[BryanZSax]

Why does the copper neck cost so much more than the other Barone alto necks? Is it because it is solid copper?

 

[littlemanbighorn]

Why does the copper neck cost so much more than the other Barone alto necks? Is it because it is solid copper?

Yup. I believe it's a harder metal that's more difficult to work with.

 

[milandro]

Hmmmmmmmmm! I thought Copper was supposed to be softer than Brass

 

[rispoli]

Just a marketing cheat (note: not Phil's cheat, all manufacturers do the same).
Since standard is brass, the non-standard (no matter if better) has to cost more, otherwise people don't think it's better.
According to Phil they sound identical.

 

[Rick Adams]

Hi Bryan,

Send Phil an email, he'll be able to tell you all about it - [email protected]

 

[littlemanbighorn]

Just a marketing cheat.
Since standard is brass, the non-standard (no matter if better) has to cost more, otherwise people don't think it's better.
According to Phil they sound identical.

Possibly, but since Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and copper is worth more than twice what zinc is, copper will cost more than brass to buy (and therefore to manufacture items from).

 

[rispoli]

Even better marketing cheat are the sterling silver necks.
Cost of silver is presently marginally higher than brass or copper and the material cost is likely to account for a little fraction of the whole production cost. Price of those neck is about twice (if not more) than brass.

 

[saxxsymbol]

in manufacturing anything that is not a high run of product will cost more to produce. the less units the higher cost per unit.much more brass necks are made than copper or silver or anything else. in fact more brass necks are made than all the others combined.

 

[Rick Adams]

FWIW I have typically been quoted around 3 times the price of a brass sax for the same sax in solid silver and 2 times for one in nickel silver when I've discussed it with asian manufacturers. I believe that part of the issue is that they buy the raw materials at much higher prices because they buy a lot less of it and part of it is that find it more productive to work in one material and not swap around.

 

[Sigmund451]

Yes, swapping materials in many processes often involves resetting tooling and tollerances...etc. This slows production considerably. Most importantly they charge more BECAUSE THEY CAN

 

[Rick Adams]

Most importantly they charge more BECAUSE THEY CAN

I was working with one particular factory to help them sell their brand and I believe they were on the level with me and in fact they themselves mentioned that they felt the price was too high and proposed dropping the higher end models in favour of silver and ns plated instead. I believe a large part of the issue was their purchasing power for the raw materials. The ratios have been similar elsewhere as well. I actually think you might be surprised to find that the manufacturers are not making much more from a top range sax than from a mid range one, surprising though that may seem. My guys specifically told me that they made a smaller % on their top ranges.

 

[BryanZSax]

heres a reply i got from phil:

From: "Phil Barone" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Solid Copper Alto Neck
To: "Bryan Flipz" <[email protected]>
Uh, it's marketing, that's all but all of my necks are very reasonably priced. Right now though I don't have any copper alto necks but the material or plating doesn't make one bit of difference anyway.

Phil

 

[Rick Adams]

And of course he's 100% right - but he's answering the question "what's the difference between copper necks and brass necks?" not "do you pay more for them wholesale?" which I happen to know he does because I worked with him and we shared our pricing information. Copper necks cost Phil (or anyone else) more to to manufacture than brass necks and silver necks cost more than that

Dollar for dollar perhaps the most expensive necks to make are the wooden ones eg by Paraschos - they must take a LOT of skilled work to perfect and at the end of the day it's the hours of skilled work taken that will push the prices up more than the material used (unless you make them out of solid gold or platinum or something and encrust them with emeralds and rubies of course - that would make a very tasteful and understated neck!).

The wooden necks are a work of art I reckon, though again the material itself will not predicate a different tone. That said the difference in side wall thickness of a neck may make a difference - it's something I keep meaning to research.

 

[milandro]

you wouldn't want to compromise the purity of platinum and diamonds I hope.....funny how much hostility one can get about the price of something you don't need to buy.....unless you want to......if you want to.