 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Without a Song
Date: 2015-09-02 05:59
Hello all,
I'm wondering if anyone might be able to recommend a solid technician to look over my horn in the New York City area. I'm just looking to get my clarinet checked for leaks and adjusted. Thanks!
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Author: Sydney Lusby
Date: 2015-12-22 19:47
Mealanie Wong-Buffet Showroom
Best,
Sydney Lusby
The Juilliard School
sydneylusby.com
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-12-22 21:45
I'm sure I don't have to tell you, but repair people in NYC, Manhattan especially, will charge you top dollar for their work. This is not to disparage a tradeperson's work by virtue of zip code, but rather to say that the price per sq foot of shop space varies drastically, as you must know, by zip code, and those expenses have to be incurred by clients.
Would NYC area extend to places just outside the city, like Southern Westchester Co., NY (Yonkers), Bergan Co., NJ (Berganfield), or Central-Western Nassau Co., NY (Mineola)? Or to rephrase, need you rely solely on mass transit to get to a repair tech?
If not, then, respectfully, Heidi Wolfgang in Yonkers, Dan Sagi in Bergenfield, and Mark Kasten in Mineola are excellent. I've used all 3, and they are all extremely competent and nice people use to fixing high end horns, and accomodating professional's needs. John Moses, an extremely well known NYC musician who you may know or have heard of, and a long time fixture on this bboard, introduced me to Dan once.
Heidi: heidioboerepair@weebly.com
Dan: dan@456music.com, 201-385-5800
Mark: http://shop.weinermusic.com/Testimonials.asp
Good luck. (Heidi's performance focus is oboe. Hence the name in her email address. But she can practically take apart a "Buffet" (or Selmer, or whatever woodwind), and put it back together while not only blindfold, but entertaining you with stories while you wait, and while on the phone with a professional's urgent repair needs. Her clients are her friends. She's Interlochen repair trained.
Dan is the finest craftsman woodworker I know. He can do the basics and he can do the magic both brilliantly. Impossible repairs; simple fixes: he is the man. He is self taught from when he'd fix his music school's instruments gratis--just to tinker--and I consider him, quite literally a genius at woodwind repair--although from his easy manner, you'd know he doesn't consider himself one.
Mark is a mench. I can't visit Weiner Music without him getting up and shaking my hand. People send him "horns" from all over the world to repair. He is "Ponte" trained, as some of the older folk like me will remember Ponte Music, a fixture on what was once The Musicians Block in NYC (48th), and to us a landmark, before condos and parking structures forced business like Ponte out and off the block.
Post Edited (2015-12-22 22:01)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-12-22 22:25
Nice long list of people.
Is this Mark at Weiner's new? I recall the old days (early 80s) with Jonathan. He WAS a mench. When he left though I didn't particularly care for dealing with Weiner. So things have gone back to normal?
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Ed
Date: 2015-12-22 23:06
FWIW- Jonathan Watkins, who had been at Weiner's years ago (and later ran the WWBW NY shop, among other things) is the owner of Wright Music out on Long Island http://www.wright-music.com/our-crew
He is always a great guy to deal with and one of the best in the business at a time when customer service is becoming a lost art.
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-12-22 23:13
Paul...Mark has been at Weiner for ages.
Jonathan [Wright], i.e. self proclaimed "Crazy Jonathan," back in the day, dubbed this nomenclature for the "great deals" he use to offer when Weiner's product offering was done in a post office mailed catalog. You know, in the "stone ages" before the internet. ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) He has long since left.
Jonathan's sales gimmicks of "lunacy" beared, I suspect by no cooincidence, similar parallels to a now long time defunct electronics outlet in the greater NY area called Crazy Eddie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Eddie.
The "Crazy" in Eddie was a well recognized double entendre, not of Crazy Eddie [Antar's] intention I also suspect. Mr. Antar used it to convey the craziness of his low prices. Many others, while agreeing with his competitive prices, felt the name also applied to Antar's less than legal business practices, and unusual personality traits.
For many years Mr. Wright has operated his own outfit http://www.wright-music.com/ nearby to Weiner. Wright's in Port Washington, NY, a couple of towns over from Weiner's Mineola--both in Nassau County, NY.
When Wright was at Weiner, these may have been in the days when Fred Weiner was operating out of the Westernly to now, Queens County location.
I've somewhat less than agreed with some of Mr. Wright's marketing, although I bear him no ill will. Until recently, you could find pictures of him with Bliss on his website, no doubt taken at some convention, as if to imply them good friends--which I doubt.
On Weiner's website you may find pictures of their repair department's Mark Kasten training with Morrie Backun around the time the time the two developed a business relationship with each other. You can bet Morrie and Mark know each other very well.
Drift intended.
(Note: Previous poster Ed and I are not in disagreement regarding Jonathan Wright-Watkins name, and who we are both referring to.)
Post Edited (2015-12-22 23:27)
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2015-12-22 23:24
It seems Guy Chadash is persona non grata to this discussion group, but he has always done right by me and my students.
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-12-22 23:29
Guy is a friend, and IMHO a woodworking genius like Dan. He's based in Manhattan as you probably know rmk54.
He will not come cheap though. That is not to imply that the other techs I mentioned are by any means "bargain basement." Just cheaper perhaps given their lower square footage costs.
Certainly a great suggestion though rmk54.
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Author: Christopher Bush
Date: 2015-12-25 06:09
I can also recommend Melanie Wong at the Buffet Showroom. She does fantastic work and charges quite reasonably. You can find her here: http://www.melawong.com/contact/
Melanie worked, and may still work, with Mark Jacobi for years, so she's definitely had the training. Before Buffet, she worked at Roberto's. NY Phil players are regulars at her bench.
All of my students go to Melanie and my own clarinets see her exclusively. I've been very happy with the work she does and the way she conducts business.
Christopher Bush
Prof. of Clarinet - NYU
Princ. Clarinet - Glens Falls Symphony, Metro Chamber Orchestra
Director - NYU Composers Ensemble
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Author: Without a Song
Date: 2015-12-25 18:56
Thank you all for the replies. I ended up going to Melanie Wong in September, and had a very positive experience. She did great work on my R13 Greenline, charged a reasonable fee, did the work in a timely manner, and was nice to chat with.
Merry Christmas!
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Author: Agomongo
Date: 2015-12-26 14:29
Just wanted to add my thoughts even though it's been resolved. I second Dan Sagi he is an absolutely amazing tech AND person! I live in Boston, but had a horrible experience with a very famous clarinet tech here. Since then I've ONLY gone to Dan.
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2015-12-26 15:26
Just out of curiosity, were the Boston tech's initials AA?
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Author: Agomongo
Date: 2015-12-27 01:26
rmk54 wrote:
> Just out of curiosity, were the Boston tech's initials AA?
Uuuhh.... I'd rather not say...
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2015-12-28 16:10
Frank Woodwinds in Philadelphia is owned and operated by Mr. Larry Frank who has unmatched skills and talent. His background is having a degree in engineering and many years as a builder of human prosethetics which have to have exact dimensions and tolerances. His shop is equipped to make and repair any type of woodwind. All of his overhauls carry a 2 year warranty. He posesses the ability to be creative and think outside the box. Faster turn around time than the industry average.
Address: 7839 Langdon St, Philadelphia, PA 19111
Phone:(267) 567-4278
Post Edited (2015-12-28 16:11)
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