Good bye, WWBW...

[TubaRay]

I guess we could see this one coming. Sorry to hear it, though.

[bort]

Damn, that stinks. Guess I can throw out the catalog I got in the mail yesterday!

Fire sale...?

[windshieldbug]

...hello GuitarWind!!!

[TubaNerd88]

This is very sad to hear. I hope this isn't the start of something tragic in the instrument industry.

[Ben]

This is very sad to hear. I hope this isn't the start of something tragic in the instrument industry.

tragic in the music industry: When I was growing up band programs were shrinking. Now band programs are being de-funded.

Sad day indeed. Is this an era of online (wind) instrument sales?

[Dan Schultz]

Good bye, WWBW...

I didn't see anything in the article about it.... but I would assume that they are going strictly on-line with their Music 1-2-3 retailer.

It's a shame that the 'elephant room' is no more. I've been by there before to scope out new tubas but have never purchased anything. I guess that pretty much 'sums up' why large showrooms with huge inventories are falling by the wayside. It's no surprise to me.

[chronolith]

Well there goes my day trip tuba shopping option. Bought a horn from Roger there last year and it was a very positive experience. Depending on your local network of tuba players it is getting harder to avoid trial and error tuba experiences when you are on the hunt.

Does Custom Music still have a house full of tubas out back?

[tubaforce]

Good bye, WWBW...

I didn't see anything in the article about it.... but I would assume that they are going strictly on-line with their Music 1-2-3 retailer.

It's a shame that the 'elephant room' is no more.

+1!
I could smell this coming long before Roger Lewis was done at WWBW!
123, Musician's Friend, and Guitar Center are all part of the same outfit, and have been for a while...
So now where do players of ANY Wind instrument go to try as many horns as WWBW carried? It's much more profitable to triple your money on Chinese Guitars than to house Millions of Dollars in Chinese, Japanese, and European Wind Instruments, and pay people to sell them to boot! I remember when one could call WWBW, and talk to a "product specialist" who actually PLAYED the instrument you were inquiring about, and was HONEST and Knowledgable about the origins and playing characteristics of said horn...
A sad day indeed!

Al

[ghmerrill]

I remember when one could call WWBW, and talk to a "product specialist" who actually PLAYED the instrument you were inquiring about, and was HONEST and Knowledgable about the origins and playing characteristics of said horn...
Al

Yes. I had uniformly excellent experiences with them over a period of more than fifteen years. A couple of weeks ago I was a bit surprised (shocked?) when I called to inquire about a mouthpiece and the woman I talked to asked me to spell 'euphonium' so she could pass on the query to someone else. First time that happened and it gave me a creepy feeling. Only the year before I had been talking to real experts in whatever instrument was at issue. But it's real hard to sustain such an organization nowadays.

[Tom Coffey]

Dennis Bamber really created something special by growing the business from the back of a barbershop as a result of great service and fair prices. A lot of us were able to play Meinl Westons, Miraphones, and (in my case) some really cool special stuff like a Cerveny oval rotory euphonium, because Dennis had the skill and foresight to buy quality in quantity and demand good deals from great manufacturers.
The Chapter 11 case was the result of a major lawsuit with new equity owners. New equity can become necessary when a business gets too large to sustain its operations with the original capital base. A lot of companies go through this cycle. Sometimes, the vision of the creators works with the new owners and their ideas and goals, and sometimes it does not. However, most companies are not the same once a new capital base (read: new ownership) is created.
For my part, I will always be greatful for the chance to try out multiple horns, talk to Charlie in the tuba room, and buy instruments that might have been out of financial reach otherwise. Fortunately, we still have some great options available, with people who play and really care about players and are willing to stock a lot of expensive inventory. Unfortunately, they are now almost all on the East and West coasts.

[Tom]

The few times I stopped in, the place had 1...2...3 (etc.) music customers (ha). Ironically, one of those (few-and-far-between) times that I stopped by (to test drive a tuba on my way to Anderson Silver Plating) I met an IRIS Orchestra colleague there, Kristi Crago (horn). She was on her way from Milwaukee to Cleveland to do a brass quintet recital, and had pulled off of I-80 there to shop for...

...a bottle of Al Cass oil.

This isn't just a WWBW thing. I have, on several occasions, been the ONLY "customer" in the entire store. This has even happended at some of the well known and often-talked-about-on-Tubenet type stores. I say "customer" (in quotes) because I am rarely a buyer from a retail music store.

Ex...

Tubas...I have one instrument [used] that was a "cash + carry" purchase from a brink-and-mortar store. Other was purchased used from an individual. Sort of supporting a retail enviornment there, I guess...

I ordered (online) a 12-pack case of a valve oil I really like about 6-7 years ago. I still have at least half of the case left.

Slide grease...I think everything I have now I was given with instrument purchases. I might have ordered a jar or two years ago.

Mouthpieces...I never seen anything in a brick-and-mortar retail store (except Baltimore Brass & Dillon Music) beyond a Bach 18, 24AW, and Conn Helleberg. Not Schilke, not Miraphone...nothing else. All of mine are either purchased used or ordered direct from manufacturer.

Sheet music...I like to look this stuff over in person. Most of my collection was purchased from brick-and-mortar stores, but that amounts to what...$100 or so once or twice a year, tops?

My point is that I can't beleive anyone can do it, especially those stores known for having a large inventory on hand for people to try. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the money. I think the collapse what just about inevitable. Space was too big, inventory costs too much, and customers too few. Based on the above, I'm not helping things.

I've never been to WWBW despite living for several years no more than a few hours away from them. My only business with them has been one mouthpiece order online (1998) and one gig bag order online (2000 or 2001). Maybe $500 total in 13 years.

[bigboymusic]

For those of us that had the pleasure, I miss my HS days when we would travel to South Bend. Nothing was more fun than the 'Tuba Dungeon" in the basement of the old house. It was a roughly 15 by 15 room at the bottom of the stairs, PACKED with tubas. I bought one of the first 4V YFB 621's from them. It was laying (in its case) underneath two HUGE Boehm and Meinl B flats. It was a great time, and I got some great deals. I bought the 621 F for 1699.00!!!! Of course, 1988 was 23 years ago......

[bigboymusic]

I also want to add that in the pre Internet era, that place and Tower Records in Chicago was a Low Brass players 'vacation weekend'. The thought of seeing and playing all of the different horns and then going to see what CD's were out that you had never heard of was awesome. It's funny to think there was a time not long ago that you had to travel to find good brass CD's.....Or maybe get a glimpse of what a 'german' F tuba looked like. No googlinginging...ing

And I found my receipt. I purchased my YEB 321S in 1987 from The Brasswind (no WW yet) price...Brand new with case and Conn 7B MP..... 1299.00 insert crying here........

[BVD Press]

I also want to add that in the pre Internet era, that place and Tower Records in Chicago was a Low Brass players 'vacation weekend'.

bigboymusic hit on something here. In the past, we all had to travel or make plans to get what we needed. Now it is all at our fingertips. Need a tune, just hop on Itunes. Need it quicker? Use Spotify or YouTube (usually lessor quality).

I remember once a week travelling to Best Buy to pick up CD's when I worked a t Disney. Christmas once a week in my view!

We have lost the "specialness" of many things because we have a new normal. The reality is that if we can't get it yesterday many of us just move on. I just spent 11 days in Alaska and learned this about myself. Although frustrating not having 3g or WIFI 24/7, I learned that my norm is really being connected 24/7. Maybe not a good thing, but my norm? Then again, it was incredibly nice to slow down, visit a town of 100 people and just disconnect with a pile of halibut and a beer!

[bort]

Sad to hear... but failure of big businesses can be opportunity for small businesses as well.

[The Big Ben]

We have lost the "specialness" of many things because we have a new normal. The reality is that if we can't get it yesterday many of us just move on. I just spent 11 days in Alaska and learned this about myself. Although frustrating not having 3g or WIFI 24/7, I learned that my norm is really being connected 24/7. Maybe not a good thing, but my norm? Then again, it was incredibly nice to slow down, visit a town of 100 people and just disconnect with a pile of halibut and a beer!

I found out that I really don't 'need' 3G or, really, Wi-Fi. I bought an iPhone 3G and had it for the minimum contract. It was $60/mo. The 3G was nice but I was just fiddling with it. Nothing I was doing with it was really necessary. Looking up phone numbers and addresses and then getting accurate directions to the address was a luxury not really a need. I decided that I would not pay the $60/mo any more and, when the contract was up, I gave it up. AT&T didn't want to give me 'GoPhone" pay as you go with the iPhone but, since it was 100% mine, I just figured out a way to do it on my own. (It involved getting a cheap GoPhone and swapping the SIM card. I lost my old number but, I can live with that.) Nobody likes me and I don't like anybody so I only make about one call a month and 'pay as you go' is great. (However, the GoPhone won't roam into Canada. Living very near to the border and having reasons to go into Canuckistan makes this a bit of a problem. But, I can deal with it.)

It's amazing what one can do without if one tries.

Jeff "Cable TV is next" Benedict

[BVD Press]

It's amazing what one can do without if one tries.

Probably true, but in my case I was amazed what I could not do without 3g or WIFI. I am sure it depends upon what one does for a living.

On the topic, I am sad to see WWandBW go but am glad I got to visit last summer. My wife even picked up a mute while we passed through and we got to meet with Roger for bit!

[bisontuba]

Hi-
When you have three 'divisions'-WWBW, Music 123, & Musicians' Friend- and at times they would each list the exact same product and each one had a different price for the item- that spells problems for a business model--still sorry to see them go- ESP. the day after the WWBW catalog arrives....Mark

[arpthark]

Does Custom Music still have a house full of tubas out back?

I went in December; their warehouse was brimming with PT-6's and 20's and 10's and 15's, some student model BBbs, and even a few used Hirsbrunners. I'd like to go back.

[Leto Cruise]

Any chance they'll do an all-out clearance sale? I wouldn't mind buying a tuba for half price..