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Special Orders From The Factory

3K views 34 replies 13 participants last post by  PigSquealer 
When I placed the order for my Keilwerth Soprano, I placed it as a special order because I wanted a discontinued finish, clear-nickel, which was only available as a special order. It got put in the que along with the other regular orders. Since Keilwerth only produces a few per month for the whole world wide market and each horn is sold when it is ordered they don't bump the que just for special orders. It only took me 13 months to get it (really it took about 11 months to come in, but I was on tour and couldn't pick it up right away.)
 
I'm sorry to hear of your experience, especially since mine was so absolutely different and positive. Mathew was completely clear that he accepts no returns (folks have actually told him that they want to demo various horns for the cost of shipping and then buy a pristine new horn once they've made their choice), but also that he insists on sealed boxes directly from the factory so that you are guaranteed your horn was not a distributor-recycled school demo or shop-worn wall hanger.
I ordered my nickel-silver Keilwerth tenor from Mathew at Saxforte back in '05. I was very happy with his communication and the fact that he didn't adjust the horn once it arrived from the factory. I wanted my own tech to go over it once it arrive, which I did. My tech found very little that needed adjustment and it played very well right from the factory. I couldn't have been happier with my purchase through Saxforte.

My soprano I bought through my local dealer (Saied Music in Tulsa, OK) and because it was a special order and I dealt with the manager of the woodwind department directly I trusted that it wouldn't be touched until I got it. It played perfectly right from the factory without any adjustments. I also know that he kept my horn in his office until I got off of tour and not with the rest of the sales inventory. It's not often that they have guys come in and special order nearly $6,000 soprano saxophones from Germany in a limited finish that take nearly a year to come in. So yeah, he took care of it for me until I got off the road and could pick it up.

In both cases I communicated directly with my sales person and formed a relationship with them and told them exactly what I wanted. My JK alto I bought from Whipkey's music because they were the only dealer that I could find the summer of 1999 that had the clear nickel SX-90R altos in stock and not have to wait for months and months for a special order to come in.

If you are going to be buying musical instruments, and especially special ordered instruments from dealers it would behoove you to find one and form a relationship with them. Only good will come from it.
 
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