All returns or exchanges must occur within 30 days of the original invoice and must be accompanied by a copy of the invoice and a Return Form or a note explaining the reason for the return. Be sure to always include a copy of your invoice—returns received without invoice copies may not be credited or credited correctly. You do not need a Return Authorization (R/A) number before sending your return. If you are uncertain of whether you are allowed to return an item, please contact us first before sending it back. Any item returned in violation of this policy will not be credited and may be refused and sent back to you.
We appreciate your cooperation with us in regards to this and other policies outlined on this page. These policies have been instituted so that we may offer you the widest selection of hard-to-find musical items at a reasonable cost with fast delivery. While a more liberal return policy might be initially appealing, it would seriously affect our ability to offer you the wide range of products you will find here.
Back to TopHow it Works: You may try a maximum of three in-stock mouthpieces, one in-stock instrument or $1,000 worth of in-stock music for up to ten days. We'll sell you the item(s) you wish to try as a normal sale. You have the right to return any trial item within ten (10) days of receiving it (see exception below for music). To clarify: the trial counter starts on the day you receive the items. Any items that are to be returned should be on their way back to us no later than the eleventh day, please. Upon arrival back here in our store, we will issue a refund of the purchase price less the outgoing shipping cost, plus any restock fees, clean-up fees or damage assessments (see below). The cost of return shipping is yours—we regret that we cannot provide free return labels for trials.
Mouthpieces: When we receive your return, we will credit your credit card, less the original shipping charge and a $5 per-item clean-up fee. All mouthpieces should be rinsed out and wiped down prior to return. Woodwind players—please use a patch during the trial to prevent teeth marks. Returned mouthpieces must be free of patches and have no marks whatsoever as a result of the trial. Brass players—please be careful of causing excessive scratching of the shank—please insert and remove the piece carefully during the trial period. For all mouthpieces, boxes must be clean, straight and in resalable condition with all parts and/or accessories included. Please be careful when unwrapping and testing to avoid additional charges. If damage is evident, the loss of value to the mouthpiece will be deducted from your refund.
Instruments: When we receive your return, we will credit your credit card, less our cost of shipping the instrument to you, plus a 5% restock fee to help offset partially the cost of credit card fees incurred by us at the time of sale and return transactions. There is no clean-up fee unless the instrument is returned in a dirty condition. The instrument must be in exactly the same condition as when it left our store. If new damage is evident, the cost of repairs and/or the loss of value to the instrument will be deducted from your refund. Instruments are shipped to you expertly packed and fully insured, and must be returned in the same manner. Any damage sustained during the return will be your responsibility to rectify.
Music: We now offer a "Half & Half" program for music trials. Under this program, you may purchase a quantity of music totaling $250 to $1,000, with the right to return up to half of it within a trial period of ten days. Returned music must be neat, clean and unmarked to receive return credit. No copies of any sort whatsoever may be made during the trial period (we have a way of knowing, so don't try it). Credit for returned music will made in the form of a refund to your credit card.
Other Stuff: We regret that we can not allow trials of CDs, DVDs or software due to copyright issues. Mouth instruments (recorders, harmonicas, etc.) can not be sold on a trial basis for reasons of hygene.
Back to TopFollowing many of the titles in our Wind Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:
Description | Price |
---|---|
Rimsky-Korsakov Quintet in Bb [1011-1 w/piano] Item: 26746 |
$28.75 |
The bracketed numbers tell you the precise instrumentation of the ensemble. The first number stands for Flute, the second for Oboe, the third for Clarinet, the fourth for Bassoon, and the fifth (separated from the woodwinds by a dash) is for Horn. Any additional instruments (Piano in this example) are indicated by "w/" (meaning "with") or by using a plus sign.
This woodwind quartet is for 1 Flute, no Oboe, 1 Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 1 Horn and Piano.
Sometimes there are instruments in the ensemble other than those shown above. These are linked to their respective principal instruments with either a "d" if the same player doubles the instrument, or a "+" if an extra player is required. Whenever this occurs, we will separate the first four digits with commas for clarity. Thus a double reed quartet of 2 oboes, english horn and bassoon will look like this:
Note the "2+1" portion means "2 oboes plus english horn"
Titles with no bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:
Following many of the titles in our Brass Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of five numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:
Description | Price |
---|---|
Copland Fanfare for the Common Man [343.01 w/tympani] Item: 02158 |
$14.95 |
The bracketed numbers tell you how many of each instrument are in the ensemble. The first number stands for Trumpet, the second for Horn, the third for Trombone, the fourth (separated from the first three by a dot) for Euphonium and the fifth for Tuba. Any additional instruments (Tympani in this example) are indicated by a "w/" (meaning "with") or by using a plus sign.
Thus, the Copland Fanfare shown above is for 3 Trumpets, 4 Horns, 3 Trombones, no Euphonium, 1 Tuba and Tympani. There is no separate number for Bass Trombone, but it can generally be assumed that if there are multiple Trombone parts, the lowest part can/should be performed on Bass Trombone.
Titles listed in our catalog without bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:
Following many of the titles in our String Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of four numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:
Description | Price |
---|---|
Atwell Vance's Dance [0220] Item: 32599 |
$8.95 |
These numbers tell you how many of each instrument are in the ensemble. The first number stands for Violin, the second for Viola, the third for Cello, and the fourth for Double Bass. Thus, this string quartet is for 2 Violas and 2 Cellos, rather than the usual 2110. Titles with no bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:
Following some titles in our Orchestra & Band catalogs, you will see a numeric code enclosed in square brackets, as in these examples:
Order Qty | Description | Price | |
---|---|---|---|
Beethoven Symphony No 1 in C, op 21 [2,2,2,2-2,2,0,0, tymp, 44322] |
$150.00 | ||
Jones Wind Band Overture [2+1,1,3+ac+bc,2,SATB-2+2,4,3+1,1, tymp, percussion, double bass] |
$85.00 | ||
MacKenzie Hines Pond Fantasy (DePaolo) [2d1+1,1,2+1,1-2,2(+2),3,0, perc, tymp, 44322, Eb clarinet, SAATB saxes, trombone solo] |
$75.00 |
The bracketed numbers tell you the precise instrumentation of the ensemble. The system used above is standard in the orchestra music field. The first set of numbers (before the dash) represent the Woodwinds. The set of numbers after the dash represent the Brass. Percussion is abbreviated following the brass. Strings are represented with a series of five digits representing the quantity of each part (first violin, second violin, viola, cello, bass). Other Required and Solo parts follow the strings:
Principal auxilary instruments (piccolo, english horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, wagner tuba, cornet & euphonium) are linked to their respective instruments with either a "d" if the same player doubles the auxiliary instrument, or a "+" if an extra player is required. Instruments shown in parenthesis are optional and may be omitted.
Example 1 - Beethoven:
The Beethoven example is typical of much Classical and early Romantic fare. In this case, the winds are all doubled (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets and 2 bassoons), and there are two each horns and trumpets. There is no low brass. There is tympani. Strings are a standard 44322 configuration (4 first violin, 4 second violin, 3 viola, 2 cello, 2 bass). Sometimes strings are simply listed as "str," which means 44322 strings.
Example 2 - Jones: (concert band/wind ensemble example)
The second example is common for a concert band or wind ensemble piece. This ficticious work is for 2 flutes (plus piccolo), 1 oboe, 3 clarinets plus alto and bass clarinets, 2 bassoons, 5 saxes (soprano, 2 altos, tenor & bari), 2 trumpets (plus 2 cornets), 3 trombones, euphonium, tuba, tympani, percussion and double bass. Note the inclusion of the saxes after bassoon for this band work. Note also that the separate euphonium part is attached to trombone with a plus sign. For orchestral music, saxes are at the end (see Saxophones below. It is highly typical of band sets to have multiple copies of parts, especially flute, clarinet, sax, trumpet, trombone & percussion. Multiples, if any, are not shown in this system. The numbers represent only distinct parts, not the number of copies of a part.
Example 3 - MacKenzie: (a fictional work, by the way).
In the third example, we have a rather extreme use of the system. It is an orchestral work for piccolo, 2 flutes (1 of whom doubles on piccolo), 1 oboe, 2 clarinets plus an additional bass clarinet, 1 bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets (plus an optional 2 cornets), 3 trombones, no tuba, percussion, tympani, 6 first violins, 6 second violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos, 2 double basses, Eb clarinet (as an additional chair, not doubled), 5 saxes (soprano, 2 alto, tenor & baritone) & a trombone soloist.
Note: This system lists Horn before Trumpet. This is standard orchestral nomenclature. Unless otherwise noted, we will use this system for both orchestra and band works (in most band scores, Trumpet precedes Horn, and sometimes Oboe & Bassoon follow Clarinet). Also, it should be noted that Euphonium can be doubled by either Trombone or Tuba. Typically, orchestra scores have the tuba linked to euphonium, but it does happen where Trombone is the principal instead.
Saxophones, when included in orchestral music (they rarely are) will be shown in the "other instrument" location after strings and before the soloist, if any. However for band music, they are commonly present and therefore will be indicated after bassoon as something similar to "SAATB" where S=soprano, A=alto, T=tenor and B=baritone. Letters that are duplicated (as in A in this example) indicate multiple parts.
And finally, here is one more way to visualize the above code sequence: