Originally Posted by
Davidus1
... the deceptive attempt to make the uninformed purchaser believe the instruments are German made when they are not. I personally don't like the labeling of "Frankfurt Germany" when all the equipment is manufactured in China. Others may not care but it bothers me. ...
Well, to be perfectly accurate, what it says on the bell of my trombone is just "Frankfurt". When it arrived I showed it to my wife and said "Hey, look. It actually says 'Frankfurt' ON THE BELL!" Maybe there is a Frankfurt in China, although I can't seem to find one with Google. At this point in the history of the Schiller "brand", I think it's more in the category of being hilarious than in the category of being deceptive and offensive. Kind of like "Yeah, sure this is a genuine Rolex. I can give it to you for $100." And Schiller/Laabs isn't the only source that bends the truth in terms of their Chinese instruments although they've stuck with a fairly high degree of bending and some very carefully crafted marketing language.
I don't think there is any type of quality check on the Schiller side but I could be wrong.
I don't think you're wrong. But like I say, if you go into this with your eyes open, then you actually can get more than what you pay for -- depending on what you want and realistically expect. In my case I got a double-valve bass trombone that's a faithful clone of a King 7B and has had a couple of fit/finish problems (one of which is still being worked out) for $585 delivered to my door. This is about 25% of what a similar model horn in similar condition (like a real 7B) would have cost me -- even used, if I could find one. But I knew what I was getting. Would I recommend this path to the parents of, say, a middle school or high school student? No -- though maybe for some of the Schiller instruments and for some of those parents and students, depending on their financial situations. Definitely not for everyone.
And in ALL cases, caveat emptor.
Gary Merrill
Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)