TubeNet

I just posted something a couple of days ago in the Off-Topic section...

For what it's worth, WWBW is definitely in Chapter 11. Roger Lewis is definitely gone, and is in the process of starting a new venture called Tubadome (no kidding!). MW is backing him, and I suspect Miraphone will, too.

My guess is that WWBW will survive this, but will almost certainly have to scale back. The operation was far too large and inventory-heavy for what was basically a mail-order discounter. Dennis will have to decide what he wants to be, then focus his resources on becoming that while he deals with the legal stuff.

Steinway withdrew its bid yesterday.

1/17/2007 10:13:32 AM
Steinway Musical Instruments has announced that it is terminating its $40.5 million offer to purchase South Bend-based The Woodwind & The Brasswind.

Steinway says it has concluded that there will be a failure of certain conditions necessary to close the transaction.

The announcement is expected to delay an auction of The Woodwind & The Brasswind's assets, which had been scheduled for January 24.

The Woodwind & The Brasswind filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in November 2006. California-based Guitar Center initially offered $37 million for the company, and Steinway issued its $40 million bid on December 15.

Press Release

Waltham, Mass. -- Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. (NYSE: LVB) announced today it has provided a notice of termination of the asset purchase agreement dated December 15, 2006 with Dennis Bamber, Inc. d/b/a The Woodwind & The Brasswind. Based on the due diligence performed subsequent to December 15th, the Company has concluded that there will be a failure of certain conditions necessary to close the transaction.

Therefore, Steinway is exercising its right to terminate the agreement. The timing and effect of this termination is subject to approval by the court.

The Woodwind & The Brasswind, one of the nation's largest music retailers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. On December 15, 2006, Steinway signed an agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of The Woodwind & The Brasswind. A judge appointed Steinway's bid of approximately $40 million as the stalking-horse bid for the auction scheduled for January 24, 2007.

About Steinway Musical Instruments

Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc., through its Steinway and Conn-Selmer divisions, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of musical instruments. Its notable products include Bach Stradivarius trumpets, Selmer Paris saxophones, C.G. Conn French horns, Leblanc clarinets, King trombones, Ludwig snare drums and Steinway & Sons pianos.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This release contains "forward-looking statements" which represent the Company's present expectations or beliefs concerning future events. The Company cautions that such statements are necessarily based on certain assumptions which are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in this release. These risk factors include the following: changes in general economic conditions; recent geopolitical events; increased competition; work stoppages and slowdowns; exchange rate fluctuations; variations in the mix of products sold; market acceptance of new instrument product and distribution strategies; ability of suppliers to meet demand; concentration of credit risk; fluctuations in effective tax rates resulting from shifts in sources of income; and the ability to successfully integrate and operate acquired businesses. Further information on these risk factors is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc.

leehipp wrote:1/17/2007 10:13:32 AM
Steinway Musical Instruments has announced that it is terminating its $40.5 million offer to purchase South Bend-based The Woodwind & The Brasswind.

I saw that letter. too. I'm not so sure that this isn't the 'bogus' letter that Mr. Stoner spoke of in a previous email to the C-S vendors. On-the-other-hand... it just says the C-S has withdrawn their $40.5 million offer. Think perhaps they'll make a lower offer??

The really good news is that Roger Lewis appears to have gotten out alive!

I neglected to include the source of the of the article I posted:

Steinway Withdraws Bid For South Bend Company
InsideIndianaBusiness.com Report
1/17/2007 10:13:32 AM
http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/ne ... p?ID=21404

Here is more from the local news:

January 17. 2007 6:59AM
Steinway calls off deal
Offer withdrawn from Woodwind and Brasswind.


ED RONCO
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Call it a broken engagement: A purchase deal is off between Steinway Musical and an ailing South Bend instrument seller.

Last month, Massachusetts-based Steinway placed a $40.5 million bid on the assets of The Woodwind & The Brasswind, located at 4004 Technology Drive, South Bend.

Woodwind & Brasswind filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. Proceedings continue in court.

Moor or Less - Volume II
Company founder Dennis Bamber could not be immediately reached on Tuesday.

Steinway issued a statement Tuesday morning indicating that due diligence had revealed some information that soured the deal.

"...(Steinway) has concluded that there will be a failure of certain conditions necessary to close the transaction," it said in the statement.

Steinway officials did not elaborate on what those conditions are, nor were any court filings available to shed light on the company's reason for pulling out of the deal.

Steinway's offer was on behalf of its Conn-Selmer subsidiary, which owns the Vincent Bach factory where more than 200 people have been on strike since April.

At the time it bid on the Woodwind & Brasswind, Steinway's offer bested by $3.4 million an initial bid by California-based Guitar Center Inc.

Guitar Center, which has a retail location in Mishawaka, remains interested in Woodwind & Brasswind, said Tyrone Ross, junior associate with Financial Dynamics, Guitar Center's New York-based public relations agency.

"They're still interested, but they don't know for certain what they're going to do at this time," Ross said. "They're just going to let everything sort itself out."

He declined to elaborate further.

Woodwind & Brasswind filed for bankruptcy protection after losing a $9 million judgment in a civil case against two of Bamber's former business partners.

The type of protection for which it has filed allows the company to sell its assets and use the money to pay back its debts.

An auction is scheduled for Jan. 24.

Staff writer Ed Ronco:
eronco@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6467

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pb ... 41/CAT=Biz

TV report
http://www.wndu.com/news/headlines/5220766.html

Maybe my old friend Fred Marrich should jump in to the fray. He always was one for a tussle.

I can see it now... "MidSouthWind"...

gregsundt wrote:Maybe my old friend Fred Marrich should jump in to the fray. He always was one for a tussle.

ROFLMFAO

heaven help us if Fred gets involved!

gregsundt wrote:Maybe my old friend Fred Marrich should jump in to the fray.

http://www.tubadome.com

You're just as far away from this new exciting thing coming soon

Don't worry -- Roger is picking up the slack with his new store, tubadome, soon to have its own website:
http://www.tubadome.com

When you type in this website now, you get a press release on the M-W website about M-W's "new" three retailers for their "professional" line tubas in the USA. Of course, in addition to Dillon's and Baltimore Brass, Roger is right there smiling large with Gerhard Meinl.

I see that some of the tuba prices have been reduced recently. The Allora 186 is under 2K and in stock. The Barrington front piston valve is under 1.5K, ready for band directors and somebody needing a TubaChristmas horn so they can leave the Hirsbrunner home. Some Dalyan prices have been reduced even more than the last reduction. That Dalyan E-flat looks kind of tempting.

SplatterTone wrote:I see that some of the tuba prices have been reduced recently. The Allora 186 is under 2K and in stock. The Barrington front piston valve is under 1.5K, ready for band directors and somebody needing a TubaChristmas horn so they can leave the Hirsbrunner home. Some Dalyan prices have been reduced even more than the last reduction. That Dalyan E-flat looks kind of tempting.

MW 25 up to over 6K...whats up with that?

SUPPOSE THOUGH IF ITS CHEAP ENOUGH SOME BUYERS WON'T EVEN CARE HOW THEY PLAY!

Easy enough to determine. Pick it up and play it.
(What a concept)

... if one isn't terribly hung up on brand names or countries of origin.

GWBW!?

or....hung up on internet/mailorder purchases to "save on sales tax"

And this is a bad thing? However, if one feels compelled to pay sales tax, there is the option of making the purchase in person.

or....in total denial about the likelihood of getting something for nothing (ie more than you paid for)

Being the owner of both Chinese and German tubas, I have the actual hands-on experience to know what one gets for one's money. Although I won't strenuously deny the existence of clairvoyant knowledge, I'll continue to give strong preference to my hands-on experience over someone else's professed clairvoyance.

or (as Joe alludes)....isn't able to even differentiate in a few minute's playing which "good deal" is the best for them in the long haul

In which case, the wisest thing to do is not blow a huge wad of cash in ignorance just to win the approval of those with elitist attitudes.

This has nothing to do with the brand names or country of origin of the remaining stock at WWBW. It has everything to do with common sense on the part of buyers (which doesn't appear to be that common anymore)

The characteristics of Allora and Dalyan tubas is fairly well known. For those players who understand that they will be expected to blend with an ensemble -- not take center stage, not vie for the accolades from the elitists, just blend -- it is complete "common sense" to do it without spending more money than one needs to spend.

pffft! with the variability between specific examples of all model tubas, and the knowledge that WWBW used to have large qualtities of stock that is now reduced, why wouldn't one conclude that "remaining stock" equates to "picked-over" equates to "left-overs" equates (really) to "b" or "c" but certainly not "a" stock in how the horns play (not just how they look)?

Of course, this is an argument for never buying anything online since one never knows where one will end up on this great variability continuum you describe. Some will agree with you, but most accept this as a reasonable risk of online shopping.

is this really that hard to understand? Its not like buying a tuba is the same as getting a space heater at closeout prices from WalMart.

Neither is this something cloaked in shrouds of mystery best left to the pronouncements of the divinely blessed and gifted. If the characteristics of a model have been described by multiple credible sources (and they have), then one can decide if those characteristics are suitable for one's purposes. I don't presuppose that ignorance on making that decision is so pervasive that one should retreat to the "safety" of elitist judgements from those exercising their nanny instincts to "protect" us.

SplatterTone wrote:... If the characteristics of a model...

I think you and Dale are talking past each other here. He's talking about variability from one instrument to the next, and you are talking about the potential quality of particular makes and models.

I've played Dalyans that I thought were perfectly decent tubas. I also played an Allora 191 copy compared with an actual 191 when I was at WWBW last year helping my niece buy a bassoon. And there was no comparison. There have been enough things said about the Allora instruments that I suspect it was just a bad sample.

Of course, there can be bad samples of even the best brands.

Dale's point is that when the inventory is being reduced, the bad samples tend to be the ones on the sale rack after the good ones have already sold. People think they are getting a better tuba than their dollars would normally bring. Common sense would suggest that this isn't always the case.

Rick "wondering if a bad tuba is a bad deal at any price" Denney

Rick Denney wrote: Dale's point is that when the inventory is being reduced, the bad samples tend to be the ones on the sale rack after the good ones have already sold. People think they are getting a better tuba than their dollars would normally bring. Common sense would suggest that this isn't always the case.

But, remember when Brook Mays was blowing out tubas a couple of years ago, and many of the instruments were still in their original packing from the factory?

MartyNeilan wrote:

Rick Denney wrote: Dale's point is that when the inventory is being reduced, the bad samples tend to be the ones on the sale rack after the good ones have already sold. People think they are getting a better tuba than their dollars would normally bring. Common sense would suggest that this isn't always the case.

But, remember when Brook Mays was blowing out tubas a couple of years ago, and many of the instruments were still in their original packing from the factory?

I'm not saying that there aren't some gems to be found, or even that I agree with Dale. I'm saying that Dale wasn't talking about the relative merits of different brands.

Rick "wondering how one finds gems via mailorder" Denney