These often turn into objects that frustrate students who don't know if it's them or the instrument that's not working, instruments that lose their colour, that break in places and ways I've never seen before, that repair-persons refuse to work on.
There is absolutely no excuse for owning an instrument like this, unless it was an intentional experiment. I know many parents of students starting this year have tried to be proactive and purchase the instrument ready for the school year. I am not sure why anyone would make a purchase of several hundred dollars without asking the teacher first, or at least someone who knows the business, especially a purchase impacting your child's education.
I have seen more of these instruments at the start of this year than ever before. The number of times my heart has sunk in the last few weeks when a student mentions that their new flute is 'in the mail', or they pull out those gloves and start trying them on, or I see a spring falling out of a post ready to impale an unsuspecting pinky.
Instruments are not created equal. You get what you pay for. This was never truer than for the world of musical instruments. But there is still no excuse for hopping on That Auction Site and ordering a fluoro pink flute with gold keys because it is cheaper than buying a brand new Yamaha, as though these are the only two options.
Many of these instruments are made in factories that do not have the level of quality control that precision instruments require. The factories are often filled with underpaid (and sometimes underage) workers in terrible conditions, using outdated technologies and materials. There was a scare several years ago relating to toys which had been made in these kinds of factories with a lead-based paint. We are talking about instruments which make contact with your child's mouth. Reason #1 for not indulging in these abominations of instruments - do you really want to support this?
Aside from the moral and safety aspect, these 'instruments' are a hindrance to a child's musical education (Reason #2). The sound is generally compromised in some way. These factories have not poured years of research into creating an instrument designed for a beginner student the way big companies such as Yamaha, Buffet and Conn-Selmer have. Student instruments are designed in a way that means students get the best response and sound possible at an early stage of learning. The same goes for the tuning.
My first oboe was built in the 1960s, a French-made Cabart. I still own my first flute, a US-built Emerson. There is no way this is possible with these 'disposable' instruments. They often don't last a year (Reason #3). If they do, the metal is so soft that keys bend (or sometimes snap entirely) out of alignment. Springs aren't strong enough to do their job. Pads split and fall out. Metal plating turns grey and/or flakes off. Repairers often won't repair these instruments because they know the repair is futile - the instruments are so badly built they are hard to deal with, and the repair won't last. Students become frustrated because the instrument is not working as they are trying to learn. They are without an instrument if it is able to be repaired. Their progress is stifled.
My first experience with one of these instruments was with a student in a country school. She turned up at the start of the year with a purple clarinet. The clarinet lasted about a term before she turned up to a lesson one day, claiming the clarinet hadn't been playing all week. I took a look at it. There was no way it was going to play. Every single pad under the keys had split around the edge and had 'exploded', filling the gap between key and clarinet. Not a single key would move. The pads were of such poor quality they had lasted about 4 months. A full repad is several hundred dollars - more than the parents had paid for the clarinet.
Of all the musicians in the world, those who need the best quality instruments are actually the beginners. They need something that is guaranteed to work so that all they need to worry about is their own technique, and the instrument makes it easier for them.
Cost is not an excuse. Sure, the ISO may be a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. But used instruments can be found everywhere, often in quite good condition. The benefit of used instruments is that if you decide to upgrade or change instruments, you can usually sell the instrument for the same price you paid for it. ISOs are worth nothing when you have finished with them.
There are also plenty of music stores offering rentals, or rent-to-buy programs, to minimise the upfront cost of purchasing an instrument.
Brands to stick to? Those which are based in countries with good quality control, levels of technology, warranties and labour laws. Generally, instruments based in Japan, France, USA, England and Germany (although some manufacture elsewhere, these companies are based in these countries and subscribe to their quality control) are the better options. There are still higher quality brands, and duds, from these countries, but overall they are safer options than ISOs.
Here's a take on ISOs from an Australian store that has managed to maintain a sense of humour about the issue:
http://www.ozwinds.com.au/boston-clarinet-used-05060-p-2375.html
And if you plan on buying a used instrument, either have it inspected by a repair-person first, or have someone play test it if you or your child don't yet have that ability!
Please don't support the ISO trade!!
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