Re: Re: Re: Ebay should have a child lock...


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Posted by js on December 06, 2003 at 09:24:47:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Ebay should have a child lock... posted by Sears and Wards on December 05, 2003 at 23:37:10:

Many many years ago, Sears generally sold instruments made by Buescher. Later, they sold instruments made by Blessing. Finally, they sold early generation Taiwanese instruments a few years before they did away with their catalog.

As band instrument manufacturing has evolved, frankly these days I would rather have some of the so-called "off-brand" Taiwanese instruments than American-made instruments. In fact, some of the smaller brand name Taiwanese woodwinds are significantly better than "name-brand" Taiwanese (Jupiter) instruments, making these "off-brand Taiwanese instruments contenders with some of the upper-line Yamaha instruments.

There are no American-made flutes or saxophones that play as well as some of the no-name Taiwanese. (The "off-brand" Taiwanese that I'm thinking of are also are quite extremely as well.) Vito and Bundy/Selmer plastic clarinets are still superior to most all Taiwanese student clarinets. American student trumpets and trombones are still just a bit better than Taiwanese, but not very much.
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One should pick and choose carefully. American isn't always best. Now the MAINLAND Chinese wind instruments are still mostly crap, though their guitars and bowed stringed instruments are coming on VERY STRONG...

...and of course the garbage from India is only a collection of wall decorations.
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The industry is changing (and improving, in some cases) very quickly. Band directors should not assume that an instrument brand not previously known to them is going to be unacceptable. Evaluations should be made individually, and those band directors who aren't particularly strong in evaluating certain families of instruments should - if concerned - try to have them evaluated by non-partial experts.


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