Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I have a saxophone, but the bell keys are on the opposite side, what case should I order?
A: As stated in our catalog; Our sax cases will hold any sax as long as the both bell keys are on one side of the bell or the other. The only time there is a problem is when the bell keys oppose each other – as on horns made before 1940 – these horns may require an extra wide case and may not fit in our cases.
Q: I have a Bach Stradivarius trumpet model 37 or 43 or 72 but I don't see those listed in the Bach section. Do you have parts for this horn?
A: The model that you see on the bell; 37, 43 or 72 is the bell model. The actual model of a Strad is the 180 or 180LT.
Q: How do I tell if I have a lightweight or standard weight Bach Strad trumpet?
A: The bore is the same on both of these horns – .459". What is different is the outside diameter of the tubes, hence the way they get a "lightweight" horn. To check this, measure the outside diameter of the inside slide tubes; lightweight diameter will be .487" and standard weight will be .507" +/- .001".
Q: I see that XYZ part is no longer available, is there a substitute?
A: Any time a part is discontinued by a manufacturer we try and find a substitute. If we cannot find one, we then look at the sales history of the part and whether we can have someone make this even if we have to buy a 5 to 10 year supply. That is why you will find that we still have top/bottom caps and finger buttons for horns that have been discontinued many years ago. We will not make a part if the sales were only a few per year as set up costs and carrying the inventory far exceeds the cost of the part.
Q: I ordered a Yamaha part using the number in your catalog but the Yamaha number in/on the bag is different. It looks like the correct part but is it?
A: Yes, it is the correct part. Yamaha has a tendency to change their part numbers just because there was a slight change in the part such as; the material changed, a metal plate was added (like on the big horn valve guides), the model was discontinued but they are using the same parts on the new model – just changed the part numbers, etc.
Q: Why don't I see Besson parts in the catalog?
A: The original English Besson company went bankrupt in 2008 or so and all the assets sold off or scrapped. We hadn't bought any Besson parts since the early 1990's and as such had depleted our inventory to the point that we were out of all the common parts and had very few of the no so common parts left in stock. Because of this, we eliminated this section from the catalog. Now, if we are able to add the current Besson parts (Buffet now owns Besson and are distributing the horns) we will gladly add parts to our catalog for the horns that they sell the most of. Stay tuned.
Q: We measure everything using the metric system, why aren't all the items measured using the metric system?
A: As you know, we, here in the US, are slow to change but we are slowly. The next catalog that we print will have metric and English measurements for as many items as we possibly can.
Q: How do you decide what to put in the catalog?
A: We keep track of items that people ask for but that we do not carry. When we are ready to print another book we ask for input from our customers and then try and determine what we can and cannot add.