Imported crappy horns

[tubarepair]

Someone's missing the boat by not manufacturing easy-to-service and nearly-indestructible school instruments, like this "Rent a Horn"

http://mytrumpets.info/images/olds_pinto05.jpg

Like this Olds Pinto...

Very hard, brass-lined plastic casings.
Recessed valve caps.
Interchangable valves. (Remember the Yamaha YBB103 tuba?)
Interchangable slides.
Easily replaceable parts, virtually no soldering.
Top action pistons that make it difficult to misalign the guides. (like most trumpets)
Available in Nickel with black casing as the Reynolds Ranger.

[Pippen]

While the orchestra kids do have their share of mishaps...

You can say that again. My first instrument was a string bass. It survived rides home on top of my Mom's little Gremlin (3 kids + driver = no room for bass) with me hanging out the window to hold on. The bow did not survive the dog who climbed up to the middle of the dining room table to apparently fetch and chew one day while we were gone.

[Dan Schultz]

Having said that, an hour of repair shop labor is usually $60 -$80, so honing those valves is usually a difficult sell to a customer who spent $109.00 for that trumpet new last week.DLH

I don't mean to be argumentive here but I don't think anyone can show me very many repairman (working in a shop) making much over $20 and hour. In the case of the Rosetti tumpet I mentioned in an earlier post... it took me about an hour to remove the offending burrs in the keyslots. I charged the lady $35. She was delighted and three months later the horn is still doing just fine.

Refusing to work on a horn just because "I didn't sell it" or "it's a POS import" is not doing justice to the trade.... in my opinion.

[Rick Denney]

I don't mean to be argumentive here but I don't think anyone can show me very many repairman (working in a shop) making much over $20 and hour.

Dan, as you know, a fancy store-front has a lot of overhead that doesn't go into the compensation of the tech. Thus, the rate billed to the customer has to include the tech's pay and benefits, rent, unbilled employees (such as the cashier and the like), business costs (e.g., the accountant), and the owner's profit. And, lest we forget, taxes (social security taxes for the employee, corporate taxes, real-estate taxes, franchise taxes, local business taxes, use tax, and on and on). It is customary for the billed rate to go for much higher than the tech's pay, even when margins are thin.

And it isn't just the music biz. My billed rate is right at three times my pay, and that's on contracts that only pay an 8% fee (i.e., profit for the owners). The other two-thirds pays for all the support services required in the corporation to keep it going. It also pays for the time I spend chasing work, which I can't bill to my current clients.

The folks in your town are lucky to have a repair guy with such a low overhead, and the sole proprietor's ability to mix wages and profit.

Rick "who, as a stockholder, thinks his company pays too much, but who, as an employee, keeps forgetting to mention it" Denney

[tubarepair]

The majority of apprentice level technicians leaving the college make between $11.00 and $15.00 per hour ($22,880-$31,200 yearly). If the shops that they work on charge $20.00-$30.00 an hour for services, no business could survive that adheres to the tax laws and other regulatory issues placed upon them. Most shops have tens of thousands of dollars invested in tools, supplies and equipment.

Any technician that has a few years experience and has developed some skills is doing the industry a disservice by charging $20.00/hour shop rate. The assistant manager at the local Taco Bell makes more than that with limited training/education. We are working on horns valued up to $20,000. We screw up, it costs us big time. Taco Bell screws up and they just make another $0.59 taco.


I choose to take my car to a reputable service technician. Of course, this costs more than the shade-tree mechanic down the street. I'll pay more for a clean, organized shop with quality tooling and employees who are well trained that can back up the service long after I leave. I guaratee the adjustment on Parrot flute ten minutes after it goes back in the case. What does that say to the customer who pulls it out in community band and it won't play? Of course, they'll blame it on me. Never do they seem to mention to their section mates that:

a) The horn was junk when they bought it.
b) Despite the tech telling them that it needed X amount of work, they chose to only have the minimum done to the horn.

I never said that anyone should refuse to work on what are commonly referred to as I.S.O.'s (Instrument Shaped Objects), however I do believe that each technician has the right to make that call.

There are simple rules of business: good, fast or cheap. Pick any two.

[Tubaryan12]

Any technician that has a few years experience and has developed some skills is doing the industry a disservice by charging $20.00/hour shop rate. The assistant manager at the local Taco Bell makes more than that with limited training/education.

Every other thing you said in your post may be true, but please tell me where this Taco Bell is...My kid needs a job. There must be some really high cost of living around them there parts

[tubarepair]

Seattle, Washington where the state minimum wage is $7.16, which of course, makes everything else more expensive.

[Liberty Mo]

We also will be glad to supply names of Schools, Pro Players and Teachers that have our instruments

Thank You
Michael

I would love to see your list of "Pro Players" who will attest to the quality of these so called "tubas" you are peddling. Hell, I would buy one if you can find a Pro who is using it as their main instrument. Anyone can take a look at the feedback from people who have purchased these horns and see they are crap. I have seen an M&M Symphony BBb tuba up close and personal and can only attest to the "phony" portion of its title.

Liberty "who has seen better construction on M&M candies than M&M Tubas" Mo

[MikeMason]

the fact is, in most retail music stores the repair dept. is a money loser.it is there to support the sales part of the business. it is essential but not directly profitable...

[tubarepair]

the fact is, in most retail music stores the repair dept. is a money loser.it is there to support the sales part of the business. it is essential but not directly profitable...

I would be interested to see some statistics on your statement. Repair shops that don't make money are mis-managed. Yes, they do support sales in the sense that nothing should be rented/sold without being evaluated and adjusted by a tech, but any store that cannot make money on outside repairs isn't doing a very good job of marketing or is undercharging for services.

I worked in a music store that the repair shop brought in 28% of the gross revenue, not including any portion derived from rental clean-up and sales. The profit margin in repair should easily exceed that of many areas of the operation - especially that of sheet music sales. In this case, there was far less profit in other areas of the store due to labor costs (too many salesman) and the number of guitars and it accessories that walked out the door without being paid for.

[MikeMason]

At the recent National Association of School Music Dealers meeting there was a session on this topic. the consensus was what i said above. things,of course,vary around the country.