[FrankB]

Has anyone had experience of buying an instrument through NetMusicalInstruments a.k.a. Ackerman Music Ltd of Hove, East Sussex?

Their prices look pretty good, they offer a 7-day return policy and state that woodwind instruments are checked as following prior to dispatch -

• Unwrapped and visual check for any damage or marks.
• All keys are checked for regulation & seating. Most instruments needs some regulation.
• Sockets & tenons are checked, particularly on wooden instruments, where tenons are often binding.
• Instruments are then test played, cleaned and packed away.

...which all sounds great, but I can't find any reference to them on the forum. Any customer reviews (satisfied or otherwise) would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance,

Frank

 

[davidk]

Never bought an instrument off them - only a book. The price was good, and I had no problems with delivery. I'd have any new instrument checked over by a technician as a matter of course.

So I can't speak for the instrument set up, or how they are to deal with if something goes wrong, but I'd be happy to buy from them again.

 

[FrankB]

Thanks David, it's a start!

Has anyone else had any dealings with this company? I'm on the verge of buying my first sax (a new Yamaha tenor (I "bottled out" on the G4M offering!)) so any experiences of this firm would be most helpful.

 

[FrankB]

Well, the deed is done. I've ordered a new Yamaha YTS275 tenor from this vendor and it is due to arrive on Tuesday. I've also located a teacher in the wide spot in the road that I laughingly call a "home town" and he's agreed to check it over and tell me whether it's a pup.

I'll report back on the instrument and my experience of the dealer in a few days.

(There are actually reports on this dealer on the SaxOnTheWeb forums (all positive), but the search term is too long for the on-site engine, and it won't pick up on a partial! If you go to Google or Altavista you can find the forum references - a bit bass-ackwards but sufficient unto the day!)

 

[danarsenault]

What does bottled out mean?

 

[FrankB]

Apologies - It's a UK slang expression meaning "got scared and thought better of it"!

In this context, as an absolute beginner that can't tell a professional saxophone from a child's toy I thought it prudent to remove as much uncertainty as possible by opting for a name-brand with a reputation for consistancy.

 

[FrankB]

Okay, here's the update.

The YTS275 arrived when it was supposed to packed in the case and box that it was shipped in from Yamaha. It shipped with the standard Yamaha 4C mouthpiece and a standard Rico 2.5 (which I've changed down to a 1.5) and the standard Yamaha kit of a polishing cloth, a basic strap, some cork grease and a manual.

NetMusicalInstruments has an offer on at the moment so they also included some mouthpiece patches, a neck pull-through, a body pull-through, a BG strap and a pad-saver. They also put ina quick-start one pager showing how to assemble it. I laid out an extra £20 on a K&M stand which seems stable and well-designed. The total bill comes to a lot less than most other UK retailers.

The horn appears immaculate and sounds great (when my teacher plays it. When I play it, it sounds like a foghorn! ). My teacher reckons it's well set up, so I'm a happy camper.

I can't attest to how the firm handle it when things go wrong (as they didn't), but I hope these details are of use to someone.

Now I just have the minor task of learning to play it...

 

[martysax]

What does bottled out mean?

I Glawsta it means to go back to the packy!

That's usually afta sum hahd pahtying!

 

[panosgr]

I'm writing because I'm intrested on buying from this shop, so any opinions welcome.

BTW this shop is the internet trading name of Ackerman Music