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 This forum's pretty heavy on drums, keyboards and guitars, so I'm a little curious about how the other half lives. I'm an amateur tuba player, playing with a few local groups in a variety of styles (Dixieland, British brass band, drum corps, wind ensemble), and I also play trombone and alto sax from time to time. Are there any other brass or woodwind players roaming around? How long have you been playing? What groups/kinds of groups do you play with? Do you have any performances online? How did you keep (or are currently keeping) yourself busy over the past year or so? The Chairman fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Jun 28, 2021 |
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Jun 28, 2021 21:20
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I got myself a new, less awful tin whistle and a book early this year. Figured I’d learn some Irish trad tunes and be the star of my RPG circle. Maybe some early recorder music too. Haven’t practiced in… aw jeez, months now probably. Guitar’s taken all my energy. 
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Jul 13, 2021 17:57
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I fell in love with the bassoon in a Brazilian song and vowed to learn the instrument if only to be able to play that one song. Six months later, I finally got my hands on a rental bassoon (they're apparently extremely rare); seven self-taught lessons in, the thing is kicking my rear end. I was doing so well, but I can't hit the lowest notes and, new today, can't even reliably get the others out, either. I don't know if my reed is hosed up or what. I can't find the right resources on reed health or embouchure or anything. The local music shop doesn't really deal with bassoons--they had to order in my rental. I'm so frustrated and angry and sad. I played flute for many many years, so this is really different in a lot of ways. But it shouldn't be this goddamn hard. Sorry for the e/n, but if it inspires anyone to reply with advice, I'd sure appreciate it.
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Aug 10, 2021 02:16
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I'm not a double-reed player, but bassoon reeds are infamously sensitive and fragile, to the point where most bassoonists eventually learn how to cut and shape their own reeds by hand rather than deal with off-the-shelf ones. It's possible that the reed has a tiny chip or crack in it, or it's just plain worn out now. Dealing with reeds is something that you'll really want to get the advice of a teacher for, either someone local or someone who does online video lessons. If you want to minimize the amount of time you spend fussing with reeds while you're still learning, you could also look into getting a synthetic reed like a Legere or a Chartier. They're more expensive per reed, but they hold their shape longer, don't need soaking and are more consistent out of the box. The Chairman fucked around with this message at 13:29 on Aug 10, 2021 |
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Aug 10, 2021 13:21
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If it's any consolation, I was a pretty decent multi-instrument brass player (mostly horn but also trumpet and euphonium) back in the day, and got my hands on my school's loaner bassoon and some method books for a few weeks. Despite my best efforts I found the thing just about goddamn impossible. e: I originally fell in love with it from Rite of Spring and I quickly realized that wasn't happening anytime soon
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Aug 10, 2021 14:40
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Thanks for the kind words of advice and commiseration. I did find and order a well-reviewed synthetic reed in Soft, which is supposed to be good for beginners (mine came with a Medium-Soft cane reed). It's not from Amazon, but a pretty local place, so with any luck it'll arrive soon even without Prime. I was feeling pretty good about getting the fingerings down pat, reading the bass staff properly (entirely new for me), grokking intervals, and all that good stuff, so hopefully taking a fussy reed (and fussing over the reed) out of the equation will help me focus on the rest of it. I mean, literal children with absolutely no backgrounds in music learn this instrument, right? (And apparently at least one well-regarded manufacturer includes plastic reeds with their student bassoons.) This was the song that hooked me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUjOfsoBhMY I've been joking that I just want to get to the point where I can play this song, and then I can give up the bassoon forever and never ever talk about it again. I do have the sheet music for it!
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Aug 10, 2021 16:38
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I always assumed that bassoon was generally a second or even third instrument (even if it becomes the primary instrument), and that most "new" bassoon players have a few years of sax/clarinet under their belts. Kind of like how the vast majority of brass players start on either trumpet or trombone and then get to try new instruments in middle/high school. At least that's how it was where I grew up  Beginner band instruments were flute, clarinet, sax, trumpet, trombone, and snare drum.
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Aug 10, 2021 17:38
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I am literally in the process of typing up a big rear end effortpost OP for a Brass Instrument megathread AS WE SPEAK. ML has been in major need of a winds thread of some kind for ages. My expertise is in brass specifically, so I can only really offer knowledge on that. Woodwinds are a whole other thing I know very little about except that they’re supposedly way easier to play and come with a lot less mouth bullshit than brass. For reference, I’m a trumpet player, I’ve been playing for well over a decade now, and I am in desperate need of a new horn as I just recently found out that the one I’ve been playing on since high school (that my idiot but well-meaning mom bought for me as a surprise gift) is a HORRIFICALLY BAD fit for me and has been causing me all kinds of problems that I have never been able to fix no matter what I tried or how much or how well I practiced and could never figure out why until I tried playing it side-by-side with a different horn and suddenly it all made sense! I am also typing a big long effortpost about this for my aforementioned Brass megathread since it is a very good cautionary tale about NEVER! loving! EVER!! BUY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FOR SOMEONE ELSE WITHOUT LETTING THEM TRY IT OUT THEMSELVES FIRST!! EVER!!! I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Aug 17, 2021 |
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Aug 17, 2021 04:44
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My new soft plastic reed has made it easier to hit the notes on my bassoon, but WOW does it sound like poo poo. I don't know if it's the plastic of it or the soft, if a soft cane reed would be better or maybe a medium-soft plastic reed. But yesterday I started with my old cane reed and swapped out for plastic when it started acting up, plonking the cane reed back into water for more soaking. (I feel like part of the problem is that my reed is not wet enough, or dries out really quickly--if that's a thing.) I switched reeds again when the plastic got to be too much (half the time I can't tell what note I'm playing, or the pitch wavers considerably over a single held note) and did much better with the cane reed then I usually do. So the plastic reed does really seem to be like training wheels that let me focus on my embouchure and fingering, and when I take the wheels off and go back to cane, all that technique (mostly) sticks. Thanks again for the suggestion! I'm not giving up just yet. 
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Aug 19, 2021 15:48
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Oh neat, a wind thread. I've been playing trumpet for about 30 years and got a degree in music (though it is not my career). I still play a lot - I play in a pops orchestra, run my own jazz big band, play in a jazz combo, and pick up musical theater gigs here and there. I also recently got a NuEVI - a MIDI wind controller based on trumpet fingering. It's awesome.I. M. Gei posted:
What horn out of curiosity?
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Oct 12, 2021 00:14
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I unpacked my old trumpet out of the attic and it’s been nearly twenty years since I last played. This should be an interesting uphill climb.
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Oct 30, 2021 20:49
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Been playing in the Seattle Honk! Scene for a few years now. My main instrument is Clarinet, and I'm currently learning how to play Tenor Saxophone. I'm using a Legere Signature on a Yanagisawa mouthpiece, and so far I'm having some trouble with the Reed splitting about two months in of regular use. (Found this thread through the Ska thread.)
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Nov 16, 2021 03:54
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Might be a random shot, but what are the current best clarinet mouthpieces? I played on Hites through high school and college, and now I'm old and I've been invited to join a community symphony band and apparently Vandorens are the new thing and I don't want to look like a dork.
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Nov 21, 2021 06:57
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Hazo posted:Might be a random shot, but what are the current best clarinet mouthpieces? The best ones are the new Chedeville's by Jody Jazz, they use a rubber formula that's very close to the originals. Vandoren makes very consistent mouthpieces, as does D'Addario. But what's best for you will depend on your embouchure and choice of reed.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:05
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Hazo posted:Might be a random shot, but what are the current best clarinet mouthpieces? Well, depends on the sound you're looking for. I play outside, mostly. I tend to get drowned out by a lot of louder brass. I picked up a third party metal mouthpiece to shove onto my CL300 (Selmer) and it can carry itself pretty good. The synthetic reeds are what I use for my Tenor Sax, not my clarinet. On my clarinet I use a Vandoren 2 1/2, or a 3. BTW, this is HONK! ----> https://www.youtube.com/user/honkfestival/videos
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Nov 23, 2021 01:09
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whoops, foiled again by bookmark browsing. sup thread, I am a middle school band director and a (French) horn player. I can confirm that bassoons are terrible and not nice instruments. even my colleagues that play bassoon would agree. I hate them but I did just order one for my program this year, wish me luck
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Nov 26, 2021 05:26
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I'm having much better luck with mine now, even going back to the original medium-soft cane reed (though it did get chipped to the point that I needed to replace it). But I don't practice nearly as much as I used to or should because I got all self-conscious about doing so with my husband and kid around, and those fuckers never leave.  I think I'm still a few notes shy of being able to even start playing the piece that turned me onto the bassoon in the first place.On the bright side, my interest in the instrument turned me onto this video about a great part of a great song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KV6KZd12i4
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Nov 26, 2021 05:48
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Thaaaaat rocks, when my bassoon supplies get here I’m excited to start playing and complain and then you can be like “oh I had that problem, here’s how I solved it  ”
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Nov 26, 2021 07:06
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Hawkperson posted:Thaaaaat rocks, when my bassoon supplies get here I’m excited to start playing and complain and then you can be like “oh I had that problem, here’s how I solved it 
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Nov 26, 2021 19:19
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Don't sell yourself short! Lol the number of times I try to teach something to a 6th grader only to have one of my 7th graders roll their eyes and get them to do exactly what I want in one sentence, it's humbling. Sometimes proximity to beginnerness gives you perspective that the pros just don't have anymore
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Nov 27, 2021 02:57
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I was a tubist many many many moons ago, and would really like to get back to it, but holy poo poo horns are so expensive. And hard to store. And hard to move. I’m also really bad at the bagpipe chanter. So bad I’ve never tried a full set of pipes. Ask me anything.
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Dec 2, 2021 20:23
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Oh hey this thread got some more posts since I last checked.Erwin posted:I also recently got a NuEVI - a MIDI wind controller based on trumpet fingering. It's awesome. I might oughta look into getting one of these. Not to play on, but because I've got an idea for a thing I wanna build and I'd like to find out how it works. Erwin posted:What horn out of curiosity? Kanstul-Besson Meha, made circa sometime between 1999 and 2001. My mom bought it on the recommendation of my band director at the time who had the same horn, although she really should've bought me something like a Yamaha Xeno 8335 instead. Incidentally the Xeno also would've been way cheaper than what she actually got, which iirc was something north of $5,200 or $5,300; for reference, most pro-level trumpets including the Xeno 8335 cost about half that. The problem with the Meha wasn't so much the make or model of it, but rather the SIZE my mom bought. K-B Mehas came in three different styles, each with a different bore size. Had Mom gotten the one with the smallest bore of the three (.460", basically standard size for Bb trumpets), I might've been okay. Unfortunately she ended up getting the next size up, .464", which was way too big for me and had way too little resistance. I could honestly make an entire post about all of the problems that that loving oversized horn has caused me over the many years I stupidly spent playing on it — and I intend to do just that; I was dead serious earlier when I said I was making a Brass megathread for this subforum — but it's way too long to go into here so for the time being I have to leave it at that. Now having said all of that, in my mom's defense, it PROBABLY wasn't entirely her fault that she got a bad horn. Bore size isn't something a lot of band kids or their parents consider when getting a brass instrument, and it often gets overlooked even by higher-level players and music shop dealers (and all of that needs to change yesterday, but I digress). On top of that the only way to tell the three sizes of this specific horn apart, besides measuring them with a micrometer, is to look at a tiny detail on the bell engraving that's super easy to miss if you don't know to look for it: between the words "Paris" and "France" there is either a hyphen or a five-pointed star (except on the biggest one which just has the word "PARIS" in big block letters). A hyphen means that it's a standard .460" bore, while a star designates it a .464". Again, SUPER DUPER easy to miss and it's entirely possible that neither my mom nor the music store people noticed it or thought it mattered, but none of that changes the fact that it actually DID matter in a big and bad way for me. ... holy poo poo this came out long. Hopefully I answered your question at least. I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 07:57 on Dec 22, 2021 |
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Dec 22, 2021 07:49
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Hi everyone, I play clarinet, flute and trumpet (in addition to piano and bass/guitar). Currently taking lessons for trumpet and clarinet. I don't play out so I sit at home and record the stuff I write. I have played the clarinet longest but I am only recently trying to figure out my intonation issue because I want to start recording more- so any tips on playing in tune with the clarinet would be appreciated. Some things my teacher has me working on: 1) support 2) working up to a harder reed and I am trying to record more. Hirayuki posted:I fell in love with the bassoon in a Brazilian song and vowed to learn the instrument if only to be able to play that one song. Six months later, I finally got my hands on a rental bassoon (they're apparently extremely rare); seven self-taught lessons in, the thing is kicking my rear end. I was doing so well, but I can't hit the lowest notes and, new today, can't even reliably get the others out, either. I don't know if my reed is hosed up or what. I can't find the right resources on reed health or embouchure or anything. The local music shop doesn't really deal with bassoons--they had to order in my rental. I'm so frustrated and angry and sad. Swan Lake was my gateway to loving the sound of the bassoon (and cello). I promised myself after learning trumpet I'd get one but two years in I decided to get an EWI (electronic wind instrument) instead and just find a decent VST. As long as I can get the approximate sound I want I'll be fine. I've heard nothing but bad things about the troubles you have to go through to get them to play in tune. Also, after paying $500 to get my clarinet overhauled, I don't want to be in a cycle of getting expensive instruments redone every couple years. This does not help except to say that I am jealous and wish you the best.
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Dec 27, 2021 18:43
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NC Wyeth Death Cult posted:I decided to get an EWI (electronic wind instrument) instead  That's an option?Well, poo poo!
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Dec 27, 2021 18:57
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Hirayuki posted:
Currently it's the domain of bad jazz and it only takes a little digital fuzzy sound to take you out of the fantasy but it's doing well so far.
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Dec 27, 2021 19:18
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Hirayuki posted:
You've got options: I've got an Aerophone and it's a very fun piece of equipment. They're all based on the sax fingering system, which is generally pretty easy to pick up.
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Dec 28, 2021 05:24
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One of the local universities has an EWI ensemble and it's kind of adorable edit: I like the Aerophone best too, though I don't own any of them. I'll buy one someday lol
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Dec 28, 2021 08:45
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My daughter started playing the flute this year and plans to continue next year for sure and possibly beyond that. I'm currently leasing a used Gemeinhardt 2SPA with an NG1 head joint for $30 a month with a buyout price of $775. Assuming she keeps playing through the next school year, I'll have $570 in lease payments on this used flute and another $200 to buy it. I found this one that I believe is new for $480. https://www.bmcmusicsource.com/products/Gemeinhardt-2SPA-Student-Flute-269287.html?cPath=1_339_342 It seems like my local music store is vastly overcharging and it would be a no-brainer to just buy a new one now instead of continuing to make lease payments. Any suggestions or advice?
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Jan 3, 2022 15:27
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SkunkDuster posted:My daughter started playing the flute this year and plans to continue next year for sure and possibly beyond that. I'm currently leasing a used Gemeinhardt 2SPA with an NG1 head joint for $30 a month with a buyout price of $775. I'd recommend doing some research on that make and model of flute and find out if the new ones are any good. If they're anything like Bach Strat trumpets, then it's possible they USED TO be good (like your used one seems to be) but the newer ones are made of cheaper shittier materials and that's why the price is lower. Unfortunately wind instruments aren't things that get decent amounts of online reviews like other types of products. Half the "reviews" that do exist come from Chinese whitenoise shitgarbage sites, and even the legit-ish ones mix up beginner and professional instruments in their rankings instead of putting them in separate categories. They're not all that reliable either; the trumpet reviews always put Bach Strats in their top 3 citing Bach's "great reputation" as a reason, even though Strats have been objectively dogshit horns for at least 10 or 20 years now, and I have every reason to assume the same is true for flutes. Your best bet is to find a dedicated woodwind forum and ask people there if a flute is good or not. I also recommend talking to instrument repair people, as oftentimes they can tell you what makes/models of instrument they see most/least often and for what reasons, and whatall materials and features go into a good instrument vs a bad one. I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Jan 3, 2022 |
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Jan 3, 2022 18:51
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They’re 100% marking up the price of buying out the rental tho. Instruments are like cars*, paying MSRP for them is not a thing which is why they’re ok with doing a “deal” like letting you use your rental payments against the purchase of the instrument - that way you’re paying full retail price which otherwise would never happen. You could try bringing this up to the store to see if they’ll negotiate - they probably would honestly. Or you could just say screw it and buy online though personally I really hate buying instruments I haven’t played myself. Again, it’s a lot like buying a car, and you want to test drive, you know? *right now the car market is a mess and paying over MSRP is happening quite a bit but you know what I mean
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Jan 3, 2022 21:31
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Hawkperson posted:Or you could just say screw it and buy online though personally I really hate buying instruments I haven’t played myself. Again, it’s a lot like buying a car, and you want to test drive, you know? This can never be overstated enough, and I have learned it the hard way so once again... NEVER buy a musical instrument without playing it yourself first! ALWAYS play an instrument yourself, or have the person you're buying it for play it themselves, before buying it! ALWAYS insist to the shop on playing an instrument yourself before buying it! Some music stores still don't realize that try-before-you-buy is a thing that wind instrument buyers should do, and if they give you poo poo for it then you give them 10x the poo poo right back for being stupid in tyool 2021. Depending how old your used flute is, this may still hold true for buying a newer one of the same model. If you have to order an instrument online (and a lot of times you will; wind instruments are niche and some instrument models just aren't available to try out in b&m shops), make sure the seller has a return policy and that you can return a played-on instrument if it's not a good fit. If they won't allow it, don't buy from them at all! I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Jan 3, 2022 |
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Jan 3, 2022 22:34
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On the advice of my teacher, I started working from a 2.0 legere synthetic reed to a 3.0 for my clarinet and I can't believe how much better my intonation has become. It actually sounds like an instrument instead of a dying animal. SkunkDuster posted:It seems like my local music store is vastly overcharging and it would be a no-brainer to just buy a new one now instead of continuing to make lease payments. Any suggestions or advice? I hate to be the "YO I KNOW A GUY" guy but if you join the Hobbyist Band Repair group on facebook and look for a guy named Paul Heinmann or even just post a "looking to buy" in the group you can find a really good deal on a recently rebuilt, older flute. The group is mostly old, retired guys who either were techs who don't want to do it full time or picked it up as a second career so they grab stuff that needs some care, fix it and sell it cheap. I picked up an older Armstrong (entry level flute) for around $100. from Paul and an E Flat clarinet from Chad Walker- both were in very good condition. I'd definitely see if anyone there is from your area. NC Wyeth Death Cult fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Jan 4, 2022 |
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Jan 4, 2022 00:42
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I. M. Gei posted:The problem with the Meha wasn't so much the make or model of it, but rather the SIZE my mom bought. K-B Mehas came in three different styles, each with a different bore size. Had Mom gotten the one with the smallest bore of the three (.460", basically standard size for Bb trumpets), I might've been okay. Unfortunately she ended up getting the next size up, .464", which was way too big for me and had way too little resistance. Yeah 0.464 is humongous. 0.459 is the most standard bore size, which is "medium-large" in Bach, Yamaha, and most other manufacturers. Large is usually 0.462, and 0.464 is like playing a dryer vent. Why not just sell your horn, buy a ML bore horn, and enjoy the extra cash? I. M. Gei posted:... the trumpet reviews always put Bach Strats in their top 3 citing Bach's "great reputation" as a reason, even though Strats have been objectively dogshit horns for at least 10 or 20 years now... This is not true. Bach StraDs (Stradivarius) are very variable in quality these days, but it's absolutely possible to find a good brand new strad. You'll need to play a half-dozen of each model to find the one you like though. Yamahas are more reliably good - i.e. Xenos are 8s and 9s and Bachs are like 6s-9s with each having a rare 10. My orchestra/heavy horn is a Xeno 8335iig (medium-large bore "new" Xeno with a Gold brass bell and lacquer finish) and I was happy with it without having to demo others of the same model. The music store I bought it from got me that horn, a large-bore of the same model, and a medium-large bore in silver finish and I was happy with the one I picked. My jazz/lead horn is a model 43 Bach Strad from the 90s with a light-weight bell that I've had to have the lead-pipe replaced on due to too much beer and whiskey blown through it at bar gigs. edit: Since I'm naming horns, here's the rest of the collection: - Callet Jazz flugelhorn - one of the original run. There's supposedly 45 or so in the world. - Bach Strad C trumpet from about 2008 - Yamaha 9610 D/Eb convertible. Equivalent to a Schilke E3L. - Getzen (940?) A/Bb piccolo with an aftermarket Picket-Blackburn lead pipe. - a handful of non-pro Bb horns, including 3 Olds Ambassadors with various problems that I would like to combine into a frankenhorn. Erwin fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Jan 4, 2022 |
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Jan 4, 2022 02:38
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SkunkDuster posted:My daughter started playing the flute this year and plans to continue next year for sure and possibly beyond that. I'm currently leasing a used Gemeinhardt 2SPA with an NG1 head joint for $30 a month with a buyout price of $775. The store renting is charging List. Which is odd because unlike Yamaha, where this is no minimum advertised price, Gemeinhardts have a MAP. Rental houses like to use the list as the buy out price, so when they tell you they’ll apply all of your rental fee, it sounds like a great deal until you realize you can buy it new elsewhere for less. We rent 2SPs for $200 for the year, with an option to buy a new one at the end of the term for $380. I’m sure I have a used one in good condition for about $300. While I agree that you should try out instruments in person, COVID has made a lot of people (rightfully) uncomfortable doing that. Something as consistent as a 2SP or a Yamaha is consistent enough that as long as it’s been serviced properly, you should be good to go. Also, my store offers returns and I strongly encourage people to take advantage.
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Jan 4, 2022 15:20
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NC Wyeth Death Cult posted:On the advice of my teacher, I started working from a 2.0 legere synthetic reed to a 3.0 for my clarinet and I can't believe how much better my intonation has become. It actually sounds like an instrument instead of a dying animal. I've always been told that synthetic/plastic reeds are always tonally inferior and should never be used in a concert setting for any reason. The only thing they're maybe good for is marching band, and even back when I marched competitively at high levels nobody used them.
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Jan 4, 2022 17:24
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Hazo posted:I've always been told that synthetic/plastic reeds are always tonally inferior and should never be used in a concert setting for any reason. The only thing they're maybe good for is marching band, and even back when I marched competitively at high levels nobody used them. Synthetics have gotten significantly better in the past decade or so, Legere Signatures and the later versions of Hartmann's Fiberreed are both really solid reeds now
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Jan 4, 2022 17:30
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Well clearly I'm showing my age then. 
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Jan 4, 2022 17:39
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Hazo posted:I've always been told that synthetic/plastic reeds are always tonally inferior and should never be used in a concert setting for any reason. The only thing they're maybe good for is marching band, and even back when I marched competitively at high levels nobody used them. Absolutely agree with no-names and Fibercell but Legere reeds are pretty good, esp for a common instrument like a clarinet. I get a decent sound out of the 2.0s but the intonation was off without a lot of work so it was onward and upward. The good news is that I use it for recording my own stuff and I never plan on playing out again so the only people offended by my noise are my neighbors. I went with synthetic because I dated an oboist and I didn't want to get caught in the alchemy of reed testing, breaking in, making, etc. The people who talk about how they only find one in 10 Vandorens that are playable make my feet itch but I've also heard horror stories from techs and orchestra players that will make your feet itch, too. I 100% get why BIG NATURAL REED engages and encourages that behavior but I want to play. I am testing out a new ribbon mic this week so I'll try to do a shootout of some stuff I've tried and post it.
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Jan 4, 2022 18:04
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I. M. Gei posted:I'd recommend doing some research on that make and model of flute and find out if the new ones are any good. If they're anything like Bach Strat trumpets, then it's possible they USED TO be good (like your used one seems to be) but the newer ones are made of cheaper shittier materials and that's why the price is lower. That's why I'm posting here. I don't know poo poo about flutes or band instruments in general. I've watched youtube videos on flute comparisons, but it is hard to find good information like what you mention about brands/models that used to be good that are now garbage. I. M. Gei posted:I also recommend talking to instrument repair people, as oftentimes they can tell you what makes/models of instrument they see most/least often and for what reasons, and whatall materials and features go into a good instrument vs a bad one. A bit of a catch 22 as I believe the only instrument repair people around here work for the music store that is leasing me a used flute with an MSRP buyout. NC Wyeth Death Cult posted:I hate to be the "YO I KNOW A GUY" guy but if you join the Hobbyist Band Repair group on facebook and look for a guy named Paul Heinmann or even just post a "looking to buy" in the group you can find a really good deal on a recently rebuilt, older flute. I submitted an application to join the group. Just waiting for a reply. Thanks! The Grapist posted:Rental houses like to use the list as the buy out price, so when they tell you they’ll apply all of your rental fee, it sounds like a great deal until you realize you can buy it new elsewhere for less. You hit the nail on the head there. That is exactly what is happening and why I am looking to purchase one instead of throwing money away with the lease agreement. The Grapist posted:I’m sure I have a used one in good condition for about $300. I'll be sending you a PM. I. M. Gei posted:This can never be overstated enough, and I have learned it the hard way so once again... I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. I've been playing guitar for about 35 years and currently own about 20 guitars and a couple bass guitars. Around 15 of them were purchased online and I've only regretted one of them (a curly maple veneered Dean 6 string electric/acoustic. Looked beautiful - sounded like poo poo unplugged). I learned my lesson from that one and won't buy a veneer top acoustic again. If you know what you are doing and are familiar with the product and the company's reputation, you can buy guitars online with confidence. That being said, I have not and would not buy a used guitar or amp without personally playing it first. I know nothing about band instruments, so that might be a whole different ballpark. You might very well be correct, but I wouldn't broadly apply that statement to all musical instruments or experience levels of the buyers. My daughter has been playing about 3 months and probably couldn't tell the difference between a $100 amazon flute and a $10,000 flute (and I couldn't either), so there is no point in having her try one out as a beginner. I'm okay with spending a three hundred bucks to buy a used flute online from a random online person that goes by the name of "The Grapist". If she continues to play for a couple years and wants to upgrade to something in the $1000-$2000 range, then you are absolutely right and I wouldn't consider buying one without having her play it first.
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Jan 5, 2022 03:06
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I think student horns are OK to buy without playing first as long as the store you're buying from has a reasonable return policy and a low or zero restock fee, and there's a decent local repair shop that'll fix any problems with the instrument and tweak it for best playability for you for a decent price
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Jan 5, 2022 03:13
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