 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2002-12-24 01:28
So I got home from the gym tonight and grabbed the dog and the leash to head out for a walk. On the way out I saw the package the UPS guy left under the mat. My eagerly-awaited Pomarico crystal mouthpiece from IMS (and other stuff) had arrived!
I rushed the poor dog through his walk and got back eager to give it a test drive. I ripped through the box, and after I spilled the packing material everywhere, I saw my mouthpiece had been...
Backordered.
Denied!
Darn. I coulda sworn the lady on the phone said they had two in stock. Turned out half of my items were backordered.
This is my first order from IMS. This isn't a slam against them. I know it happens. It's just a rant from a kid who just found out Santa won't be coming until well after Christmas Eve.
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Author: tiger
Date: 2002-12-24 01:32
How depressing. Sorry to hear that you were so disappointed.
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2002-12-24 01:49
Try Woodwind/Brasswind. 1-800-348-5003
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2002-12-24 03:42
Ralph,
The exact same thing happened to me about 3 weeks ago from the same company. I ordered 3 mouthpieces on a trial and they backordered one. Of those shipped, one was a Pomarico crystal. It took less than a minute for me to decide I didn't like it.
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2002-12-24 04:10
Bob,
The one that was backordered was the one that I was really looking forward to trying. Just my luck. I have a good HS** crystal that I played in high school in the 60's and thought the emerald mellow might be a good upgrade. Not !!
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2002-12-24 05:11
I ordered the Emerald mellow. I played a standard HS* for many years and went to the M13 Lyre this summer, so I thought the closed tip of the Emerald would be a good match. What didn't you like about it?
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2002-12-24 05:27
Ralph,
When I started my current mouthpiece search, I had decided that part of the sound that I was looking for was in the 3 1/2 or harder reed. Since the Emerald mellow is the more closed of the crystal line, it looked worth a try. I had tried many of the 'hand crafted mouthpieces' before the Emerald mellow and that is why it didn't take me long to reject it. I found the resistance too high, the sound thin and shallow and it had a tendency to squeak.
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Author: donald nicholls
Date: 2002-12-24 11:32
actually, virtually every order i have had with IMS in the last year has had some problem of this nature (esp waiting for 2 months for mouthpiece blanks because the mouthpiece patches that were ordered with them were out of stock)
i wouldnt mind so much, if only they had let me know- or hadnt told me they were IN STOCK when i asked them specifically to avoid this happening.
every time i telephone them it costs me 3 or 4 us$, and they never respond to my emails. Unfortunately, as far as i know, they are the only place it is possible to get Zinner mouthpiece blanks.
donald
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Author: Mitch K.
Date: 2002-12-24 15:18
Here's one for you:
A couple years ago I ordered a few boxes of Vandoren V12's from IMS. Now, you'd think that EVERY music shop in the Western World would have a decent supply of these in stock, however, they had to backorder THREE boxes of Vandorens for me. When I ordered them they had plenty in stock, but somehow, according to them, one of the military bands ordered a decade's supply of V12's before they processed my order!! It took them 2 1/2 weeks to send my those reeds. Now I'm able to get reeds locally for the same price as mail order, so I don't have to deal with them anymore.
I was considering flying to Chicago and buying an e-flat clarinet from IMS, but now I think I'll just drive to Southern California and pick one out directly from Boosey.
Happy Holidays,
Mitch King
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Author: Brad C
Date: 2002-12-24 15:48
I have really good luck with The Woodwind. If you order online at www.wwbw.com you can almost always see if the item is in stock. You can also check the status of your order and see if any single item is holding things up and have the ability to remove that problem item online.
Brad
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Author: jean
Date: 2002-12-24 21:56
I can top that one. My new Rossi is trapped in customs. It should have arrived today. Making it worse is that I had knee surgery the other day and am in more pain than I can describe. That new clarinet would have gone a long way to cheer this girl up.
I feared you were going to say when you opened the package it rolled out and shattered into a million pieces. As they say about a crystal mouthpiece....you only drop it once.
Jean
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Author: Rob
Date: 2002-12-24 23:01
I think the service at IMS is wonderful, but I have never placed an order with them that did not suffer the same fate as described by Ralph G. I stopped ordering from them because of it.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2002-12-25 00:17
Jean,
I'm prepared to handle it like a Ming vase when it arrives -- or like one of those $50 snow globes I just bought from Foley's for $19.99 because somebody put a discount sign on the display that didn't belong there (my wife and I had a good laugh at how that sign disappeared after we made the sales clerk sell it to us for the low price).
Your Rossi will arrive, as will my mpc. I'm sure it'll take your mind off the pain. Give us a report after you take it for a spin.
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Author: Honest Opinion
Date: 2002-12-25 13:45
International Musical Suppliers. There have a great selection of everything in the catalogue. Their prices reflect it to. The prices there are outrageous. She over charges, when I went in to buy an eflat clarinet from there, to my disappointment all they had were r13s, so I didn't buy an R13 Eb from there, so i was "blacklisted".
Seriously go somewhere where they don't drive broomsticks. Try Mr. Weiner of Weiner's music in NYC. They have great pieces and great quality service.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-12-25 14:27
Honest Opinion wrote:
>
> International Musical Suppliers. There have a great
> selection of everything in the catalogue. Their prices reflect
> it to. The prices there are outrageous. She over charges,
> when I went in to buy an eflat clarinet from there, to my
> disappointment all they had were r13s, so I didn't buy an R13
> Eb from there, so i was "blacklisted".
I've bought many things from Lisa (IMS); the catalog prices are published, so there's no surprises, they have a telephone number so you can call before you go to see what they have (you live so close you probably just got lazy - I have to drive 6 hours so I call & plan ahead), and I've never bought an R13 and I haven't been "blacklisted" (whatever that means).
Buy stuff from wherever you want, but if you want to make "blacklisting" allegations then either put up or shut up. Lisa's a businesswoman and I've never seen her refuse taking money because you didn't "buy Buffet". People like Lisa, people hate Lisa, but never for the reason that she refused to take their money!
And no, Lisa's not a sponsor and has never contributed a penny to Woodwind.Org, ever.
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2002-12-25 18:47
I like to add:
I'm just gratefull to anyone who would like me try mouthpieces for a small fee. Even though the transaction may not be as smooth as I'd like. I'll continue using IMS until they mess up in a bigger way.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-12-25 21:26
A few new saxes just arrived here in NZ from Selmer Paris.
Two of them had no mouthpiece.
And a soprano sax had an alto mouthpiece cap.
There must be an untrained monkey in the packaging department!
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2002-12-26 00:35
Lisa helped me out with my new clarinet when the "other" two catalogue companies wouldn't even answer my emails or phone call inquiries. She phoned me personally and stated she was going to LeBlanc in the next few days and would pick out a clarinet for me. <u>History:</u> LeBlanc is/was closing out the Ambiance line which is a <b>very good</b> clarinet for the money it is/was being discounted. I decided to get one soon after LeBlanc made the announcement. I got it shipped to me the next week after contacting Lisa at IMS.
The other two companies did not even seem to want to contact LeBlanc about this particular clarinet at the time. I saw in my last catalogue from one of her competitors that they bought remaining Ambiance stock and are selling them at "close out prices".
When in business, there are always success stories and then there are the "other" stories. We just try to do the best we can.
jbutler
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2002-12-26 18:52
I have to add my "hoorays" for Lisa and IMS. I've done lots of business with her over the last 8 or 9 years and have only had one desl that had a bit of confusion with it--and that wasn't Lisa's fault, but was the fault of one of her sales reps. who did not communicate well with me about a return.
As to it costing money to call them---they have an 800 number. 1-800-762-1116. Ask if the item is in stock or will have to be back-ordered. If you think they're giving you the run around--ask to speak to Lisa personally. Even if she's out she'll answer her voice mail.
I've bought several Leblanc Opus, Symphonie VIIs, Buffet R-13s, Buffet R-13 Greenlines, Leblanc Esprits and other brands of clarinet from IMS. They are not "Buffet snobs."
But if you want to use other sources for clarinet stuff, try Woodwind and Brasswind or Brook Mays Music.
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Author: Malaya
Date: 2002-12-28 00:19
i wish i had a crystal... my boyfriend (oddly enough, a fellow clarinet player met at band camp) just got a Ruby Pomarico for Christmas. he let me play on it (so honored!) and i really liked it... i just don't know if i want to put the money into something like that. (about 80$ in Woodwind/Brasswind.) i wasn't thrilled at how it felt under my teeth... i tend to leave deep marks on my moutpieces from biting down... wonder if they come with clear bite plates? like the little rubber one i have on my mouthpiece now... it'll either be a crystal for my clarinet, or a jazz mouthpiece for a borrowed alto sax i play in jazz band... decisions decisions!
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