WWBW Closing???

19591 Views 55 Replies 33 Participants Last post by Bari Sax Guy, Jul 21, 2015

jmathesonjr

Discussion Starter · Jul 3, 2007

I heard from a competitor of WWBW that it is in the process of closing completely. This would explain why the WWBW is not really getting any new product. I also heard it was laying off or had laid off the majority of its staff. Has anyone else heard this or is it just wishful thinking on the competitor's part?

21 - 40 of 56 Posts

LampLight

· #21 · Jul 11, 2007

Scott Kurtzweil said:
. . . There has been much talk recently on this board with regard to The Woodwind & Brasswind going out of business. I can assure you all that the case could not be more the opposite! . . .

I'm also glad to hear this. I've had almost flawless results In getting what I ordered from WWBW. I like that you know up front whether items are in stock or not. In my experience, the in stock items arrive when expected.

There are some areas where customer service could improve. I had two cases where getting refunds for mouthpieces required multiple calls and took longer than the promised time. And in some cases, the product descriptions could be clearer. Nevertheless, it's good news for wind players that WWBW is still with us.

"Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated" Mark Twain.

Scott Kurtzweil

· #22 · Jul 11, 2007

Wwbw

Thanks all.

I'm glad to hear that things are going well for most of you. I freely admit that we still have inventory problems but our stock position gets better every day. Our biggest problem is our lead times. When Dennis filed Chapter 11, we lost our place in line with most of our vendors (especially those in Europe and Asia).

We'll keep working to imrove our in stock rates and our customer service. Please feel free to contact me offline with suggestions or problems. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.

Best

Scott Kurtzweil
Woodwind Manager
MFI / Woodwind & Brasswind
800 - 348 - 5003 x2209
[email protected]

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MoonPie

· #23 · Jul 11, 2007

I think its great that a WWBW rep watches (and contributes to) this forum!

FWIW - My experiences with WWBW have usually been pretty good. Turnaround time on orders has always been perfectly acceptable.

My biggest problem has been that I frequently get incorrect items in the order - an alto mouthpiece instead of a tenor piece, or a tenor ligature instead of a bari lig, stuff like that. I never have any problems returning the items, but it's a pain to have to do it.

Jonathan C.

· #24 · Jul 11, 2007

I have always had success with WWBW when ordering stuff. Glad to see that a WWBW rep. is contrubiting to the forum.

Joe Jazz

· #25 · Jul 12, 2007

How come Scott's last name isn't Selmer? Shouldn't he be in the keyboard department?:? Maybe he's just covering for Kile Keilwerth while he's on vacation?

Scott Kurtzweil

· #26 · Jul 13, 2007

Last Name

OK you caught me. Kile is out of the office this week and thought I could fool you all by adding the "T" to my last name - Kur(T)zweil. When Kile gets back, I'll go back to the keyboard department with Ron Roland and Kenny Korg.

Scott

Al Stevens

· #27 · Jul 13, 2007

Does Yo-Yo Ma play a Ya-Ma-Ha?

Joe Jazz

· #28 · Jul 13, 2007

Scott Kurtzweil said:
OK you caught me. Kile is out of the office this week and thought I could fool you all by adding the "T" to my last name - Kur(T)zweil. When Kile gets back, I'll go back to the keyboard department with Ron Roland and Kenny Korg.

Scott

Thanks for fessing up! At least you get to hang with Kenny K and not Kenny G

!

hakukani

· #29 · Jul 13, 2007

Al Stevens said:
Does Yo-Yo Ma play a Ya-Ma-Ha?

No, of course not. He plays a Strad.

Incidently, he's not Japanese. He was born in Paris, and his Chinese parents moved to New York when he was seven.

Rowka

· #30 · Jul 13, 2007

I had recently heard from a manufacturer that wwbw, mf, music123, music & arts, gc, and giardelli(?), are all owned by the same company.

Scott Kurtzweil

· #31 · Jul 20, 2007

All owned by same company.

What you speak is true in a sense. As you all likely know, Woodwind & Brasswind/Music123 was purchased by Musician's Friend (which owns Giardinelli). MF is a subsidiary of Guitar Center, as is Music & Arts. Because of different states having different tax laws, Music & Arts and MF (WWBW, M123, Giardinelli) are run as completely separate companies from Guitar Center. This way, we avoid all of the tax law complications as we ship into states that have GC stores.

Clear as mud?

Scott

BobbyC

· #32 · Jul 20, 2007

lol - so that basically means I do all my music shopping from one place.

ZephyrSax

· #33 · Jul 20, 2007

Scott Kurtzweil said:
There has been much talk recently on this board with regard to The Woodwind & Brasswind going out of business. I can assure you all that the case could not be more the opposite!

Whoo! Good news, I'm planning on going to the warehouse in two weeks to spend some big bucks...

Is the warehouse still offsite, though? That delayed getting items to try by a fair bit last time.

Joe Jazz

· #34 · Jul 20, 2007

Scott Kurtzweil said:
What you speak is true in a sense. As you all likely know, Woodwind & Brasswind/Music123 was purchased by Musician's Friend (which owns Giardinelli). MF is a subsidiary of Guitar Center, as is Music & Arts. Because of different states having different tax laws, Music & Arts and MF (WWBW, M123, Giardinelli) are run as completely separate companies from Guitar Center. This way, we avoid all of the tax law complications as we ship into states that have GC stores.

Clear as mud?

Scott

So, guess you get a lot of folks coming in going "What's up, MF?":shock:

SaxMonkey32

· #35 · Jul 21, 2007

Nice Try. Keep working on your material, dude.

Scott Kurtzweil

· #36 · Jul 23, 2007

Warehouse Offsite

Yes . . . the warehouse is still offsite. Our retail staff is working to get more inventory back to the original building but like most things in corporate America, it takes 500 times longer than it should. If you are planning a trip here, I would call ahead and have the items you want to try pulled nad brought over for you. You're welcome to call me if you like. My numbers are below.

Scott
800-348-5003 x2209

Scott Kurtzweil

· #37 · Jul 23, 2007

BobbyC said:
lol - so that basically means I do all my music shopping from one place.

Perhaps. Each major entity is its own stand alone company though. Granted, we all ultimately report to the GC mother-ship but I merchandise MF completely different from the way I merchandise WWBW.

Scott

Tom Goodrick

· #38 · Jul 24, 2007

As a frequent customer over the years with mostly good experiences (only two bad ones out of at least a dozen good ones), I get many notices from M123 and WWBW about sales. I have checked a few but mostly ignore them because they don't pertain. So I was very surprised last night to see an unadvertised Selmer Classic mpc for sop (in size G) at 1/3 off. This is a piece I have thought would be great for me for many months but had written it off as being out of my league. I checked this morning with an email to my sales person and found it was indeed a new piece and still in stock. I phoned the sales guy and checked for a lig that I would want with it (one I expected to have to order direct from the manufacturer). They had that too so I ordered both. I am glad to be doing business with WWBW again.

The on-line inventory has been getting pretty slim lately. But it still pays to keep checking their web site. I always look on line but often order by phone, especially if there is any question about availability of any items in the list. I hope they can continue operating.

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Tom Goodrick

· #39 · Jul 27, 2007

Just a follow-up to say that I received the Selmer Classic just three days after ordering it and the shipping was free (US Mail). Unfortunately it seems to have a manufacturing defect. It is essentially unplayable. (See more under Mouthpieces, sopranos). I will be returning it. I was told in an email from my salesperson that I could return it even though I got it at a discount.

Tom Goodrick

· #40 · Jul 27, 2007

Today I returned the mouthpiece. It was defective. But I learned that WWBW has improved their customer service in some important ways. First, my call to Customer Service was answred promptly. Second they give you an RA number that is a code to FedEx to set up a prepaid return via Fed Ex Ground. In the past you had to set up your own return and pay for it. This is as easy as it gets. I think I'll order some reeds.

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