service and attitude towards students and none famous players.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2015-07-10 18:03
My Chadash clarinet also cracked. It's normal for wood to crack. Perhaps it's not normal to claim that it "almost never cracks"?
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2015-07-10 20:35
"It's normal for wood to crack."
I've never owned a Chadash clarinet, but I've never had any of my wood clarinets crack either.
Tony F.
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2015-07-10 20:40
I know of so many colleagues and friends whose clarinets (of varying brands) have cracked. Tony- you're simply lucky that yours didn't.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-07-10 20:41
I wouldn't say it's 'normal for a wooden clarinet to crack' - it's more a case of a wooden clarinet has the potential to crack at any point in time. That doesn't mean they all will, but some may crack when you least expect it.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: David F. Moore, MD, PhD, FAAN
Date: 2015-07-10 21:36
My Thanks to All for extending sympathies and empathies - I am used to Buffet and indeed with a short period of purchase one of those instruments cracked in the upper joint - Buffet replaced the Prestige upper joint and without question and placed the same serial numbers on the joints - I still have these pair of Buffet clarinets and have recently had truly excellent maintenance by Wes Rice making these clarinets superb (sigh, I love my clarinets and my care is fastidious). Apart from the very much to be desired customer service Mr. Chadash also indicated to me that the external surface of the instruments does not need to treated with for example, Doctor's Wood Oil because the wood is 'so mature' - I chose to ignore this advice and the wood literally soaked up the external oil - I tried to be so careful in the purchase of a new instrument but I am being truly scalded by Mr. Chadash. I echo the advice on the forum unless you are a 'high value reputation' player with considerable 'reputational' clout then I think a well chosen Buffet serves better than trying to deal with niche vendors like Mr. Chadash - at least Buffet have a two year no quibble guarantee
Very Respectfully to All, Salut
David F. Moore, MD, PhD, FAAN
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Author: Ed
Date: 2015-07-11 04:58
To be fair- I know of some who have had cracks, but I also have a couple of colleagues with Chadash clarinets who have had no cracking problems.
Post Edited (2015-10-27 01:25)
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Author: ChuChu
Date: 2015-07-11 10:15
I checked Chadash Clarinet Inc. website and it says no refunds because they are a small clarinet maker. I might be wrong, however.
A wood clarinet can always crack and when that happens, it is unfortunate, but if the company offer to at least replace or fix that cracked part that is OK IMO. If there are more serious problems, maybe a complete replacement might be needed.
I'm going greenline Buffet clarinet next time because I've had too many cracked wood clarinets and I'm not gonna take any more chances. A crack means internal bore dimensions have changed and no longer at exactly reamer dimensions, which means it is screwed up. I've never had a cracked clarinet play better, but only much worse afterwards.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2015-07-11 17:58
Yes, it true, some clarinets do crack but that doesn't mean it should be "normal" and certiannly not often. I own, or have owed, three Bb clarinet, two Buffets and a Selmer, a Buffet Eb, and Buffet A and two Selmer Bass. Not mentioning some instrumets I had as a student. In my over 50 years as a professional and five years in college I've NEVER had a clarinet crack. Only had one Backun Bell crack, he replaced that for free, I own several. I've probably owned 15-20 barrels, never had a crack there either.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: David F. Moore, MD, PhD, FAAN
Date: 2015-07-12 02:19
In my view any potential manufacturing process has some degree of failure inherent in the process - while I am sure all instrument makers of clarinet wish that this would not happen it does and is inherent to some degree in working with wood. This issue is where a fault in materials or process potentially becomes the responsibility of the customer who makes a purchase in 'good faith' - a defective instruments is a defective instrument and as noted Buffet undertakes replacement within two years and Yamaha undertakes replacement within five years on their newer instruments. Mr. Chadash one, insisted that it was my fault and after considerable 'discussion' agreed to replace the upper joint of the defective instrument bought three week earlier, then secondly proceeded to replace that upper 'so-called new' joint with defective already pinned joint that Mr. Chadash claimed 'plays perfectly' many months later. Such practice is not in line with other vendors and I feel it appropriate to make the clarinet community aware of Mr. Chadash so that perhaps senior students and would be professional players looking for their next instrument are aware that Mr. Chadash and after-sales care are at issue. Is it appropriate for a clarinet value to be cut by 2/3 because of a defective process in manufacturer or a material defect? I believe not and perhaps the safest course is to rely on the large manufacturer's but have the instruments pre-selected. I am heartened to hear that Backun provided a 'no-quibble' replacement at least of the clarinet bell.
Very Respectfully, Salut
David F. Moore, MD, PhD, FAAN
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Author: James S
Date: 2015-07-12 04:09
I think this is the most appropriate place to share my only bad clarinet purchasing experience (and only Chadash experience). Two years ago I ordered a Chadash ringless barrel from him for 200 bucks. Despite his website's very clear description that each barrel "is made from the finest selection of aged Mozambiquean Mpingo wood from East Africa" the barrel I received was made of delrin (a hard plastic with its own acoustical properties some use to reinforce tone holes).
Not only was the barrel not of the promised material, the workmanship was iffy at best. When I unpacked the barrel a shaving of delrin fell out of the bore. Though the reaming was clean, that fact that he didn't even check to make sure there were not any loose chunks floating around in the packaging was a major red flag. Moreover the trademark created bulges in the delrin. I had to file those bumps down to keep the barrel's profile even. Though that's a visual oddity with no bearing on the products performance, it certainly showed a lack of care in manufacturing.
I never heard back nor was reimbursed, though to be fair I didn't really push the issue hard.
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Author: GLHopkins
Date: 2015-07-12 04:22
As expensive as these clarinets are I would not hesitate to seek the advice of an attorney and attempt to get your money back plus attorney's fees.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2015-07-12 10:25
You will always hear how some players have never had any clarinet crack while others had many and know many others with cracked clarinets.
Anyone who dealt with many clarinets knows that statistically, it is "normal" for clarinets to crack, but overall, it is the minority. It's still common enough and in most cases not a huge deal.
That is just to the comments about clarient cracking. Nothing to do with customer service or any clarinet maker specifically.
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Author: BFM
Date: 2015-10-26 08:42
Wood is not Greenline or metal. It is a living breathing item. I own a Chadash Bb, a set of "Golden Age " R13s, a pre R13 C and Eb. All instruments have ,
ordered from Chadash at my request, heavy ringed, custom fit 440 and 442
barrels . These produce the tone quality I desire. I had one custom ringless
barrel crack out of 10. Mr Chadash replaced it for me. The break in process for
my Chadash Bb included 4 returns to him for adjustments in key play and tuning. Wood moves things change slightly. My instrument always returned to
me with better than expected results often with other acoustic adjustments made all at no charge as advertised. My Bb produces an exceptional tone quality
even in all registers (I am lucky to have a Charles Chedeville 1.04, a great Kaspar 1.0785 in the Marcellus style, and an Opperman B facing 1.04) lately
I play the Kaspar as it suits the instrument. I have played French, German,
and Austrian instruments of many major orchestral clarinetists. The intonation,
projection power, and tone quality of my Chadash is better than most and
exceeded by none. I have had lemon cars but never a Chafash product with
a problem that could not be corrected. My colleagues are amazed by the
intonation of my Chadash Bb. Ears may trick you but tuners do not tell lies.
I have a friend who had a new Tosca crack through 3 tone holes. After numerous
attempts to replace the instrument Guy Chadash pinned the instrument and
rebuilt the tone holes my colleague told me it plays better than before. The instrument is after all to be played and not to be traded on every year like a car
on a new model. We need the best instruments possible as we strive for consistency in the technical aspects of playing so we can make music.
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