You get what you pay for, part 2
Last week, I spent some time going over the unfortunate fact that there are a lot of bad instruments out there–specifically piccolos, although you could really substitute any instrument. For example, you can purchase a $30 violin from Ebay, which comes without the bridge set up or the strings tightened! In any case, I hope that I provided some constructive information as to why inexpensive instruments don’t really save you money at all and why you should avoid them. But I get it–most of us don’t have money trees in our back yard, and instruments can be expensive! Now the question remains–how do you sift through all the junk and find a great instrument for a fair price? 1. Do a bit of research. There are literally hundreds of instrument brands out there…how do you know what is good and what isn’t? A quick search of the brand name can give you a lot of information into the quality of the instruments they produce. If the company makes every kind of band and orchestra instrument, that’s usually a red flag. Most reputable instrument companies focus on a certain family of instruments. For example, Gemeinhardt Flutes has been making flutes and
