Musician’s Friend:
1. Sent the package via USPS parcel post (the cheapest, slowest service possible) rather than FED EX Second Day Air.
2. Sent it to the WRONG PERSON (using my name rather than my daughter’s) (And will the mail room at my daughter’s dorm figure that out? Fat Chance!)
3. Gave me an invalid tracking number, apparently just making one up.
4. When I asked about the invalid tracking number, said that USPS sometimes just “recycles” tracking numbers. That is a LIE!
5. Said that maybe they will give me a refund IF I SEND THE PACKAGE BACK. But I don’t have the package! (Given the switching of names, the fact that my daughter and I have different last names, and the vagaries of a college mail room, I’m willing to bet that I’ll NEVER have it. Nor will my daughter!)
6. Certainly the opportunity for the once-in-a-lifetime little Valentine’s Day surprise is over forever.
7. This is my daughter’s picture. Shouldn’t she have had a tambourine for Valentine’s Day?

Be careful when using Musician’s Friend. Find an honest, reliable company.

Oh yeah, and that flute I played for 5 years with school ensemble orchestra and marching band. Hm. Well I guess those were good years and worth the money, but again, I haven’t really touched it for 20 years. (DANG FLEXO! WHEN DID I GET SO OLD?)

I ended up bartering the flute for some massage therapy treatments from a friend of mine who just finished her CMT. She plays it more than I ever would and that makes me, her and the instrument happy.

String instruments are ok to buy used I think since nearly all my violinist friends play instruments older than we are. One girl’s bow is actually worth more than her violin, which reminds me to say that your instrument should be insured if it’s of value. Her bow and violin were valued at around $10K. Losing it in a fire would have sucked.

It’s best to inherit an instrument from a family member or friend. (I say this as I think of my deceased grandfather’s cherished violin and the endearing, but annoying way he would play it at 8am on a Saturday to wake us all up.) There are certain older construction methods used by luthiers which make better sound than buying new stuff. Learned this about Gibson mandolins from a friend, and I think that holds true for say… Stradivarius vs Yamaha.

As far as mouthpieces on woodwinds, I’m not sure what you mean. Technically flutes are classed as woodwinds, and you could theoretically sterilize a flute with an alcohol swab. You must mean something like clarinets and saxaphones. Or do I have that wrong?

This is not true with solid top guitars. As solid top guitars are played, the tend to develop a fuller, mellower sound. It has something to do with the wood molecules becoming “aligned” to the sound vibrations and the stress placed on them by the strings.

If you have a laminate top guitar (formed from many different layers of wood pressed together into a single sheet), it won’t. The addition of a solid top is actually one of the common price point breaks on guitars.

Certainly, you should never buy a guitar with a harsh sound, counting on it to mellow, but to be strictly accurate…

And I can’t agree with Flexo enough about auditioning instruments. When I bought my Taylor 414-CE, I auditioned EVERY Taylor within my price range at two different Guitar Centers, as well as about half the Martins at the first one. Even within the same model, tone will vary from instrument to instrument: my 414-CE sounds great (to me, at least), the one on sale across town was a bit too trebly.

If you’re bringing an experienced player (that you’re comfortable with) also consider having them audition the instrument for you. Years ago, when my Dad decided he didn’t want to be the only person in the family who couldn’t play guitar, he dragged me to the music store with him. He tested out the guitars for feel himself, but had me play a variety of styles so he could focus on the tone of the instrument.

The same even goes for things like pianos, where a subtle difference in the weighting of the keys came make a big difference in playability.

Also, lots of people upgrade once they get good, so you should be able to get a reasonable instrument for a beginner second hand.

With string instruments (not electric) the quality of the instrument doesn’t really change over time and there isn’t much you can do to wreck it that won’t be obvious when you look at it.

Savvy: I got the D-15 for about $800. The market price used to be a bit lower several years ago, but higher demand (it’s a good instrument) and lower supply have caused it to increase a little.

There’s a place down in San Diego called Buffalo Bros where you can buy a guitar and come back anytime and trade up for a new guitar and only pay the difference. Pretty nice policy that they’ve been doing for 25 years.